Entry 150-2

Kevin VanDam - The Classic Mentor

The Day

Editor’s Note: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, won the 2005 Bassmasters Classic by only 6 ounces. To be the best bass fishermen we possibly can be, we need to be mentored by the best bass fishermen we can find. So this week, we’ve asked Kevin VanDam to give us some tips and tactics that will help each of us become a better bass fisherman.

Question: Kevin, during the Bassmasters Classic, there always seems to be one lure that surfaces as, “The Lure that Won the Classic.” Most of the time, there’s never just one lure the winner has used to catch all his fish. The Classic’s held over three days, and the total weight of all three days determines the winner. In your case, the jerkbait was touted as the lure that won the Classic for you. But how many lures did you fish during the Classic?

VanDam: I probably fished 15-different lures during the Classic.

Question: Out of those 15 lures, how many really caught bass for you?

VanDam: I caught bass on 10 of the lures.

Question: Out of those 10 lures, how many put keepers that were weighed-in for the tournament in your boat?

VanDam: I weighed in fish from two lures, a jerkbait and the Strike King Pro Model buzzbait. Even though the jerkbait had a lot of publicity, I wouldn’t have won the Classic without the Pro Model buzzbait. To be honest, I wouldn’t have won the Classic without all the 15 baits I used, and here’s why.

I learned a little more about how to solve the problem of catching bass with each lure I tried. Experimenting with all those other lures in the location I knew the bass were holding in taught me how to catch bass and more importantly how to catch the keeper bass. I kept experimenting with Strike King’s crankbaits, with the Rocket Shad and the finesse baits like the Shakeyhead jig. By either not catching fish, catching bass and losing them and/or catching short bass, each one of those lures steered me toward the two baits I caught keeper bass on to win the tournament.

When you know there’s a spot that has fish on it, you need to experiment with various lures just like I did, to try and determine which lure will be the very best for that day, that water condition and whatever wind and weather conditions to get the bass to bite. Because conditions change from day to day, a lure that’s hot one day, may not be as good as another lure on another day.

Question: If you went back to fish the Three Rivers area of Pittsburgh next year, or if you fished that same river a week after the Classic, would you still take all 15 lures with which you fished the Classic?

VanDam: Absolutely, I wouldn’t ever fish a river with just the two lures on which I won the Classic. One of the big lies most fishermen believe is that there’s one or two magic lures that will make bass bite on certain lakes. You have to remember that lures are just tools. Every day and even every hour, you have to consistently choose the right lure for the fishing conditions you’re experiencing at that moment.

Most people think that bass-fishing conditions change by the hour, but this isn’t true. Bass fishing conditions actually change by the minute, and your presentation and your lure choice has to change as fast as the conditions change. The time you spend on the water, watching weather, water and fishing changes, the more clues you’ll have as to how to adapt to those changes and what lures you need to use to get bass to bite. For instance, maybe the bass are biting a bait really good, and then suddenly they start following the bait, but not eating it. Maybe you’re getting a lot of bass short-striking. Although they’re hitting the lures, they’re not actually getting the baits in their mouths. These clues let me know that I either need to change the way I’m presenting the bait or change lures. The more lures you have, the more options you have for changing when fishing conditions change.

Because this happens so quickly, I like to have 10 rods set up just as I did in this Classic. Then when I notice a change, I already have my lure tied on to a line and a rod, and all I have to do is pick up the rod and make a cast. The problem with bass fishing is that you never know which lure you’re going to need when, but you can know the types of lures you might need. So by having those lures within an arm’s reach, you can quickly and easily lay down one rod, pick up another and instantly be fishing with a new lure using a new technique.

I can’t say I won the Classic on the jekbait. But I can say that I had to use 15-different lures to finally find the bait the bass would bite readily on the last day. Although I caught bass on 10-different lures in the Classic, I found there were two baits that seemed to produce the size bass I needed to win. This process of elimination is one that any bass fisherman has to go through to consistently win a bass tournament or catch fish on the weekend.

Kevin VanDam - The Classic Mentor

The Day

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