Entry 194-3

Bass Fishing with Kevin VanDam and James Niggemeyer in the California Delta

Part 3: The Mindset of a Winner

Question: Kevin, what did you learn in this tournament?

VanDam: I hit the log with my boat on the second morning of the tournament. Although the B.A.S.S. support team did everything they could to get me another boat trailer and help me return to fishing again, I still lost 1 to 1-1/2-hours of fishing time because of the wreck. Although I caught two bass as my boat sank, having an accident like this can really throw you off your game, because you get frustrated and aggravated, which really messes with your head.

That kind of misfortune will take most-competitive fishermen out of the tournament mentally. But I’ve learned over the years that you can’t worry about or get upset about the variables that happen in a tournament. They’re out of your control. I know that I fish at my best when I have a positive attitude. So, when I punched a hole in the bottom of my boat and the boat was sinking, I had to get control of my emotions and realize that bad things happen in life that aren’t your fault. I had to gain control of my emotions and remember that when bad things happen in the tournament, I have to regain a positive attitude quickly, or I’ll take myself out of the tournament.

Question: How did you mentally overcome the log’s puncturing a hole in your boat?

VanDam: I didn’t let it bother me. I was there to fish, so I continued to fish, even though I couldn’t fish where I wanted to fish, or how I wanted to fish. I knew my boat was filling up with water. I knew if I continued to fish, I could keep my concentration on what I was there in the tournament to do. I had to mentally disregard the boat’s sinking and tried to keep on fishing as though nothing were wrong. When I got the replacement boat, I had to completely put the accident out of my mind and fish as though it was a new day, and I was just starting the tournament.

Really, I had one of the best days of the tournament once I received that replacement boat, got my attitude straightened out and began to compete again. The real secret to winning bass tournaments and fishing to the best of your ability is knowing what to do, how to act, and how to get control of your emotions when bad stuff happens. Bad things will happen, not only in bass tournaments, but in your life. However, the way you deal with adversity determines how quickly you can get back in the game and perform at your highest level. I’ve found that for me, I have to force myself to get back up mentally and regain a positive attitude quickly. So, the boating accident provided a real opportunity for me to practice what I preach. Once again, I proved to myself that the faster I could get over a tragedy in my fishing, the better I’d fish and the more fish I’d catch.

The number-one thing required to consistently catch bass is having a positive mental attitude. This is easy to do when everything’s going well, but when you get behind in a tournament, or have accidents or a mechanical breakdown, keeping that positive mental attitude isn’t easy. I have to force myself to become positive again quickly so I can get back in the game, when things are out of my control, or go wrong. Therefore, the boat accident was an excellent opportunity for me to challenge myself to go from a negative situation to a positive situation, and because I was able to do that, I had one of my best days of bass fishing and one of my best days in a tournament ever after sinking my boat.

Question: Kevin, when we interviewed Rick Clunn a few weeks ago, four-time Bassmaster champion, we asked him what’s the secret to Kevin VanDam’s success. Clunn said, “I know what he’s doing to win. During that last 1 to 1-1/2-hour of each fishing day, Kevin steps up his game and shifts it into high gear, while the other competitors are winding down because of a long hard day of fishing. Kevin’s speeding up and fishing harder at the end of the day than he does at the beginning of the day. This is the reason he’s been so strong and so dominant in recent years.” Is this true?

VanDam: Yes, that’s true. I don’t slow down during any part of the day I’m fishing, especially in tournaments. By the end of the day, I feel as though I’ve gained the most experience and the most knowledge about where the bass are and how to catch them. Therefore, during that last 1 to 1-1/2-hours, I should have the best possibility of finding and catching the most bass, and that’s when I perform my best. I spend all day learning how to fish that last 1 to 1-1/2-hours. Therefore, my intensity level is at the highest peak it can be during the last 2 hours of the tournament. I do fish harder and more determined during that time than I do at any other time during the tournament. That’s just who I am, what I do, and how I fish. I try to do anything I can in a tournament to gain the advantage to win. I think fishing hard at the end is one of the ways I can get an advantage.

Question: Your next tournament is on Clear Lake. How do you feel going into this tournament?

VanDam: It’s hard for me to determine how well I’ll fish until after the practice days are over. So far, I’ve only had one day of practice going into this tournament. But I try to adjust my style of fishing to the wind, the weather and the water conditions I find on the lake during the tournament. I haven’t had enough time on the water in preparation for the next tournament to figure this out yet. This is the reason B.A.S.S. gives its competitors three days of practice.

When I’m fishing a four-day tournament, I have to plan where I’ll fish, how I’ll fish and what kind of adjustments I have to make each day, depending on water and weather conditions. I really focus on the Weather Channel on TV and look at the long-range forecast to determine a game plan for the next tournament. I try to look into the future and determine what kind of weather conditions I’ll have to cope with during each day of the tournament, and how that changing weather will determine how I fish, where I fish, and what baits I’ll fish.

If we have bad weather, then I need to plan the lures and the places I’ll fish. If we have good weather and I can use my power-fishing techniques, which is my style of fishing, then I need to prepare mentally to power fish. To be a competitive fisherman, you have to try and read the future and have a game plan that fits your style of fishing. So, that’s what I’ll be doing the last week in March to get ready for this next tournament.

Next: From a Zero to a Hero

Contents:

• Part 1: My Boat Sunk
• Part 2: How Kevin VanDam Fished and Caught Them All
• Part 3: The Mindset of a Winner
• Part 4: From a Zero to a Hero
• Part 5: When to Fish Little Baits on Big Bass Waters