Entry 341-1
Kevin VanDam – How I Got a Head Start
Editor’s Note: In one of the closest races for the title of Angler of the Year the world of bass fishing ever had seen, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, proved his prowess as a bass fisherman and the fish-catching ability of Strike King Lures by coming from behind and winning the coveted title in 2009. But we really weren’t surprised. VanDam’s career earnings on the BASS and the FLW circuits already surpassed $3 million.
VanDam, Mr. Sexy Shad, made an even-bigger impact in the fishing world when he began to design lures and colors that changed the way we all fish. One of the big advantages of fishing Strike King lures is you know they already have been tested and used in competition by the Strike King pros. Like the other Strike King pros, VanDam field-tested the new 2010 Strike King lures during the 2009 tournament series. So, this week, VanDam will tell us what he likes about the new Strike King lures he’s fished with for the last year.
Part 1: Kevin VanDam Is about the Baby King Shad
Question: Kevin, what new Strike King lure gets you most excited?
VanDam: I guess it’s the Baby King Shad. I’m a big fan of the original King Shad. I’ve caught a lot of big bass on it, and it’s a very-versatile lure. I fish the King Shad almost as much as I fish the spinner bait, and I’ve made a good living on the spinner bait. Now, the Baby King Shad is the little brother of the King Shad.
I’ve worked a lot on the design of this bait to give it a slightly-different action than the King Shad. It’s unique from the King Shad because we’ve changed the bill’s design and angle, so it has a wider wobble than the King Shad. This bait also runs a little bit deeper than the King Shad. With the joint in the middle of the bait, the Baby King Shad makes a lot of noise underwater and sort of clacks back and forth. 
I fish it in the same types of places where I fish a square-billed crankbait – around laydowns, logs and cover.
The Baby King Shad is a great bait for clear-water fishing, because of its variety of colors. It’s also a productive bait to fish in dirty water, since it has that wider wobble as it comes through the water. The amount of noise it makes is produced by the joint in the middle. Too, the amount of water the flat sides of this bait push creates a lot of vibration and disturbance that helps the bass hone-in on the lure in dirty water.
Question: Kevin, the first Baby King Shad I saw was in the Sexy Ghost Minnow color and had an almost-iridescent, yellow lateral line. From where did the idea of that bright-yellow lateral line come?
VanDam: We pulled the yellow lateral line on the Baby King Shad in the Sexy Ghost Minnow pattern from the original Sexy Shad color. 
The threadfin shad many regions throughout the country have a very-pronounced yellow lateral line. In some situations, that line is almost chartreuse. The Sexy Shad color has become the most-dominant color for fishing lures I’ve ever seen in my career as a tournament-bass fisherman. So, coming out with other versions of the Sexy Shad gives the fisherman more options to use this color, depending on varying water conditions. That’s the reason the Sexy Ghost Minnow color on the Baby King Shad gets your attention. And, the good news is we have that color in a wide variety of lures. I’ll tell you more about the Sexy Ghost Minnow color tomorrow.
