KVD Out Front With 29-05; Clunn A Distant 2nd

By BassFan Staff

Kevin VanDam is in a position that was formerly quite familiar to him after day 1 of the Toledo Bend Reservoir Bassmaster Elite Series. Now the six-time Elite Series winner, seven-time Angler of the Year (AOY) and four-time Classic champion will try to stay there.

He's had quite a few superb day 1s since his most recent victory at the 2011 Classic, but they were followed on several occasions by a miserable day 2. A glaring example occurred in the previous event at Wheeler Lake, where he was in 5th place after the opening round but caught just two fish for 3-08 the second day and plummeted to 67th.

He's got some margin for error this time as his 29-05 stringer was best in the field by more than 4 1/2 pounds. His closest pursuer is 69-year-old fellow legend Rick Clunn, the winner of the season's first event at Florida's St. Johns River, who sacked 24-10.

Hank Cherry was just 3 ounces farther back after weighing a 24-07 bag. Chris Lane was 4th with 23-14 and reigning Classic kingpin Edwin Evers completed the Top 5 with 22-11.

Here's a look at the initial Top 12, with deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Kevin VanDam: 29-05
2. Rick Clunn: 24-10 (4-11)
3. Hank Cherry: 24-07 (4-14)
4. Chris Lane: 23-14 (5-07)
5. Edwin Evers: 22-11 (6-11)
6. Jacob Powroznik: 22-09 (6-13)
7. Chad Morgenthaler: 21-14 (7-07)
8. (tie) Keith Combs: 21-03 (8-02)
8. (tie) Clent Davis: 21-03 (8-02)
10. Stephen Browning: 20-10 (8-11)
11. Brent Ehrler: 20-02 (9-03)
12. Jason Christie: 20-00 (9-05)

The brutal wind that had plagued the 3-day practice period finally laid down, which was of great benefit to anglers fishing offshore. There was a strong shallow bite to be had as well, however (Cherry and Lane, for instance, spent the vast majority of their day in skinny water), even though the calm conditions likely hindered that action.

There could be a major shake-up in the AOY standings at the conclusion of the event, as none of the current Top 4 in the race sits higher than 50th place in this derby. Points eader Greg Hackney, who sacked 14-11, is tied for that position. Second-place Takahiro Omori, the winner at Wheeler, came in with three fish for 8-04 and is in 86th.

Randall Tharp (3rd in the points) is 62nd with 13-09 and Chris Zaldain (4th) is tied for 75th with 12-06.

Friday is expected to be another relatively calm day along the Texas-Louisiana border as the WeatherChannel.com forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, a high temperature of 86 degrees and a breeze out of the northeast to 7 mph.

The full field of 108 competitors will be on the water again on day 2. The Top 50 will advance to Saturday before the roster is cut to 12 for Sunday, when the winner will be determined based on highest cumulative weight.

VanDam Plied the Depths

> Day 1: 5, 29-05

VanDam's bag contained an 8-05 bruiser that took big-bass honors for the day, but he'd have still had 21 pounds with just his other four fish. He caught a decent limit from the shallows early in the day and then did his real damage away from the bank.

He focused on places where white bass and yellow bass were congregated – that phenomenon accounted for the presence of the big green ones. He found most of those locales during the day.

"I did a lot of practicing today," he said. "It was so windy in practice that I didn't get to fish much and it was hard to even move around. My whole practice was very random.

"I caught a small limit early and then I said, you know what, I'm just going to roll the dice. I caught my three biggest fish off a place I'd never fished before – it just looked good on the map."

He didn't lose a single bite on day 1. He's optimistic about Friday even though his "horrible" day 2 at Wheeler is still fresh in his mind.

"All I know is that anybody's capable of having another day like that on this lake. Today was perfect and I feel like I got really lucky in that sense because I sure didn't catch them like that in practice.

"It was nice to have a day where everything goes right."

2nd: Clunn's Kicker Spot Produced

> Day 1: 5, 24-10

Clunn, who guided on Toledo Bend before launching his tournament career in the late 1960s, has an offshore locale that's produced quality kickers for him many times over the decades, and it did so again on day 1. It gave him one that was just an ounce short of 7 pounds, another over 6 and a 4-pounder.

He caught them all on a Luck-E-Strike Freak deep-diving crankbait.

"It's kind of a neat spot, but it's so hard to catch them off it," he said. "You have to work and work. The best part about it, though, is that nobody else fishes it.

"Historically it'll give you one or two fish a day, but never much more. And you can come back all day long, every 30 or 40 minutes, and you'll never get another bite. They must not stay there for very long."

He said he didn't farm out any bites that would've helped him, but that almost wasn't the case with one of his big ones.

"I tried to lose one," he joked. "I looked like a receiver trying to catch a pass but he's juggling the ball all the way down the field. I finally got it into the boat."

He'll go with the same game plan tomorrow and hope that the wind stays away.

"This lake is so big and the water's so high that if you get a 15-mph wind, 70 percent of the offshore places become unfishable. If the wind doesn't blow, somebody could crack 100 pounds (over 4 days).

"I know I can catch 10 or 12 pounds shallow, but that's not going to do me any good. The name of the game here is you have to put in the hours on the big fish – you've got to work to catch them."

3rd: Cherry was Confident

> Day 1: 5, 24-07

Cherry had an excellent practice and carried it over into day 1.

"I found some pretty good stuff that I thought I might have to myself," he said. "That was the way it turned out. I saw some other guys drive by, but nobody else was fishing where I spent most of the day."

He went through about 15 keepers, the biggest of which was a 6 1/2-pounder. He had another that exceeded 5 and a third that was within an ounce or two of that mark. He lost a couple of decent bites and was forced to take a 2 3/4-pounder to the scale.

"I think (the lack of wind) hurt me, especially this morning, because they just weren't getting the bait good. When the wind blew (during practice) they'd lay down on it, but they didn't really do that today.

4th: Lane Had Fun

> Day 1: 5, 23-14

Lane exploited fish working the shad spawn at the start of the day and spent the rest of his time fairly close to the bank.

"I can see why this lake is No. 1 (in the Bassmaster rankings)," he said. "It's got them in it. It's one of those lakes where guys who caught 14 or 15 pounds today could go out tomorrow and catch a 30-pound bag. It's going to be a fun tournament.

"The flipping bite wasn't bad – I just kind of weeded through them all day and then two really big bites toward the end helped me out. You can consistently catch 3-pounders, but those two bonus bites are what you need every day."

He went through about 20 keepers and his two big ones were both 6 1/2-pounders. He briefly connected with one that he thinks might've exceeded 10 pounds.

"I think the biggest thing for me is I have to grind all day because I know that any flip or any cast could be an 8-pounder. I've had some bad tournaments this year (just one finish higher than 62nd in four outings), but I feel good about this one.

"I feel like I'm dialed in on a little pattern and I can catch them all over the lake. I'm just going to have to keep running new water."

87th: Walker Stymied

> Day 1: 5, 10-08

David Walker has fared no better than 60th in any of the four derbies this year and has some work to do on day 2 just to reach that mark.

"I don't know what to make of this – it's been the worst season of my career," the 11-time Classic qualifier said. "I wish I knew what was broke because I'd really like to get it repaired. I can't seem to get anything going, and when I do, I've had it all fall apart.

"My practice for this one was bad, and day 1 matched right up with it."

He was optimistic that the change in the weather pattern after a ferociously windy practice period would aid him, but he encountered no such luck.

"The good news is that on a lake like this with so many big fish, it could turn around tomorrow. I'll try to do that, but I can't get too cute and overcompensate."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 108 anglers, 99 limits, 2 fours, 3 threes, 1 two, 3 ones.

> Carl Jocumsen (106th with one fish for 2-01) said he lost a 6-plus-pounder and a 5 on back-to-back casts. "The only spot I had confidence in from practice, there was another boat on, so I had to go practicing again. I still couldn't have caught five even if I'd gotten those two to the boat, but I would've had a lot more weight."

Weather Forecast

> Fri., May 13 – Mostly Sunny - 86°/64°
- Wind: From the NE at 7 mph

> Sat., May 14 – Mostly Cloudy - 86°/62°
- Wind: From the NNW at 4 mph

> Sun., May 15 – A.M. Showers - 83°/64°
- Wind: From the ENE at 6 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 29-05 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 29-05

2. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 24-10 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 24-10

3. Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 5, 24-07 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 24-07

4. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 23-14 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 23-14

5. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 22-11 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 22-11

6. Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 5, 22-09 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 22-09

7. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 21-14 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 21-14

8. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 21-03 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 21-03

8. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 5, 21-03 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 21-03

10. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 20-10 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 20-10

11. Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 5, 20-02 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 20-02

12. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 20-00 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 20-00

13. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, OK -- 5, 19-11 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 19-11

14. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 19-09 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 19-09

15. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 19-00 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 19-00

15. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 19-00 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 19-00

17. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 18-15 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 18-15

18. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 18-13 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 18-13

19. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka, Japan -- 5, 18-09 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 18-09

20. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 5, 18-08 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 18-08

21. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 18-07 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 18-07

22. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 5, 18-03 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 18-03

23. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 18-02 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 18-02

24. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 17-13 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 17-13

25. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 17-11 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 17-11

26. Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 17-10 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 17-10

27. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 5, 17-05 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 17-05

28. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 5, 17-03 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 17-03

29. Josh Bertrand -- Gilbert, AZ -- 5, 17-02 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 17-02

29. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 17-02 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 17-02

31. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 17-01 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 17-01

32. Dave Lefebre -- Erie, PA -- 5, 17-00 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 17-00

33. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 5, 16-14 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 16-14

34. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 16-13 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 16-13

35. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 16-10 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 16-10

35. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 5, 16-10 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 16-10

37. Casey Scanlon -- Rocky Mount, MO -- 5, 16-09 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 16-09

38. Gerald Swindle -- Warrior, AL -- 5, 16-07 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 16-07

39. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 5, 16-06 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 16-06

40. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 16-04 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 16-04

41. Shaw Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 15-15 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 15-15

42. Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 15-11 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 15-11

43. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 15-04 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 15-04

44. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 15-02 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 15-02

45. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 15-00 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 15-00

46. Billy McCaghren Jr -- Mayflower, AR -- 5, 14-15 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 14-15

47. Brandon Card -- Caryville, TN -- 5, 14-13 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 14-13

48. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5, 14-13 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 14-13

49. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5, 14-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 14-12

50. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 14-11 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 14-11

50. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 14-11 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 14-11

52. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 5, 14-10 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 14-10

53. Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 5, 14-08 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 14-08

54. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 14-04 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 14-04

55. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 14-03 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 14-03

56. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 5, 14-02 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 14-02

57. Jay Brainard -- Enid, OK -- 5, 14-01 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 14-01

58. Dennis Tietje -- Roanoke, LA -- 5, 13-14 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 13-14

59. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 13-11 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 13-11

59. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 5, 13-11 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 13-11

61. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 13-10 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 13-10

62. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 5, 13-09 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 13-09

62. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 13-09 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 13-09

62. John Hunter Jr -- Shelbyville, KY -- 5, 13-09 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 13-09

62. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 5, 13-09 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 13-09

66. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 5, 13-09 -- 45
Day 1: 5, 13-09

67. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5, 13-03 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 13-03

68. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 4, 13-02 -- 43
Day 1: 4, 13-02

69. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 13-00 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 13-00

70. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 5, 12-12 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 12-12

71. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 5, 12-09 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 12-09

72. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 5, 12-08 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 12-08

72. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 12-08 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 12-08

74. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5, 12-07 -- 37
Day 1: 5, 12-07

75. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 5, 12-06 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 12-06

75. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 5, 12-06 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 12-06

77. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 11-15 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 11-15

78. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 11-14 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 11-14

78. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5, 11-14 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 11-14

80. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, MN -- 5, 11-08 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 11-08

81. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5, 11-07 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 11-07

82. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 11-07 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 11-07

83. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 11-06 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 11-06

84. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 11-05 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 11-05

85. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 11-04 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 11-04

86. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 3, 11-04 -- 25
Day 1: 3, 11-04

87. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 5, 10-08 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 10-08

87. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 10-08 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 10-08

87. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 5, 10-08 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 10-08

90. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 10-06 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 10-06

91. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 10-03 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 10-03

92. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 10-02 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 10-02

93. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 10-00 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 10-00

93. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, TX -- 5, 10-00 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 10-00

95. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 5, 09-05 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 09-05

96. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 5, 09-03 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 09-03

96. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 5, 09-03 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 09-03

98. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 5, 09-02 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 09-02

99. David Williams -- Newton, NC -- 5, 08-13 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 08-13

100. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 4, 08-13 -- 11
Day 1: 4, 08-13

101. Ken Iyobe -- Tokoname -- Aichi, Japan -- 5, 08-11 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 08-11

102. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 5, 07-14 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 07-14

103. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 3, 05-07 -- 8
Day 1: 3, 05-07

104. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 3, 05-00 -- 7
Day 1: 3, 05-00

105. Luke Clausen -- Otis Orchards, WA -- 2, 03-06 -- 6
Day 1: 2, 03-06

106. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, Australia -- 1, 02-01 -- 5
Day 1: 1, 02-01

107. Fabian Rodriguez -- Ocean City, DE -- 1, 01-15 -- 4
Day 1: 1, 01-15

108. Randy Allen -- Shreveport, LA -- 1, 01-06 -- 3
Day 1: 1, 01-06