Kevin VanDam's 11th B.A.S.S. Tournament Victory
The Final Day
 Editor’s
Note: On the last weekend in April, 2007, even with
one day cancelled due to bad weather at the B.A.S.S.
Elite Series Tournament at Lake Guntersville in Alabama,
Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, pulled off a win,
earning $100,000. This year’s win was VanDam’s
11th B.A.S.S. Tournament victory and his 67th, top-10
career finish. This week, we’ll look at how VanDam
found and caught the bass, lost the fish and relocated
them to win the tournament. You’ll see the strategy
that’s required to win a big-league bass tournament,
and how to apply techniques to win like a pro.
Question: What were your thoughts on the final day
of the tournament? Did you think you had a chance to
win?
VanDam: The forecast called for high, bright skies with
no wind, which weren’t good conditions for spinner
bait fishing. I knew the shad were spawning and that
I should be able to catch bass early in the day before
the sun was very high in the sky. I first went to the
 same
area where I’d caught bass on the second day.
When I arrived at the second spot I’d gone to
the day before, I caught a couple of fish. I barely
hooked a couple of good-sized bass. These bass didn’t
take the bait very well, so I didn’t catch them.
I said to myself, “Kevin, this isn’t good.
The sun’s getting high and you’re about
to lose your opportunity to entice an aggressive bite
on your spinner bait.” Although the bass were
biting, I left that area and went to my back-up crankbait
spot. Regardless of how good the fisherman is and how
good the bass are biting, if the bass won’t take
the baits deep enough into their mouths for the angler
to get a good hook set, it’s time to change water
and find another more-aggressive school. This often
is a tough call to make, but I knew I had to move, if
I wanted to win. When I arrived at the crankbait site,
I caught one 5-pound bass on the first cast, two 3 pounders
on my second and third casts, and a 15-inch keeper-sized
bass. With one fish left to catch to meet my limit,
I decided to leave that spot and return to the place
where I’d missed so many bass in the morning.
I also decided to fish a little deeper and slower. 
I placed a 1/2-ounce Strike King spinner bait on my
line instead of a 3/4-ounce spinner bait, and I caught
bass immediately. When I put the first keeper-sized
bass in my box, I knew I’d caught my limit. I
decided to slow-down my fishing and work the water methodically.
Once I slowed down, I landed another 5 pounder and a
4 pounder. I was able to cull two fish of my limit.
At 9:30 am, I knew I had more than 20 pounds of bass.
Because I had a quality stringer of bass early, I was
confident that I could fish methodically with a crankbait
for the rest of the day.
The Strike King Series 5 crankbait worked very-well
for me. The bass weren’t biting very-aggressively,
but once I lowered the Series 5 into the grass and ripped
it out of the grass, the bass smoked it. I caught a
7 pounder and another 5 pounder. By 10:30 am, I had
25.5 pounds of bass in my live well, and I knew that
weight would be hard to beat. I caught a lot of bass
on the final day, alternating between the Strike King
spinner  bait
and the Series 5 crankbait. I let both baits fall down
to the grass and swim through the grass. Then I’d
rip them free when they got hung in the grass. When
I ripped the baits free, the bass attacked.
Question: Kevin, how far from first place were you
at the beginning of the last day?
VanDam: I was less than 2 pounds behind the leader,
and I knew I’d be hard to beat with 25 pounds
in my boat.
Question: What were your thoughts as you moved through
the weigh-in line?
VanDam: I was in fourth place at the beginning of the
last day, and I had a pretty good idea that I was in
a good position to win.
Question: How much money did you win at this tournament,
Kevin?
VanDam: I won $100,000.
Tomorrow: More with Kevin VanDam
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