Entry 197-5
Inside the Mind of Kevin VanDam
Part 5: What Fuels Kevin VanDam After a Tournament
Editor’s Note: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, one of the hottest professional fishermen on the pro-fishing circuit, has grown-up in tournament bass fishing. He’s been fishing professionally for more years than he hasn’t. Before he was a Strike King Pro, he fished against legends of bass fishing. Since he’s been a Strike King Pro, he’s fished with them. This week, we look inside the mind of one of America’s best bass fishermen. We learn how he evaluates his competition, what he thinks about other Strike King Pros, what drives him to fish as hard and as fast as he does, and how he maintains such a high intensity of fishing and one of the highest number of casts per day of any other tournament fisherman. In this week of studying Kevin VanDam, we find out what makes him run, and I think you’ll be surprised when you learn some of the secrets of Kevin VanDam.
Question: After a tournament day or a practice day, what will you eat for dinner?
VanDam: After a tournament or a practice day, I like to eat a really-good meal. Sometimes, time doesn’t permit me to sit down and have a really good meal, but if I can get it, I like a good steak and potatoes. I’m a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.
Question: Do you prefer French fries or a baked potato?
VanDam: There’s no way you can cook a potato wrong. I’ll also have a hefty salad, and not just those wimpy lettuce and tomato salads. I want bacon bits, cheese, croutons and the whole buffet full of extras. I’m not funny about dressing either. I eat all kinds of dressings - Ranch, Italian and Bleu Cheese. I like variety. The drink I have is Diet Coke. Diet Coke is to me what coffee is to a lot of other fishermen. I usually start and finish my day with a Diet Coke.
Question: What time do you usually go to bed at night?
VanDam: I go to bed as early as I can. However, the reality of tournament days and more importantly a tournament night is I usually work on my equipment until 10:30 or 11:00 pm, because I know I have to be back up and ready to go at 4:00 am. When I’m fishing on a tour, I’m usually putting in 18-plus hours of work in a day. When I roll out of bed in the morning, I get my Diet Coke and grab something to eat, and I’m off to go fishing.
Question: Kevin, how big are you?
VanDam: I’m 6 foot, 3 inches, and I weigh 180 pounds. I don’t seem to gain any weight with everything I eat. My metabolism rate is so high that I can burn all the calories I take into my body. I’m 40-years old, and I can eat everything I want to eat. I can eat everything in sight, and because I’m fishing so hard and going so much, I never seem to gain any weight. When I graduated from high school, I weighed 155 pounds. My weight has stayed between 165 and 180 pounds for 20 years.
Question: Kevin, the average fisherman will make how many casts during a tournament compared to the number of casts you’ll make?
VanDam: I don’t know for certain, but I believe the average fisherman makes 1,000 to 2,000 casts during a tournament. I’m making 25% more casts than the average fisherman makes. That’s probably the reason I have to eat so much, and why I don’t gain any weight. But the important thing to remember is that I’m not forcing casts. I’m not pushing myself to cast more so that it becomes incessant. I naturally fish fast and make as many casts as I can to win a tournament.
