PHOTO BY JODY WHITE
Defending TITLE champion Jimmy Washam took home $ 205,000 by winning the 2021 event and the equally important champ ’ s belt .
“ It ’ s something we dream about every night during the season .”
one of the most unique waterways in bass fishing . Over four days , anglers from two separate groups will compete for berths in the final day ’ s Championship Round . With weights zeroed on the final day , the final 10 pros will go to work fishing for a belt with the power to launch careers and claim a prominent place in bass fishing record books .
To make their mark on history , they ’ ll need to navigate deep and shallow grass , current seams , sand flats and boulders . They ’ ll have to decide whether to focus on the river ’ s legacy largemouth or double down on the goby-gourged bronzebacks that have turned this river into a place of myth . And they ’ ll need to do so under the admits . “ I think that kept me from unlocking the door , because there ’ s a difference between a Tennessee River smallmouth that feeds on gizzard shad and smallmouth up north that don ’ t . There may be some traits that a smallmouth will carry from Alabama to Canada , but there are definitely many traits that don ’ t equate .”
VanDam also believes the playing field at the TITLE should be relatively even – the great equalizer being tournament experience .
“ So many of the guys have been there so many times now that I wouldn ’ t say the northern guys have an edge in calm conditions ,” VanDam says . “ Where that comes into play could be big water experience or if conditions get rough , but really , everyone is so versatile now that it ’ s hard to say so-and-so ’ s got an advantage because of where they ’ re from .”
One of Bass Fishing ’ s Grandest Prizes
Name any trophy in bass fishing and you will almost certainly find it in Kevin VanDam ’ s trophy case . For more than 30 years , he ’ s fished on and won at the sport ’ s highest levels from B . A . S . S .
PHOTO BY JOEL SHANGLE to FLW to MLF . However , you won ’ t find the championship belt awarded to the winning TITLE angler – like the one Washam was awarded last year .
“ It ’ s something we dream about every night during the season ,” Washam , the defending TITLE champ adds . “ For me , winning the TITLE was the kickstart I needed to become a fulltime professional angler and open doors for the future . Beyond that , the history of the TITLE goes through some of the greatest names in the history of our sport . There are still prominent names in fishing that are really hungry for the TITLE championship , because it ’ s one of the biggest deals in bass fishing .”
This year , that championship will play out in front of the backdrop that is
Kevin VanDam knows that big bronzebacks are the key to winning tournaments on the St . Lawrence .
shadow of bass fishing legends that have all written their own stories on the St . Lawrence before .
For VanDam , the St . Lawrence River is still a sacred place . Ask him about the site of his first tournament and he rattles off a laundry list of islands , flats and junctions with moving water found between 1987 and today . Ask him how he feels about the St . Lawrence , and he might wax poetic for a bit .
“ When you have that much water dumping into the ocean , it becomes an estuary of life ,” he says . “ Like Venice , Louisiana , the St . Lawrence River is a special , special place with incredible scenery . It ’ s a great place to showcase the talents of the guys in this field .”
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 37