and turned it on its ear , shattering all preconceived notions that tournament bass fishing was just a bunch of country boys dragging worms and trying to get lucky . The “ Kid from Kalamazoo ” upended every convention in tournament fishing : First , he was from Michigan . Second , when he launched his full-time touring career , he was 24 years old . And third , he fished “ way too fast .”
the kid from kalamazoo
I first met Kevin in 1995 . Fishing as a co-angler , I drew him in a BASS Invitational event on the Potomac River . He had already claimed his first BASS Angler of the Year title by that time , so I had heard rumblings about his signature blitzkrieg style .
VanDam fished as through he had a Mercury-powered rocket attached to his boat . That approach changed the game of tournament bass fishing .
But when I stepped in his boat , I had no clue as to the rocket ride I was about to take to another fishing universe .
For starters , I had never met an angler in such a hurry . He did everything fast . His overall demeanor was high octane . As we ripped and roared up and down the Potomac , he never fished a place longer than 2 minutes . At the time , I wouldn ’ t even classify what he was doing as fishing . It looked more like he was trying to pelt isolated laydowns with a spinnerbait . After five or six casts , he would snatch up the trolling motor , zip his life jacket and rip off to the next stop . By the time I dug out my Texas-rigged lizard , made a cast , and drug it halfway to the boat , he would say , “ We gotta roll , let ’ s go .”
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER
After watching him barrage laydowns and dock pilings for 30 minutes , I finally suggested that we might need to , dare I say , slow down . To which he immediately replied , “ Dude , we don ’ t have time to wait for the fish to bite , we need to make them bite or move on . This isn ’ t a wormsoaking contest , you know .”
At that point , I remember thinking : Make them bite ? Who does this guy think he is ? God ’ s gift to bass fishing ?
Yes . I will fully admit it : I said that to myself about Kevin VanDam while fishing with him in his boat .
Yeah . I know . Not cool . Dear Lord , please forgive me .
That was , of course , before Kevin won his seven more Angler of the Year titles and four Bassmaster Classics . I had no idea .
As the day progressed on the Potomac , his intensity and frenetic pace only increased . He fished with such tenacity . He blitzed cover with his baits in a way I had never witnessed . It was frenzied and chaotic , yet accurate and precise at the same time . Whenever he crashed the cover just right with his spinnerbait , he was rewarded with yet another chunky , 3 1 / 2-pound largemouth .
At times , he would think out loud , verbalizing the method to his madness . I can still recall some valuable bits of gold I seined from his conversation that day .
Tournament fishing is a game of efficiency ; the goal is to make more presentations than the other competitors .
The more water you cover , the more information you gain .
The idea is to make the fish react to your bait – don ’ t give them time to think about it .
Fast lures like spinnerbaits and crankbaits both increase efficiency in covering water and provoke reaction bites .
At the time , it was an up-tempo , nohuddle offense unprecedented in bass fishing : a unique style that was all his own . No one had directly taught Kevin how to fish this way . I believe he inherently understood that bass have a disposition that can be triggered through reflex . He truly believed he could cover more water than anyone else — and yes , even make bass bite . He proved that with his third-place finish in that Potomac event .
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 21