Entry 35-2

When Strike King Saved the Day for Kevin VanDam

Fishing Inaccessible Docks

Editor's Note: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is one of the most dominant anglers on the bass-fishing circuit. VanDam, a thinking man's fisherman, likes to fish with Strike King lures and particularly Strike King's Wild Thing, 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, VanDam also enjoys spending time with his family and hunting deer.

Question: What do you do when the bass stop biting?

VanDam: I had a real good practice for the BASS Masters Classic where I thought I was going to catch a lot of big fish by cranking. We were at High Rock Lake in North Carolina, and the tournament started out okay. I caught two or three good-quality fish on crankbaits, and then the bass stopped biting. I knew that I had to make a change.

I started fishing docks. There were a lot of other anglers doing it, so I knew I had to do some things that were a little bit different to attract the bass's attention. There was one particular dock in this cove. A sailboat was tied up to it, so I couldn't get back behind the dock. I decided that if there were some fish behind that dock, the only way anybody would get to them was to flip right over the top of it.

My press writer was sitting there, and when I pitched over the dock, he said, "I wonder how you are going to get the fish out of their if you get one on." Well, sure enough the line jumped. This dock was 6-feet wide. My line jumped, I set the hook, and I had a big fish. I had 25-pound-test line in my flipping stick in preparation for this scenario. I jerked this 6-pound bass right up out of the water on the backside of the dock, laid it right on top of the dock and slid the bass right across the dock and into my boat.

Question: You caught that bass on a Strike King lure?

VanDam: I caught that bass on the Strike King Denny Brauer Pro Model jig.




 

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