Entry 365-2
Expected to Win at Bass Fishing with Kevin VanDam
Editor’s Note: Very-few fishermen have reached the heights in competitive fishing that Strike King’s own Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has. Rarely is as much expected of a tournament fisherman as there is of VanDam. We wondered what living in this bubble was like and talked recently with VanDam.
Part 2: Kevin VanDam and His Two-Horse Race on the Bassmaster Elite Circuit
Question: Kevin, for the last couple of years, you and Skeet Reese of Auburn, California, have been pretty much in a two-horse race on the Bass Circuit. Most of the competition at the top of the pack has been between you and Skeet. I know you and Skeet are good friends, but what’s it like going head to head and competing with Skeet like you did last year to win Angler of the Year and like you’ll have to do in this year’s Angler-of-the-Year race?
VanDam: Skeet and I have a really-friendly rivalry. We definitely push each other to be the best we can be, or at least that’s the way I feel our relationship works. You have to remember that Skeet has had an incredible winning streak in 2010. He’s finished in the top six a number of times, but he’s also had two tournaments where he didn’t make the cut. 
In tournament bass fishing, bass don’t really care who you are, or how you’re supposed to perform. The bass continue to prove that there’s no such thing as a perfect professional fisherman.
Skeet’s had a great run this year, and I’m looking forward to competing in the post-season tournament this year with him. He’s really raised his game this season, and he’s pushing me to raise my game. To have a chance to beat Skeet for the Bassmaster Angler-of-the-Year title this year, I have to win at least one of the two end-of-year tournaments and finish really high in the other. My goal for those two post-season tournaments, which will determine who will be Angler of the Year, is to win both. From the very-first day and the very-first tournament, my goal has been to win Angler of the Year. Angler-of-the-Year finals will be on Lake Jordan and the Alabama River in Alabama – the same two locations as last July.
Question: So, you and Skeet will go head-to-head this year like you did last year?
VanDam: Yes.
Question: Are you looking forward to those two tournaments?
VanDam: Yes. I like that Alabama river system because those waters fit my style really well, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in them. I learned a few things on these lakes last year that will help me this year. Even if the fishing conditions are different this year than they were last year, both these lakes are good fisheries and home a number of bass.
Contents:
- Part 1: Kevin VanDam Only Worries About the Things He Can Control
- Part 2: Kevin VanDam and His Two-Horse Race on the Bassmaster Elite Circuit
- Part 3: Kevin VanDam's Success with the Strike King 6XD Crankbait
- Part 4: Kevin VanDam Explains Why There Are So-Many Colors of the Red Eye Shad
- Part 5: Kevin VanDam Looks into His Crystal Ball at Strike King's Future
