Entry 362-4
Shut Up and Catch Bass – Kevin VanDam Learns that Silence Pays $100,000 on Kentucky Lake
Editor’s Note: Kevin VanDam is back. After winning the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, had had a mediocre year so far by some people’s standards. As one of the elite 200 on the BASS circuit, he surprises people when he doesn’t win tournaments. But on June 12, the “Ledge King” took home first-place prize and a $100,000 check after winning the 2010 Elite Series tournament at Kentucky Lake.
Part 4: Kevin VanDam Shut-Up and Caught More Bass with the Strike King Silent Stalker 6XD at Kentucky Lake
Question: Kevin, tell us about your second day of competition on Kentucky Lake.
VanDam: I was in an earlier flight the second day than I was on the first day. So, I went to the spot I wanted to fish on the first day, and no other competitor was there. The area proved to be as good as I’d hoped, except for one problem. I jumped-off two, 5-pound bass on my first two casts, which really wasn’t a good way to start the day. However, I caught a 5-pound largemouth there. Then, I left that region and started fishing the other locations I’d found. I began alternating between the Series 6XD and the Silent Stalker version of the Series 6XD, which is the same crankbait without any rattles.
Question: Why did you go to the Silent Stalker?
VanDam: I learned at Lake Guntersville in Alabama earlier in 2010 that when I found a school of bass and caught them fairly quickly, the bass would wise-up to the crankbait. Then I’d start losing the bass, or they barely would bite the bait. For some reason, the bass would become non-aggressive. But I learned that if I changed from the standard 6XD to the Silent Stalker 6XD, I could get the bass fired-up and start catching them again.
I’ve always started with the Series 6XD with rattles and then switched to the Silent Stalker 6XD when the bass stopped biting. I was able to start catching bass again using this technique at this tournament. I used this tactic from day 1 to the last day of the Kentucky Lake tournament, and I’m convinced that this strategy helped me win. I caught more of my big bass on the Silent Stalker 6XD than I did on the standard Series 6XD.
Question: What colors did you fish in the Series 6XD and the Silent Stalker 6XD?
VanDam: I alternated between the Sexy Shad, the Chartreuse Sexy Shad and the Sexy Blue Back Herring colors. The bass were targeting big gizzard shad in the lake. Some of the places where I caught bass, I could see shad skipping out of the water, or I’d catch a bass and see one of those shad’s tails hanging out of the bass’s mouth. Because I knew the bass was keying-in on gizzard shad, I chose those three colors.
Question: In what place were you at the end of the second day?
VanDam: I was in first place with a little over 24 pounds.
Contents:
- Part 1: How Kevin VanDam Found the Bass That Produced $100,000 at Kentucky Lake
- Part 2: VanDam Explains - Have More Than One Place to Bass Fish
- Part 3: Kevin VanDam's First Competition Day on Kentucky Lake - the Strike King 6 XD Makes the Difference
- Part 4: Kevin VanDam Shut-Up and Caught More Bass with the Strike King Silent Stalker 6XD at Kentucky Lake
- Part 5: Kevin VanDam's Last Two Days of the BASS Kentucky Lake Tournament
