John's Journal...

Kevin VanDam Breaks the $3 Million All-Time Career Winnings Mark at the 2008 Kentucky Lake Elite Event

The Second Day of the Tournament

Click to enlargeEditor’s Note: Kevin VanDam won the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Event at Kentucky Lake, taking home a payday of $100,000 plus. He also moved past the $3 million mark in all-time career winnings on the BASS circuit. The week before this win in mid-June, he finished second-place at Wheeler Lake in Alabama. Apparently, that second-place finish fired him up and gave him the secret tactics and weapons he needed to win at Kentucky Lake.

Question: What did you do on the second morning of the tournament?
VanDam: I ran to the spot where I’d caught my largest bass and caught a 3-pound bass and 3-1/2-pound bass. Also, I lost a nice fish using the crankbait.

Then, I traveled to the second spot that I’d fished the day before, and that spot had numbers of small fish. I caught 5- and 4-pound bass on consecutive castClick to enlarges. I finished out my limit with the Strike King Football Head jig and had an over 20-pound stringer. I didn’t travel to any other places but practice-fished the remainder of the afternoon. I went to the weigh-in an hour early to insure that none of my bass died. I fished all the same spots on Day 2 that I’d fished on Day 1. The bass were still there, and so were the spectators. On Day 2, I used the Football Head jig, the Series 6 crankbait in sexy shad and chartreuse-shad colors and the Sexy Spoon to catch all my fish for that day. I wasn’t catching many bass using the Sexy Spoon, but my three-largest bass were caught using the Sexy Spoon during this tournament. Remember, Sexy Spoon is big-bass bait.

Question: On what pound-test line were you fishing the Sexy Spoon?
VanDam: Twenty-pound-test fluorocarbon line.Click to enlarge

Question: How deep is the water where you fished the Sexy Spoon?
VanDam: The depths ranged from 10 feet on top of the ledge to 20 feet off the side. I used the Sexy Spoon to fish from 10 feet of water to 20 feet because many of the bass were suspending off the bottom. There was very-little water flow and almost no current, so the bass weren’t holding tight on the bottom. This reason is why Sexy Spoon was such a good choice. The bass would take the spoon after it wasjumped off the bottom and as it fell back to the bottom.

Question: How high were you jumping the Sexy Spoon off the bottom?
VanDam: I used a 7-foot, 4-inch rod and snapped it up very high. The spoon was coming 6 to 7 feet off the bottom. Each time the Sexy Spoon stopped its climb and began to fall, the bass would bite.Click to enlarge

Question: Why aren’t the treble hooks getting hung-up on the Sexy Spoon?
VanDam: The way the Sexy Spoon flutters, the hooks just don’t hang-up.

Question: How many pounds did you weigh-in on Day 2?
VanDam: Nearly 22 pounds and I was still in first place.

Question: Kevin, at the end of the second day, did you think you’d be able to return to the same sites to catch bass?
VanDam: I realized these spots where I caught fish the first and second days wouldn’t hold up. I didn’t even visit these places on the third day because there were three local tournaments on the lake the third day. I knew that since so many people had seen me fish in those areas, they’d be covered-up. I decided to stay away from these spots on the third day of the tournament.

Tomorrow: The Third Day of the Tournament


Check back each day this week for more about "Kevin VanDam Breaks the $3 Million All-Time Career Winnings Mark at the 2008 Kentucky Lake Elite Event"

Day 1: Practicing for the Tournament
Day 2: The First Day of the Tournament
Day 3: The Second Day of the Tournament
Day 4: The Third Day of the Tournament
Day 5: The Final Day of the Tournament

 

Entry 462, Day 3