(Note: This is part 2 of a 2-part update on No. 1-ranked angler Kevin VanDam.)

Red River Didn't Go Well

With his hectic schedule, it's not surprising that VanDam didn't finish well at the Red River. After tying for 6th with Larry Nixon at the BASSMASTER Tour event on Lake St. Clair, VanDam finished 93rd in Louisiana -- after finishing 2nd there at the FLW in May.

"The Red River didn't go well," he said. "I had a really bad performance, but I don't feel bad about what I was doing. I really don't know what happened. I did all right the first day, but for the next 2 days I don't know why I couldn't catch them."

On day 1, VanDam weighed in a 7-13 limit. But on days 2 and 3 he caught only four bass (two for 2-11, and two for 2-09). One problem was that he fished in pool 3, which after traversing two locks left him only 2 hours of fishing time each day. "I didn't have a lot of room for error," he said.

"The area I was in had the fish to win -- I don't know what happened. My first day I had 20 bites flipping a tube, but the next day in the same exact area I didn't have a bite."

Looking Forward to Toho

This past January at Florida's Lake Toho, when Dean Rojas won with his massive limits of bedding bass, VanDam was one of many pros who didn't count on the bass moving up right away to spawn. Instead, he fished a pre-spawn or "staging" pattern that might be exactly right for the December BASSMASTER at Toho.

"I'm going to Toho with a really good attitude," he said. "I was catching fish in a staging area, and was catching them about as good as you can. The last day I had a 22- or 23-pound stringer."

He noted that conditions could have changed substantially since the last time he was at the lake. But on the other hand, "the kind of things I was fishing then could be very good this fall," VanDam said.

Still No. 1

VanDam is still ranked No. 1 in the world in the BassFan.com World Rankings, which cover two years of performance. He is 34th in current B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings with 203 points. Davy Hite is in 1st, with 300 points.

- End of part 2 (of 2) -