Entry 325-1
Jonathon VanDam Who’s Just 21-Years Old Wins $26,000 Plus Fishing Strike King Lures
Editor’s Note: A member of the new generation of VanDams is making his presence known in the world of professional fishing. Jonathon VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the nephew of Angler-of-the-Year and Bassmaster Classic Champion Kevin VanDam, has begun to come out from under his famous uncle’s shadow. He’s a fast-rising star in his own right as a tournament pro. But this young VanDam is more than a collegiate bass fisherman trying to break into the world of professional fishing. He’s blazing a new trail not only for young bass fishermen, but for those youngsters whose moms and dads say, “You have to get your college education first, and then you can become a professional bass fisherman.” VanDam is pursuing his college education – he’s a junior - while becoming a national touring pro and showing others how to do both at the same time, using that same strong work ethic that Uncle Kevin has used to become one of the nation’s top pros. This week, we’ll let Jonathon VanDam tell his own story.
Part 1: Jonathon VanDam – the Making of a Pro
Question: Jonathon, how old are you, and how much money did you win this past weekend?
VanDam: I’m 21-years old, and I just won more than $26,000 in the Bassmaster Northern Open on Lake Erie.
Question: How long have you been tournament fishing?
VanDam: I’ve been tournament fishing since I was 10-years old, but I’ve only been competing in professional events for the last 2 years.
Question: Are you going to school?
VanDam: Yes, I attend Western Michigan University, and I’m majoring in marketing.
Question: Why did you decide to go to college?
VanDam: I’ve always wanted to be a professional fisherman, but I’ve also always wanted to get a college degree. I thought that a marketing degree would be best and would help me the most, if I wanted to become a professional fisherman.
Question: With the money you’ve earned recently, you should be able to pay your tuition for this year and next year, right?
VanDam: That’s true, and maybe some of my expenses for going to tournaments.
Question: How big of an influence has your Uncle Kevin been on your fishing success?
VanDam: Uncle Kevin, my grandpa Dick and my dad Randy – well, we’ve always fished together. My dad and my grandpa have probably been the biggest influence on me, but I’ve always looked up to Uncle Kevin and wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Question: This most-recent tournament you fished, how long did it last?
VanDam: It was supposed to be 3 days, but we had extremely-heavy winds on the second day, so it was canceled. So, we only really fished 2 days.
Question: How many days did you practice before the tournament?
VanDam: I went down 6 days before the tournament, but I only was able to practice 4 days. Lake Erie can be bad at this time of year, and when the wind’s too high, you’re foolish to try to fight it.
Question: What did you learn in practice?
VanDam: Because this is the early fall, I knew a number of bass would be moving into shallow water. But on Lake Erie, there’s always a lot of bass still holding in deep water. My game plan was to try to find fish differently than the other competitors. Since I noticed in practice that most people were fishing in deep water, I decided to go for a shallow-water bite. I wanted to fish for the bass that already had moved in to shallow water and were cruising on the flats.
Question: On what baits did you catch your bass during practice?
VanDam: I was catching bass on a dropshot using a Strike King 4-inch finesse worm in the green-pumpkin color. I also caught a few bass on the Strike King Series 5 in the chartreuse Sexy Shad. I didn’t catch many bass on the Series 5, but the ones I caught were big.
Question: Why did you decide to change from the dropshot to fishing the Strike King Series 5 crankbait?
VanDam: I was fishing for smallmouth, and I realized that often the bigger smallmouth preferred reaction baits, like the Series 5. I also knew that at this time of year, the smallmouth really liked the crankbait. I fish Strike King crankbaits anytime I can because I like to fish them, and I have the most confidence in my ability to catch bass with a crankbait.
Question: Before the tournament started, what was your game plan for the first day of competition?
VanDam: I’d set-up a milk run. I’d caught a few bass in practice off isolated rock humps and rock piles I’d found. These rock piles would be in 13 feet of water, but the tops of the rocks would be in 8 feet of water. I found six of these rock piles and planned to start on two of them, because they held the largest number of big bass. I’d set-up my milk run hoping to catch one or two largemouths off each rock pile.
Editor’s Note: You can contact Jonathon VanDam on Facebook. He gets a number of messages on Facebook and tries to respond as often as possible.
