Category: Kevin VanDam
How Often You Tie On Your Fave Bait?
In the course of doing the tres awesome daily BassBlaster e-newsletter – you have subscribed, yes?! – we ran across this quote from KVD: First of all, it’s wrong to have a favorite bait. You have to use what the conditions dictate. That being said, I have a lot of confidence in certain baits that [...]
Ike, KVD, Cranks, Colors
Gonna hit four things here. 1. You’ve probably heard the well-known saying in the fishing biz, that baits are made to “catch fishermen, not fish.” In other words, if it doesn’t catch your eye in the store, you’re not bringing it home, regardless of whether it catches ‘em or not. 2. Bearing that in mind, [...]
Didya Get Your KVD Fathead Yet?
Don’t get it, the Fathead thing. Definitely get wanting to have a sports hero or rock star or whatever on the wall, when you’re a kid and your own room is your own room. Definitely get the bigger is cooler-looking thing. Don’t get the $90+ price tag. For that amount of cash, I’ll take my [...]
BASS’s Fish Wif KVD Contest
Did you see this yet? Now THAT’S a contest to enter. Whoever wins should challenge KVD to a fish-off and put him in the back o’ the boat….
The MLF: Just Fun or Serious?
Read with interest a piece on Bassin’Fan the other day about Major League Fishing. Why with interest? Because it piqued (not peaked) my interest a bit. I mean, I’m a bassin’ cynic just like you. Seen it all, done a bunch of it, just give me time to fish and some good tourneys to read [...]
What If VanDam, Clunn Laughed At You…
…Just Before Takeoff?! What what that do for your confidence? Well, it happened to a guy named Tim Sainato, a Missoura stick and I believe Table Rock guide at least at one point (can someone check me on that). The whole, amazing story (took place in 2000 maybe?) is too long for here, but bear [...]
Mark Zona Is Not THAT Handsome
[This is our first guest post of the week, by Scotty ‘Bud’ Melvin, program director for 92.5 ZUU, Kalamazoo’s "Real Rock Station" – and it's proof that there really is something in the water in Michigan. Scotty, get your DJ to play 'Unchained' when I (Jay) school Z on the water this summer.] Some people [...]
And the Winnah of KVD’s Shoes Is…
…Flip ‘N’ Pitch! Come on down! Send your email addy to bubbas AT bassparade.com and we will email you the gifty certificate so you can look all kinds of snazzy in your boat. And stop embarrassing yo’self. Here’s Flip ‘N’ Pitch’s winning entry:
Last Chance to Win KVD’s Shoes
Okay ye shoeless masses, today’s the last day we’re going to post about winning KVD’s Irish Setter fishin’ shoes. And the big weener of this contest will be announced Tuesday, Aug. 9 so git yer deep thoughts in by then. Remember per the original post: How do you win? Tell us below in the comments [...]
Win KVD’s Shoes! (Sweat Not Included)
Does what KVD wears matter to his fishing? Of course it does. Don’t you think he wouldn’t fish near as good if he was strapped into bike shorts and a wife-beater T-shirt? (Was going to say a Speedo but found that image too disturbing….) Anyhow, on his feet KVD wears Irish Setter KVD Fishing Shoes [...]
KVD Teaches Noobs To Fish
Yep, here it is from MensHealth.com: Evening is dinnertime for bass—their sharp night vision gives them an advantage over other predatory fish. “Bass are particularly active for the first hour after sunset,” says Kevin Van Dam, four-time winner of the Bassmaster Classic.
Did You Read What KVD Said?
In its Wheeler patterns 2-5 article, BassFan asked KVD what his “performance edge” was. Now, normally this is a spot for pros to plug their sponsors, nothing wrong with that imo. KVD did that, but added some juicy deets. He said: The HydroWave was a big factor for me. I was able to trigger a [...]
One Reason KVD Fishes So Fast
Why does Kevin VanDam fish so fast? He doesn’t think he does, but he does. Dude is making a zillion casts while that little alien in his head makes real-time tweaks to presentation, bait and whatever other factors go into those calculations in alien-ville. Stumbled onto a spinnerbait article the other day, ran on bassmaster.com [...]
Do You Fish-Tank Your Baits? KVD Does
Happened upon this quote from the Strike King site, KVD talking about the difference between SK’s Ocho and Zero baits: Because the Perfect Plastic Ocho is loaded with salt, as it falls, those eight different sides cause the bait to shimmy and wiggle. If you take the 3X Zero and rig it and the Perfect [...]
3 KVD Stump Tips
Ever notice that KVD likes stumps? Everyone does, but he seems to talk about them a lot. Here are a few examples culled from various interwebz articles: 1. He Likes Stumps More Than Rocks… …and his reasoning is simple: Stumps are always better than rocks because their roots provide cover for bass and baitfish. Tough [...]
KVD Likes Red Flake for Clear Water: You?
At the St. Johns Elite earlier this spring, Kevin VanDam fished a Strike King Ocho (Senko-like) – or, to be more specific, a 7″ Ocho in watermelon/red/black. Here’s what he said about color: I’ve learned that anytime I’m fishing clear water, a lure with some red or red flake in it seems to always produce [...]
An Inverse View of the KVD Tour?
The following comment about Denny Brauer (left at the end of this post) prompted a thought: In my opinion, Denny hasn’t really done that well in the past 10 years, especially in the Elite Series Era. The game has changed so much; simply flipping isolated cover every tourney doesn’t cut it anymore. Have you ever [...]
Clunn, KVD, Roland Do It: Do You?
Saw an interesting post on the Strike King site the other day about a few things Kevin VanDam has learned from the pros. Kind of cool to read – funny to picture KVD sitting in the audience at a bass fishing seminar…. Anyhow, here’s what he said about what he learned from Rick Clunn:
Why Doesn’t This Apply to KVD?
Was reading a Yamaha fishing tip from Ish Monroe recently in which he talks about fishing buzzbaits vs. frogs in early spring. Here’s the part that got me thinking: Ish: “Very often during a four-day tournament, the fish don’t bite as aggressively on the third and fourth days because they’ve already seen a lot of [...]
Science: The Role of Random Chance or “Luck” in Fishing
>All the right technique specific gear – check. >In depth knowledge of seasonal patterns – check. >Lots and lots of time on the water – check. So what’s going to be the outcome of your next bassin’ trip? What if your success, or failure, is all just an outcome of random chance? What about KVD’s [...]
KVD Digital Photo Frame: Bad Idea?
Kevin VanDam and Michael Waddell of “The Bone Collector” fame recently endorsed the new Kodak Pulse digital photo frame. The hook is that you can send photos from your device to your friend’s frame. So what’s the problem?
Who Should Be No. 1 In the World
I’ve gotten some emails asking me my opinion of the Top 3 slots in the BassFan World Rankings – namely whether KVD should be ranked No. 1 in the world. Not an easy question to answer because: > I (and a couple math whizzes) created and revised the BassFan World Rankings – which is why [...]
KVD Reveals Secret ‘Get Mad At ‘Em’ Bait
How many times have you heard Kevin VanDam say that he went out and “got made at ‘em” when he’s won a tournament? A bunch. I’ve been after him for years about what exactly that means. Is it an attitude? A bait? A change of strategy? What? Never, not once, did he give me anything [...]
Science: The Power of the Pause
Seems like the bass world is in power bait mentality at the moment. Thanks to KVD and Rick Clunn, square bills are all the rage – tackle box must haves. Slam them through cover, or ricochet them off laydowns. It’s also about time for Rat-L-Traps and RedEye Shads to make their appearance again, too. Rip [...]
KVD’s $434K/yr vs Other Sports
Checked out an article about KVD by Eric Sharp at the Detroit Free Press. Eric’s a good writer, yada yada yada and then this line stood out: “He has more than $5 million in tournament winnings in 23 years and probably has matched that in sponsorship deals.” That’s not from the horse’s mouth or scientific, [...]
