Entry 278-1
Kevin VanDam and the Creation of the Sexy Shad, the Burner and KVD Perfect Plastics
Editor’s Note: Most fishermen don’t realize how important the Strike King pros are to the Strike King Company, besides their wearing Strike King’s logo, using the company’s lures and being the company’s worldwide representatives. Strike King pros fish Strike King baits because they help to create and modify the lures Strike King produces. The Strike King pros are a major part of Strike King’s research-and-development team. This week, BASS’s 2008 Angler of the Year and two-time winner of the Bassmaster Classic, Kevin VanDam, explains his involvement in the lures that Strike King manufactures.
Part 1: How the Strike King Pros Help Develop Strike King Lures
Question: Kevin, how do Strike King Pros influence the Strike King lures?
VanDam: Strike King Pros constantly look for improvements that can be made to lures that have already demonstrated they will catch bass. For example, we know Strike King’s Diamond Shad lipless crankbait is one of the best lipless crankbaits on the market. But we wanted to know how we could make it better. And that’s the role of the pro fishermen at Strike King. We not only develop new lures and color patterns, but we study the baits we fish and try to come up with methods to enhance them.
Fishermen are always modifying and tinkering with baits to make those baits more effective. Like the other Strike King pros, when I find a modification that will make an existing lure more productive, or if I have an idea to modify a bait in a way that will help me catch more fish, I take that idea to the Strike King lure designers and say, “Let’s try this, and see if it will produce more strikes for me and the other fishermen.”
Once the Strike King lure designers make those modifications, we take those prototype lures out on the tournament trail and fish with them. Then all the members of the Strike King professional fishing team will ask each other, “What do you think about this design? How about trying it out? What would you do to change it?” So, regardless of who comes up with an idea for a new lure or a lure modification, we all have input into what that final product is, and whether or not Strike King brings it to the marketplace. Our goal is to every year come out with better lures than the previous year.
Contents:
- Part 1: How the Strike King Pros Help Develop Strike King Lures
- Part 2: What Puts the Sex in Sexy Shad
- Part 3: Take the Red Eye
- Part 4: Perfect Plastic for Perfect Baits
- Part 5: The Burner and the Bottom Dweller
