Entry 254-5

Tournament Fishing at Lake Murray with Kevin VanDam and the New Strike King Shadalicious

Part 5: The Final Part of the Tournament

Question: Kevin, what was your game plan to start the morning on the final day of competition?

VanDam: We had some miserable weather with no wind and no clouds the previous day, but on the final day, the weatherman forecasted 30-mph winds. I knew the bass would bite pretty well on a day like this. I was 6 or 7 pounds behind the leader and realized I’d have to catch a really-good stinger to have a chance at winning the tournament.

Most of the guys in the top-12 were catching their bass on a French-made, jointed, swim-less swim bait that resembled a herring in the water without a bill. I’d purchased one of these lures before the tournament, and with the wind blowing as hard as it was, I alternated between the heavier French swim bait and the Shadalicious. I caught most of the fish on the final day on that French swim bait. That’s one of the big advantages about fishing for Strike King. We have a lot more freedom than tournament fishermen who fish with other companies’ lures.

Strike King knows we fish to win. Since Strike King doesn’t make a lure for 30-mph winds, and that’s what it would have taken to have a chance at winning the tournament, I didn’t hesitate to use this other lure. I caught four or five bass on the Shadalicious and about 10 on the French swim bait. But I caught the biggest bass – a 4 pounder – on the last day on a clear, silver flake Zero. I finished the day with 17 pounds, moving me up to 8th place and producing a check for over $14,000.

I really appreciated the money, but what was good about this tournament was having a top-10 finish. The last 2 weeks, I’ve had two top-10 finishes, moving me up from eighth to fourth place for the Angler-of-the-Year title, which puts me 52-points away from the leader. So, this was a good week for me.

Question: Who’s ahead of you in the race for the Angler-of-the-Year title?

VanDam: At this writing in mid-May, Mike McClelland of Arkansas is first, Todd Faircloth of Texas is second, Skeet Reese of California is in third, and I’m in fourth place. I don’t know who else is behind me in the points race. Overall, the Strike King team had a pretty-good finish in this tournament. Greg Hackney finished 17th, James Niggemeyer finished 21st, Mike Wurm was 38th, and Mark Davis finished 49th. So, Strike King had five pros in the top 50 for this tournament.

Question: When’s your next tournament, Kevin?

VanDam: We fish again in 2 weeks on Wheeler Lake in Alabama.

Question: How do you plan to fish there?

VanDam: The bass should be getting into their summertime pattern, which is a crankbait pattern on this lake. Fishing offshore structure should be the best approach, which is how I really prefer to fish. This will be a structure fishing type of tournament with crankbaits, Carolina rigs and Texas-rigged worms being the dominant patterns.

Contents:

• Part 1: What I learned in Practice
• Part 2: The First Day of the Tournament
• Part 3: The Second Day of the Tournament
• Part 4: Day Three of the Tournament
• Part 5: The Final Day of the Tournament