KVD PAST | PRESENT | FUTURE
FUTURE
Q: Looking ahead, where do you see
the greatest opportunities in the sport?
KVD: For aspiring pros, I think the
opportunities are as good as ever. It’s
extremely competitive out there, but it’s
always been tough. The cost to compete
is high, but that’s always been
true, too.
The greatest opportunities for a
young pro are probably through social
media. When I was starting out, tournaments
were really the only platform to
get noticed. If you won, you could get
covered in a magazine, newspaper, TV
show or radio program. Today, you
don’t have to wait for the media to
come to you. You can create your own
content.
When B.A.S.S. was purchased by
ESPN in the early 2000s, it put the
sport in the mainstream media. The
platforms have grown and changed
over time, and anglers now have more
control than ever.
Q: What advice do you have for a
young tournament pro?
KVD: You’d better be willing to put the
work in. It’s an incredibly demanding
career choice. You absolutely must
have the support of your family. Early
on, I benefited tremendously from the
support of my dad and the rest of my
family. He traveled with me to some
events and even practiced with me
some. Although my parents never paid
an entry fee for me, my dad would often
pick up the dinner bill on the road, and I
was able to borrow the family boat. All
that was big at the time. After we got
married, Sherry took on a lot of the dayto-day
business responsibilities so I
could focus on competition.
The other thing I’d tell someone just
getting started is that you’d better have
a real appreciation for the fans because
they make our careers possible.
Without them, there is no professional
bass fishing.
Q: What are you most optimistic about
moving forward?
KVD: I’m excited about the level of
overall interest and involvement in the
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
sport of bass fishing today. One of the
great things about our sport is that you
can enjoy it so many ways and in so
many places. High school and college
programs, the growth of kayak bass
fishing, and the level of investment I see
in the sport have me very optimistic.
Q: What are you most concerned
about?
KVD: The fact that we’re not building
many new reservoirs since the 1960s or
’70s means that we have to take great
care not only in managing what we
have but in ensuring that we continue
to have access to those waters. Asian
carp and some other invasive species
pose a real threat to fishing and to
enjoying our lakes and rivers.
I really believe that bass fishing
today is better than it’s ever been, and
that anglers are the best stewards of
our resources. We all have a responsibility
to make sure that we protect
those resources and that we choose
leaders who will help us do that.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the
next 10 years?
KVD: I’m not 100 percent sure, but I
know I love to fish. Even when I’m not
competing, I still want to fish. I’d like to
find a way to communicate with other
anglers and to teach fishing. I’m proud of
the videos I’ve made through the years
and the information I’ve shared. When
my competitive fishing career is over, I’ll
still find a way to have fun with fishing.
As for my tournament career, I still
love the camaraderie and going to new
lakes, but the schedule can be really
demanding, and it’s caused me to miss
some important things in the lives of
my family. It seems like every ICAST
falls on Sherry’s birthday, and for many
years we had to celebrate our boys’
(Jackson and Nicholas) birthday at the
Bassmaster Classic.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a
silver lining for us in that we’ve been able
to spend a lot of time together as a family.
That’s been nice, and it makes me think
about what retirement might be like. n
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020