Entry 278-3

Kevin VanDam and the Creation of the Sexy Shad, the Burner and KVD Perfect Plastics

Part 3: Take the Red Eye

Question: Kevin, what’s another lure you’ve played a major role in developing and marketing?

VanDam: I asked Strike King to develop a lure like the Sexy Shad. We had the Diamond Shad, which resembled every-other lipless crankbait on the market. But I wanted a lure with a true baitfish shape and profile and most importantly that kept its balance when I fished it the way I like to fish a lipless crankbait. Sure, you can catch a number of fish on a lipless crankbait by just casting it out and reeling it in, and the Diamond Shad is very effective used this way.

However, I’ve noticed that most of the time I get a bite when the Diamond Shad hits something and begins to flutter and fall. I’ve learned that when most lipless crankbaits start to fall, they’ll turn sideways, and the bait becomes fouled because the treble hooks either catch each other or catch the line when the bait starts to fall. That fouling of the lure results in a wasted cast.

So, I wanted Strike King to develop a lipless crankbait that would stay upright in the water, even as it was falling. Too, I wanted a lipless crankbait with an action while it was falling that would trigger a strike. I didn’t design the Red Eye Shad. I told the lure designers at Strike King what I wanted the bait to do, and that’s what they gave me. When I first saw the Red Eye Shad sink, I knew the lure designers had built-in the properties I wanted into the Red Eye Shad. What most impressed me was that I could let the Red Eye Shad sink on a totally slack line, and it wouldn’t flop over on its side. It not only stayed upright in the water, but it shimmied (swam) all the way to the bottom. I also noticed when the Red Eye Shad was ripped up off the bottom and allowed to fall back, it stayed upright and swam back to the bottom, just like an injured or dying shad.

I won the tournament at Lake Toho in Florida with the Red Eye Shad because there’s no other bait on the market with this type of action built into it. I’m really proud of the Red Eye Shad because the Strike King lure designers were able to custom-build a bait with all the properties I thought I needed to catch more bass anytime I fished a lipless crankbait. The lipless crankbait is a tool every fisherman needs.

 

Next: Perfect Plastic for Perfect Baits

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