According to Mark Zona – Kevin VanDam's best friend and co-host of the Bassmasters – VanDam knew as early as last fall what he'd be doing in this Bassmaster Classic. If the water temperature and everything else was right, VanDam told Zona, he could fish just like he did here in 2007.
Turns out, Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala. did set up perfectly for what has quickly become one of VanDam's signature techniques – rattlebaiting with a Strike King RedEye Shad.
A rattlebait wasn't working everywhere in the lake. In fact, the only creek that ultimately played a major role in the 2010 Classic was Beeswax Creek. That's where VanDam fished in 2007, when he led going into the final day of the Classic but lost to Boyd Duckett and a big flipping bite. During practice this year, VanDam knew he could win the tournament in Beeswax, but a lot of other pros had their eyes on the area too.
In fact, each of the final Top 5 in this year's Lay Classic fished Beeswax, often in sight of one another. But VanDam had the best area, and combined with his uncanny ability to coax strikes from pressured bass, the area produced two 19-pound-plus bags across the 3 days of competition and he won by a 5-pound margin.
Here's a look at what he said about his winning pattern during the post-Classic press conference. First though, a few notes about conditions.
Conditions
The Birmingham, Ala. area suffered in the weeks prior to the Classic under one of the coldest winters in memory. Some backwaters of Lay actually had ice, and during the first day of official practice (Friday), the field fished in a relative snowstorm.
Although clearer skies moved in, temperatures remained extremely cold with nighttime temperatures at or below freezing.
Water temperatures across the lake hovered in the low-40s and there was a massive shad kill. Also, the Coosa Chain as a whole received a lot of precipitation and muddy water drained into Lay from upper lakes like Logan Martin.
That created a triple-whammy – frigid water, muddy water, and fish stuffed with dying shad. It was some of the most difficult conditions the field had ever faced and much of Lay Lake fished like a dead sea throughout the Classic. Denny Brauer didn't catch a fish either day. Skeet Reese zeroed on day 2 of competition. It was just that tough.
VanDam says he searched every pocket on the lake, but his specific area in Beeswax was the only place that had all the right elements.
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 19-08
> Day 2: 5, 12-07
> Day 3: 5, 19-07
> Total = 15, 51-06
VanDam was the first boat out on day 1, by virtue of his 2009 Angler of the Year title. He made a quick left-hand turn at blastoff, motored about 100 yards under a bridge further into Beeswax Creek, put down his trolling motor and started fishing.
He estimated that he culled through 13- and 15-pound limits on day 1 to reach his 19 1/2-pound total and he led Todd Faircloth by a pound and a half.
Day 2 offered totally clear skies, slick-calm conditions and much more difficult fishing. Although the daytime highs started to reach into the 60s, the night before was still extremely cold. VanDam weighed 12-07 and slipped to 2nd – 2 ounces behind new leader Jeff Kriet.
VanDam, Kriet and Faircloth were all fishing near each other in Beeswax.
Day 3 delivered the warmest temperatures the area had seen in weeks – daytime highs pushing 65 – and the previous night's lows weren't as drastic. Plus, the warming trend eventually delivered some cloud cover and surface ripple, which helped VanDam's bite.
Kriet and Faircloth couldn't make it happen – neither weighed more than 15 pounds – but VanDam stuck another 19 1/2-pound sack.
Winning Pattern Notes
When VanDam nearly won the 2007 Classic in Beeswax, he saw that the creek had "a little bit of everything" in a certain area – two feeder creeks coming in (both with a channel), some stumps, coontail grass, slime, "shell-bed depressions along the edges of the channel, and flats with lots of little depressions," he said.
In general, a lot of good habitat.
VanDam says Strike King's RedEye Shad was the main reason he won – it shimmies when it falls, and that's one thing the bass can't stand.
And on the coldest day of practice in 2007, he had "an unbelievable day there" and saw a 30-pound limit.
"In that (2007) tournament it got warm and those fish spread out," he noted. "I caught some there, but caught most of my fish in that tournament in the area where Todd and Jeff were fishing (this year) out in front. Todd was sitting on my No. 1 spot I had in that (2007 Classic). I caught those fish with a RedEye Shad then.
"A lipless bait is great in cold water. The water (this year) was in the low-40s to start, but (on day 3) it got to about 50 in there – a benefit of the grass in the area. There's lots of gizzard shad in there, but the shad kill wasn't as bad in Beeswax as it was everywhere else. So the fish were a little more active, and each day that it warmed, more fish wanted to move back. The creek has a lot of fish in it. It's the only major creek that has real good grass, and trust me, I searched the back of every break and pocket. There's only two other creeks with coontail, and I'm sure there's fish in those places too."
About bait choice, he said: "The key is to rip the bait out of the rocks and stumps – when it hits something, let that bait flutter down. The RedEye Shad – what it does is what no other bait on the market that I've seen (does), and it was designed that way. It has a shimmy to it. When it drops in the water, it's perfectly balanced and it shimmies as it falls to bottom. That's the one thing (the bass) can't stand.
"I got 99% of my bites after it hit something, then I'd rip the bait and let it flutter down. I've won a lot of money with that bait. I have a ton of confidence in it. It's a great coldwater bait. It's the main reason for the win that I had here, without a doubt."
Another key part of his pattern was individual cover elements like submerged stumps, which he found with his Humminbird Side-Imaging, he said.
"It's easy to go back in a creek and (look around), but what I was looking for was stuff you can't see with your eyes. You have to find it with electronics. A lot of spots in the area were very precise – a single stump that I'd have GPS'd. There were a lot of stumps in there and I caught a lot of fish off two or three of them. There were certain stumps and a couple of shell-bars as big as a table. I'd just let them rest for 25 or 30 minutes, pull back in and get a bite."
Also key, VanDam says, were the new Mustad KVD Elite Triple Grip trebles – they allow him to use larger hooks without fouling on the retrieve.
Winning Gear Notes
> RedEye Shad gear: 7' medium-action Quantum Tour KVD cranking rod, Quantum Tour KVD casting reel (5:1), 17- and 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Strike King RedEye Shad (gold and gold/sexy-shad).
> He said he fished the heavier line to help float the bait in shallow water.
> About color, he said gold was important to help match the gizzard shad in the area. "Gizzard shad in dirtier water have a gold sheen," he noted. Red didn't seem to work as well for him.
> He switched out the stock hooks for No. 2 Mustad KVD Elite Triple Grip trebles. "Treble-hook lures are known for losing bass. I'd been working for years to try to figure out ways to increase the number of bass I land with crankbaits of all sizes. I finally got Mustad to build the hook I wanted. It's extra short, so you can fit large hooks on a smaller bait without tangling. I used two No. 2s on the RedEye and two 4-pounders that I caught in the back – I landed them."
Notable
> The BassFan store is currently having a sale on RedEye Shads. Click here to check it out.
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
