Entry 365-4
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 4: Kevin VanDam Explains Why There Are So-Many Colors of the Red Eye Shad
Question: Kevin, I know you really like the Strike King 6XD crankbait. Another lure you’ve had a lot of success with is the Red Eye Shad in the Sexy Shad color. It’s the lure you won the 2010 Bassmaster Classic on, and the lure you’ve caught bass with this season. What makes that lure so special, and why has it become one of your go-to lures?
VanDam: The Strike King Red Eye Shad is the best lipless crankbait on the market today. It’s designed unlike any other lipless crankbait in the industry. When you stop the bait or rip it out fast and let it fall, it shimmies (swims) as it falls. The lure is so deadly that Strike King now offers it in three sizes – a 1/4-, a 1/2- and a 3/4-ounce size to give fishermen more depth coverage with a highly-productive lure. The Red Eye Shad is a tremendous bass-catching lure, regardless of whether you’re fishing it in the early spring on the traditional lipless crankbait bite, like at Toledo Bend or Guntersville Lake, casting it into the grass or fishing it in the middle of the summer, like at Fort Gibson Lake, or fishing it on gravel and rock points.
Question: Chartreuse has been the new color for the Red Eye Shad this year. But unlike many chartreuse lures that scream at you, the chartreuse on the Red Eye Shad is more subdued. Why did you choose that shade of chartreuse?
VanDam: Crankbaits need to have a color pattern that matches the shade of the water, so that the lure looks more natural. 
If the water’s highly stained, you want to use a highly-visible crankbait. That’s the reason there are so-many color variations of Sexy Shad. Strike King has lures from a clear Sexy Shad you can fish in clear water to chrome-and-gold Sexy Shad and all the colors in-between. We’ve also got Sexy Shad colors to match the different types of shad, like gizzard shad or threadfin and blue herring. So, I pick the color of Red Eye Shad I’ll be fishing on any day based on how that color matches the color of the water.
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
