Kevin VanDam on 12 Months of Successful Bass Fishing
Day 1: Kevin VanDam Suggests You Prepare and Fish Your Strengths in Bass Fishing
Editor’s Note: Bass-fishing pro Kevin VanDam tells us the five things that have made him so successful in tournament bass fishing, especially during the 12 months of 2010 and 2011 in which he won the Bassmasters Classic Championship and the Angler-of-the-Year title on the BASS circuit. No matter which year you bass fish, these tips will help you be more successful.
Kevin VanDam said he thought the number-one reason he believed he was so successful in 2010 and 2011 was that, “I believe a lot of my success is due to my attention to detail, especially in my preparation before I fish. I’m very meticulous about my tackle. I want to make sure I have new line on my reels, and that all my lures have sharp hooks. When I know that my tackle is the very best it can be and am assured that I can find any lure of any size or any color when I need it, then that fact gives me a lot of confidence. My preparation works for me, because I know how to prepare for me. I don’t fish like Rick Clunn, Denny Brauer, Skeet Reese, Gerald Swindle or Greg Hackney. So, I prepare the tackle that I believe I’ll be using in a tournament that will allow me to fish to my strengths each day. I prepare my tackle and my lures specifically to fit my style of fishing that I believe in the most.
“Then I try to find bass that I can catch, using the types of lures that I feel the most comfortable with on that day, on that lake. If you watch all the top professional fishermen on the circuit, you’ll notice that they all prepare their lures and tackle to fish to their strengths. For instance, Denny Brauer can catch fish any way that he has to, however, I’m sure in his preparation, he spends the most time getting his flipping and pitching lures in his tackle ready to go, because those styles of fishing are his strengths. There’s never just one pattern or one way to catch bass in any tournament. If you go to a tournament and listen to how the anglers are catching bass, each leader more than likely has used a different tactic to catch his bass. Therefore, in tackle preparation, readying and using the lures you have the most confidence to fish what you’ve determined are the strengths you have in bass fishing are critically important to your success. I try to make the technique that I have the most confidence in produce bass on any lake I’m fishing, but it doesn’t always work out that way. But I’ve pretty much been able to do that.” To learn more about Kevin VanDam and his fishing, go to www.kevinvandam.com.
Bonus Video: Kevin VanDam’s tips to catching more bass:
To learn more about how to catch bass successfully, click here, or visit www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, and type-in the name of John E. Phillips’ book, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro” that’s now available from Kindle books and contains information on all aspects of bass fishing across the country from top pros like Denny Brauer, Mark Davis, Mark Rose and others.
To learn more about how to catch bass successfully,