Entry 363-3
Up and Running Again at BASS Tournaments with Kevin VanDam
Editor’s Note: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, left the BASS Elite Series tournament at Kentucky Lake on June 12 as a winner. As soon as the tournament ended on Sunday, he headed for Oklahoma to fish another BASS Elite Series tournament at the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Oklahoma, held June 17-20. VanDam finished with a fifth-place tie in this tournament that was moved to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, winning $13,000.
Part 3: Kevin VanDam Continues to Mix-Up His Bass Fishing on Fort Gibson Lake
Question: Kevin, what did you do on day 2 of the tournament?
VanDam: I used the same strategy as the day before. I began in the same place, and it didn’t take long to catch another pretty-good limit of bass. Then, I started running and fishing some of the spots I’d fished on the first day where I’d caught bass big enough to cull. Three or 4 hours into the tournament, I had a pretty-good limit of bass, so I started practicing again, running new water and looking for more bass. I had about 17 pounds, and I was trying to expand my area and find more places to fish.
The lake’s about 20,000 acres, and I’d motored all over the lake the first practice day. 
As I began to learn on what pattern the bass were and the baits they’d take, I went back around the lake to search for more areas similar to the sites where I’d caught bass. I kept driving around that second day and fishing new spots to hopefully give myself several more places to fish as the tournament continued.
Question: Did you still mix-up your baits?
VanDam: Yes. My pattern was to throw the crankbait first until I caught a bass. I fished the more-shallow points on the main lake with a Red Eye Shad, and I fished the Series 5 crankbait on the deeper points. I caught my bass every day on a mix of the Red Eye Shad, the Series 5, the Football Jig and the 10-inch Rage Thumper Worm.
Question: Did you catch many bass on the Strike King Football Jig and the Rage Thumper Worm?
VanDam: I caught a few but not many. I caught most of my bass on the crankbaits. But I caught my biggest bass on the worm and the jig.
Question: In what place were you at the end of the second tournament day?
VanDam: I don’t remember, but I was in the top 10.
Contents:
- Part 1: Change of Bass-Fishing Plans to Oklahoma's Fort Gibson Lake with Kevin VanDam
- Part 2: Practicing on the First Day of the Fort Gibson Lake Bass-Fishing Tournament with Kevin VanDam
- Part 3: Kevin VanDam Continues to Mix-Up His Bass Fishing on Fort Gibson Lake
- Part 4: Day 3 of the Fort Gibson Lake BASS Tournament with Kevin VanDam
- Part 5: Kevin VanDam's Final Day of the Fort Gibson Lake Bass-Fishing Tournament
