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VanDam and the Wild Thang

What Winning the Classic Meant to VanDam

Editor's Note: Thirty-three-year old Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, likes to fish with Strike King lures and particularly Strike King's Wild Thang, a creature bait, that he used to win the 2001 BASS Masters Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chosen Angler of the Year on the B.A.S.S. circuit in 1991, 1996 and 1999 and ranked No. 1 in the world of professional bass fishing by www.bassfan.com, which is evaluated on statistics from the tournament bass-fishing trails like B.A.S.S. and FLW, VanDam also enjoys being with his family and hunting deer.

Question: What did winning the Classic mean to you?

VanDam: Winning the Classic in 2001 was the highlight of my career. I've won Angler of the Year three times and FLW Angler of the Year in 2001. I've also won a handful of other tournaments, and my excitement at winning any of these titles doesn't even come close to comparing with winning the Classic. I've been close to winning the Classic so many times but just couldn't seal the deal on the final day. To win the Classic, everything must go well, and you have to be in the right frame of mind. So, I'm really proud of winning last year's Classic, since things weren't going too well part of the Classic. However, I made the right decisions, and I stuck with what I was doing. I kept my confidence up, and I pulled a win out. I feel like I earned the Classic win more than the win at any other event where I've fished. That feeling of accomplishment is unbelievable because of that.

Question: What do you mean things weren't going well?

VanDam: Well, on the last day of the tournament, the water had come up and gotten even muddier where I was fishing. I fished through all the best areas where I'd been catching bass the two days before. I fished all the best targets and all the most-productive-looking pieces of cover without a bite. I didn't get my first bass bite until about 9:30 a.m., followed by another bite after 10:00 a.m. and another around 11:30 a.m. Fishing for bass was extremely slow, and my chances to win the Classic looked really bad. I felt my Classic win slipping away from me. I came to a crossroad in my fishing and realized I only had 1-1/2 hours to fish. I had a number of spectators following me, and all those boats were muddying the banks. I knew I had two hours left. However, I still had to run and get gas, which would take about 1/2-hour.

I decided to take a break from the scrutiny of the spectators and the pressure of fishing the Classic. I hoped I could give myself a chance to regroup. I figured many of the spectators would follow me when I left to get gas, thinking I was going to a new area. Then I planned to return to where I'd been fishing and hoped they'd go to the coliseum to get a seat for the weigh-in and leave me alone. My idea worked perfectly. I went to the gas station. Only two boats came back with me to where I'd been fishing earlier. I calmed down and settled down for that 1/2-hour. I started going through my game plan again and fishing what I felt were the best parts of the cover in the area where I'd been fishing. Almost immediately, I caught a bass, put that fish in the box, made about two more casts and caught another bass. Catching these bass gave me a total of four and helped my confidence.

Sometimes when you're fishing and start catching bass like that, things will click in your mind. Then you'll know where to go to take your next bass. And that's what happened to me. I found a little laydown tree on a point that had current sweeping across it. As soon as I pitched the Wild Thang, I caught another bass. I was really rolling and knew that winning the 2001 Classic was within my grasp with my four quality bass and one 12-inch squeaker. I still had almost an hour to fish and worked my area thoroughly, covering many different targets. However, I didn't get another bite. Well, I had a long ride back and wondered if I had enough fish or if I would be one fish short of winning the Classic. But I had just enough weight of fish to get the job done. I considered this last day of the 2001 Classic the toughest day of competition I'd ever had mentally on the water in my whole career.

VanDam and the Wild Thang

What Winning the Classic Meant to VanDam

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