Entry 291-5
Kevin VanDam’s Five-Favorite Bass-Fishing Techniques
Editor’s Note: Two of the odds-on favorites to win the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, based on this year’s tournament performances, are Strike King Pros Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Greg Hackney of Gonzales, Louisiana. But with more spectators following VanDam and Hackney during the Classic, the winning odds increase for Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, and Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, two other Strike King pros also competing this year. Although all the Strike King pros are highly versatile, they generally always fish to their strengths when possible. This week, VanDam will tell us his five-favorite fishing techniques, which we’re sure he’ll be using in this year’s Classic.
Part 5: I’ve Learned to Like Dropshotting
Question: Kevin, what’s your final top-five pick for your favorite way to fish?
VanDam: In the last few years, I’ve learned to fish the drop-shot, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Besides the drop-shot tactic’s attracting a number of bass, the 3X finesse worm I attach to my drop-shot rig elicits more strikes than any other type of finesse worm on the market. We’ve found that the Strike King lures made with 3X plastic have much-more action than other plastic lures.
A few years ago, I met Kim Stricker, a Strike King pro who hosts, “Hook n’ Look,” which airs on Versus. Kim fishes a lot in the northern part of the U.S. for smallmouths and largemouths, and uses underwater cameras to show what the bass and the lures look like underwater. When I saw how other plastic worms looked underwater and then how the 3X finesse worm moved in the water, I really could see the difference and why the bass were more attracted to the 3X type of plastic lure than to other types of plastic worms, especially in the drop-shot tactic. The bass key on the quivering action of the 3X finesse worm.
I really got into drop-shot fishing the last couple of years, especially in the Great Lakes where I drop-shot for smallmouths all summer. During the summer months, the smallmouths go really deep, and you have to find them on your graph. When I can see the bass on my graph, I put the drop-shot down right on top of them, and if I have the sensitivity turned-up on my depth finder, I can see the drop-shot rig and the bass. When I shake the worm, getting a strike is almost automatic. The bass will bite it almost every time.
Question: How do you decide on the length of line between the weight on the bottom of the line and where you tie the hook on the line when you’re dropshotting?
VanDam: If the bass are holding close to the bottom, I’ll tie my hook closer to the sinker, maybe 6- to 8-inches up from the sinker. On the Great Lakes, if the smallmouths are chasing baitfish, they may be suspended as much as 3-feet off the bottom. So, I’ll tie my hook at whatever depth I’m seeing the bass off the bottom and put the 3X finesse worm on the hook at that depth. By rigging my drop-shot this way, I’m putting the finesse worm in the strike zone of the bass I’m seeing on my depth finder. Generally the more clear the water I’m fishing, the further up the line I’ll put the finesse worm from the weight.
Contents:
- Part 1: Speed's What You Need
- Part 2: Bet on the Big Crankbaits
- Part 3: I Like to Jerk
- Part 4: Why the Red Eye
- Part 5: I've Learned to Like Dropshotting
