Entry 257-4

Kevin VanDam on Fishing the BASS Elite at Wheeler Lake in June, 2008

Part 4: The Third Day of Competition

Question: Kevin, what did you do on Part Three?

Van Dam: On day three, I left the dock in the order of finish from the previous day. So, I was the fourth boat to leave the ramp. I planned to run straight to my primary spot. When I reached my spot, the fishing was slow. Then the bite picked up, and by 9:00 am, I had 20 pounds of bass in the boat. I decided to stay away from the place where the bass were biting, but to protect the spot, I fished around that region. While fishing around my primary spot, I caught two more bass that allowed me to cull up from a 20-pound stringer to 22 pounds and 12-ounces of bass - the biggest one-day catch of the tournament.

Question: What made this spot so good?

VanDam: The spot was a mussel bed on the edge of the river channel. There were numbers of mussels on the spot, and the area was very rough on top of the ledge. The bass seemed to be concentrating on this particular mussel bed. I think the bass were moving up and down the ridges until they came to a hard bottom. When they reached a hard bottom, they’d hold there and wait to ambush baitfish. I also think there were lots of crawfish on this spot because the bass were regurgitating crawfish in my live well.

Question: What baits did you use to fish that spot?

VanDam: I fished everything from the Sexy Spoon to a Red Eye Shad, the Series 5 crankbait, the Football Head jig, the finesse worm and the Shadalicious. I went through nearly every lure in my tackle box fishing this site. However, many of the fish I weighed-in were caught on my Strike King Football Head jig. Two of the biggest bass, including a 6-pounder, were caught on a Sexy Spoon. The majority of the bass I weighed in were caught on a Series 5 crankbait.

Question: Why did you decide to fish the Sexy Spoon?

VanDam: The Sexy Spoon is a great bait to fish on offshore structure. It imitates a shad and produces big bass. Since I knew I had to catch a big bass to anchor my stringer, I turned to the Sexy Shad color to get the big bite I felt I needed. I only caught a few bass on it, but they were all big. I caught the 6-pounder and a 5-pounder on the Sexy Spoon.

Question: Was anyone else fishing a spoon?

VanDam: I’m sure some of the pros were, but the word hasn’t really gotten out on how effective the Sexy Spoon can be for structure fishing. That’s why I used it on the structure – I didn’t think the bass had seen it much.

Question: How were you fishing Sexy Spoon?

VanDam: I’d cast it out, let it fall to the bottom and rip it up off the bottom to allow it to flutter back down with a semi-slack line. Then, I’d hop it back to the boat.

Question: How were the bass taking the bait?

VanDam: They were something when they attacked. They’d hit hard and hold on to the lure. They’d hit the bait as hard as they hit a swim bait or a jig.

Question: Were the bass taking the spoon when it fell from the initial cast or attacking the spoon when you pumped it up off the bottom?

VanDam: Most of the time, the bass would take the spoon after I pumped it from the bottom. I’d jerk it off the bottom and let it fall back for the bass to attack.

Question: What place were you in at the end of the third day?

VanDam: I was in first place at the end of the third day. I easily made the 12-cut.

Question: Kevin, did you think your spot would hold up for the last day of competition?

VanDam: Yes, I did. After seeing how many bass were holding in that one place, and how big they were, I was confident that on the final day I could return and win the tournament there. The guy in 2nd-place had the same kind of spot I did that was loaded with bass. We both needed to catch a big bag of bass on the final day to win. Going into the last day, we knew that whichever one of us caught the biggest bass would probably win the tournament.

Next: The Last Day of the Wheeler Lake Tournament

Contents:

• Part 1: What I Knew Vs. What I Thought
• Part 2: My Plan for the First Day of Competition
• Part 3: The Second Day of Competition
• Part 4: The Third Day of Competition
• Part 5: The Last Day of the Wheeler Lake Tournament