Entry 363-1

Up and Running Again at BASS Tournaments with Kevin VanDam

Part 5: Kevin VanDam’s Final Day of the Fort Gibson Lake Bass-Fishing Tournament

Question: Kevin, what was on your mind going into the final day?

VanDam: I needed to have a big day and catch a number of bass to overtake Tommy Biffle. I knew would have to run all the spots I had and hope there were big bass holding on them. So, I decided to make a milk run on the areas I felt had the better-quality bass. The lake started to rise a little, and fishing was getting tougher. We had wind on all the other competition days, which moved the bass into more-shallow water and made the bass easier to catch.

On the last day, we didn’t have any wind and not much current. For me, that last day was the toughest day of the tournament. Although I caught quite a few bass, I never caught any of those 5 pounders you really need to catch to improve your stringer and have a chance to win. That last day, I only caught 14 pounds, 11 ounces, and I tied for fifth in the tournament.

Question: How much did you make from that tournament?

VanDam: I don’t really know. I was busy signing autographs and talking to the fans.

Question: What was different about this tournament?

VanDam: The biggest factor that made this tournament different from others is we only had one day of practice. We had to break-down the lake really fast. However, I’ve developed that skill pretty well, so it was an advantage for me not to have all those days to practice. I really had to focus on the current conditions on each day, where the bass would be holding, how the conditions would change, how I needed to adapt my style of fishing to those changing conditions, and when I needed to change lures and locations.

Regardless of what you’ve learned about a lake in practice or in past tournaments, you have to be able to fish in the moment and be able to analyze weather and water conditions, water color and where the bass should be on their seasonal migration patterns. Then as the day progresses, you need to try to be conscious of little changes that take place during the day.

On the last day, I noticed the current wasn’t running as hard, and the wind wasn’t blowing as much. So, I thought the bass would be harder to catch and might be holding in deep water. I had a good practice on the Arkansas River and was disappointed when we had to change locations. But based on the conditions of the Arkansas River, the BASS management team didn’t have any choice. To keep everybody safe, they needed to change locations. That change really helped me.

Editor’s Note: Many asked at the first of the season, “What happened to Kevin?” He’s one of the few fishermen many bass fans expect to win every tournament. But VanDam hasn’t changed. He had one poor tournament and a couple of mediocre tournaments and then climbed back on top and won the Kentucky Lake tournament and tied for fifth in the Fort Gibson Lake tournament. VanDam has moved up to the top 10 in the race for Angler of the Year, and he’ll go to the finals for that title on the Alabama River in July in another head-to-head competition with Skeet Reese.

VanDam consistently has proven that he has the ability to come from behind and win any race. Many have said that VanDam’s a machine. He can make more casts in a day than most fishermen. VanDam also is a machine with a computer. He’s able to analyze the water, the weather, the fishing condition and the spectator pressure and still perform at the top of this game.

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