Entry 59-3

Kevin VanDam - Lures That Got Me To The Classic

Spinning Toward The Classic

Editor's Note: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, never has missed a Bassmaster Classic since beginning his professional bass-fishing career. He hopes to repeat his 2001 Classic win in New Orleans at the 2003 Classic, the 13th Classic in which he has participated. This week VanDam will tell us about the lures that have gotten him to the classic, how he’s fished them, and how they’ve helped him return to the biggest bass- fishing tournament in the world, the Bassmaster Classic.

VanDam: I won’t go on a lake without the Strike King Pro Model Spinner Bait. This spinner bait has played a role in almost every tournament I’ve fished. I like to fish the 3/8-ounce double-Colorado-bladed spinner bait with a chartreuse-and-white skirt. If the water is clear, I’ll use a shad-colored spinner bait, but in stained water, I prefer the chartreuse and white.

This spinner bait really helped me make the Classic cut. I fished it in Alabama on Lake Eufaula and did well. The lake was high and stained, and the bass were holding in flooded grass and in scattered bushes. I was casting to the shallow grass and slow-rolling the spinner bait. Because the spinner bait had Colorado blades on it, it produced a lot of vibrations, which attracted bass, especially in the stained water.

This bait pushes a lot of water, gives off vibrations and enables the bass to find the lure better than a lure that doesn’t push much water or doesn’t give off vibrations. Another color of the Pro Model Spinner Bait that is extremely successful for me is the blue-shad-colored spinner bait. If I find clearer water, I opt for the shad-colored spinner bait. But when I have to fish dirty water, I always opt for the chartreuse-and-white colored bait.





 

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