Entry 237-2
Kevin VanDam’s 18th Bassmaster Classic
Editor’s Note: The 2008 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell will be Kevin VanDam’s 18th consecutive Classic. VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has had a phenomenal 2007, winning two Elite tournaments. He’s one of the most well-respected and hardest-working professional fishermen on the circuit. How does he do it? This week, we’ll take a look at the man and his mission to be one of the best bass fishermen in this sport.
Part 2: Competitive Fishing’s About Focus
Question: Kevin, you’re about to fish your 18th Classic. As a veteran of this sport and this competition, what are you doing to prepare for the Classic that some of the newer Classic contenders may not be doing?
VanDam: I’m not going to give away my secrets (grin).
Question: The Bassmaster’s Classic is the Super Bowl of bass fishing, and it has almost as much hype, media pressure, sponsored events, dinners and other distractions. How are you staying focused on trying to win that event?
VanDam: I have to draw my mind away from all the distraction at the Classic – the hype, the show, the fans, the media and the other anglers – and focus on my own game plan. I’m able to perform this task better now than I ever have previously. In the Bassmaster Classic, I’ll have either a really-good tournament, or I’ll be totally off the mark. That’s the way I have to fish to win.
The Bassmaster Classic is for all the marbles. This is not a points event, so I take big chances when I’m in the Classic. I do what I think I need to do to win with my style of fishing, using the techniques in which I’m confident. 
This year will be no different. I don’t go to the Classic to finish high in the standings. I decided many years ago that this is an all-or-nothing tournament. So, I fish to win. I know how I’ll fish during this year’s Classic, but to be honest, I don’t want to discuss my strategy before the event. But I’ll be fishing differently than the way most competitors will be fishing this year’s Classic.
Question: How did you come up with a different way of fishing?
VanDam: I don’t know that what I’ll be doing is really different, but I’ve decided in my own mind what I need to do to win this year’s event. You can’t really go to an event this big and try to learn new techniques or new styles of fishing. However, it’s really easy to be influenced by what locals think you should do to win, and what lures and tactics they believe will be required to win the Classic. I haven’t even seen the lake yet. I haven’t practiced on it, which was a deliberate decision on my part. Right now, the water’s very low on the southeastern end of the lake, and I didn’t want to make decisions on how I should fish based on information I’d gotten in December. By the time I fish it at the beginning of February, the lake may be completely changed. But I’d still be relying on information I gathered in December, consciously or not.
We’re allowed three official practice days in the week before the Classic. That gives me three days to figure out a pattern, and this is the way I approach every event during the regular season. By practicing like this, I keep myself fishing in the “now,” which allows me to be more current in my problem solving and decision making based on the time of year, the water and weather conditions and the fishing environment. Even the conditions I see the week before the tournament starts may be a bit different than the conditions I’ll encounter during the competition days. But chances are that the conditions won’t change drastically. During the official practice just before the Classic, I’ll learn what I’ll need to know for when the competition starts. Current information is far more valuable than past history.
Question: Kevin, are you more of an intuitive fisherman rather than a planning, plotting type of fisherman?
VanDam: Yes, I really am. On my first day of practice for any tournament, I try to cover as much water as possible. I may not even fish. I just need to look at the lake and find out what type of habitat is in the lake. 
One of the advantages I have at Lake Hartwell is that I fish the other lakes in that chain of lakes. I know the primary forage in the system and the type of terrain in the lake. Therefore, in my mind, I know what type of cover and structure probably will be holding bass at this time of year. When I get to the lake, I’ll check the water temperature, the water clarity and the lake level, as well as the weather conditions. Then I’ll begin to formulate a game plan on how I need to practice, and what I need to do to win.
