Kentucky Lake Winning Pattern
Memories of '06 Helped KVD Map Strategy For Victory

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Kevin VanDam's victory at Kentucky Lake was the 14th tour-level triumph of his career.

The No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings and the new leader in the Elite Series Angler of the Year (AOY) race was still ticked that he didn't win at the giant impoundment on the Kentucky-Tennessee border in 2006. He felt that he was on the fish to come out on top, but did an inadequate job of planning for the effects of the weekend crowds.

This time he pinpointed about a dozen schools of ledge-fish during practice and was judicious about how he exploited them during the tournament. He had fresh water to work each day, and his stockpile of locations proved to be just enough to get him through the event.

He averaged 23 pounds over the first 3 days to build a comfortable cushion, and then caught exactly a pound more than he needed to hold off a rampaging Tim Horton on day 4. The win was his second this season and the 14th of his career.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

As he did 2 years ago, VanDam concentrated his practice time on the southern end of Kentucky Lake (competitors were also free to fish adjoining Lake Barkley). All of his primary locations were on the other side of Paris Landing from the launch at Gilbertsville.

"Those fish on the south end go to the ledges earlier, and the ledges are shallower to begin with," he said. "At this time of year, there's just more fish there."

Most of his spots were off the main channel – either up creeks, or right around the mouths. One of the keys was a rough bottom formed by mussel shells.

He had a smattering of areas on the main stem, but said those generally harbored smaller fish than those that were off the beaten path.

Once the schools were pinned down, catching the fish wasn't terribly difficult. He could entice them with a variety of offerings, but his go-to baits ended up being a Strike King Series 5 or Series 6 crankbait, a Sexy Spoon and a 3/4-ounce jig with a Rage Craw trailer.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 24-13
> Day 2: 5, 21-09
> Day 3: 5, 21-14
> Day 4: 5, 16-09
> Total = 20, 84-13

Day 1 went about as smoothly as it could for VanDam. The only surprise was that he and Horton, who were in the same flight, both ran more than 50 miles and ended up in the same starting location (he said Horton began fishing less than 100 yards from him).

It wasn't long before they had a lot of company – mostly in the form of anglers who were entered in weekend tournaments (including a 200-boat BFL).

"Within 10 minutes, we had about 30 boats watching us," he said. "I caught a limit from that first spot that weighed about 17 pounds, and I knew with that many people watching, I couldn't run a bunch of different water."

He ended up visiting only two other locations and caught his best fish at the last one.

"I started culling 4-pounders and I knew I was close to 25 pounds. So I headed in an hour early and practiced a little bit on the way back."

He began day 2 with a lead of about 1 1/2 pounds over 2nd-place Mike McClelland and went directly back to his finishing locale from the previous day. He caught a couple of keepers, but nothing he was too proud of.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors VanDam's final-day fish were just big enough to allow him to close out the victory.

He moved to another spot he'd fished on day 1 and caught a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder immediately, and later added a trio that went about 3 1/2 each. He was pleased that he'd bagged about 20 pounds without having to run any new water.

"Then the storm came in late in the day and a lot of the spectators took off. Because of that, I stopped at another place I'd found in practice and caught a (4-pounder) and a 3 on back-to-back casts, so I figured that's where I'd start the next day."

Day 3 – the day when the other tournaments took to the water – started with him holding a 2 1/2-pound lead. He caught a couple of 4-pounders off his first stop and built a limit that went about 18 pounds, and then culled a couple of those at his next location, which he hadn't visited yet in the tournament. When he checked the areas he'd been in the day before, he found boats all over them.

"It was Saturday, and I'd known that was how it was going to be. I knew I was over 20 pounds again and I figured that was pretty good for Saturday, so I went back and fished the area where I'd started the first day.

"I knew I wanted to go into Sunday with as many fresh spots as possible."

His lead was nearly 7 pounds, and he ended up needing all but one of those because day 4 didn't go as well as planned. He went to the place he'd started on the day before and didn't get a bite. He caught a couple of small keepers at his next stop, and then started running places he hadn't fished.

"The schools of bigger fish had either moved or they were gone, and I was a little worried. I caught a limit that was 12 pounds or something fairly early, but I couldn't get any good bites.

"I had one spot that I'd saved where I thought I could catch 20 pounds, and they were there. I caught a 3 and a 2 3/4, but then I lost a 4 and a 3 1/2 on back-to-back casts. I let it rest for a couple hours, and then with an hour left to fish, I went back and caught a 4 and a 3. That was all I could manage."

He had an hour-long ride back to the launch, and it wasn't a comfortable journey – from a psychological standpoint, anyway. His goal had been another 20 pounds, and he was well short of that mark. He thought he might've let what had looked like a sure win slip away.

"After (Horton) weighed in, they told me I needed 15-09, and I thought I had right around 15 1/2. But when I pulled the bag up (from the livewell), I knew I had enough – or at least I thought so.

"Still, I was pretty relieved to see those scales register."

Pattern Notes

VanDam caught fish at depths that varied from 10 to 20 feet. The crankbait was most effective for fish that were sitting on top of the ledge, and the spoon and jig worked best on the ones that were hanging out below it.

"Every spot was different," he said. "The depth wasn't that important – what mattered a lot more was just where the fish were at. There are so many ledges and when you catch a bass off one, you know they're there for a reason. They aren't just roaming.

"They were feeding on shad, and in most cases they were grouped up where there was a lot of mussels. I couldn't see (the mussels), but I could feel them with the crankbait or the jig."

With the crankbait, the key was to make contact with the bottom, and throw repeated casts to the same location each time he caught a fish.

His technique with the spoon was to let it sink to the bottom, then snap it up and let it flutter back down. The majority of the strikes came on the return trip to the bottom.

He occasionally hopped or stroked the jig, but he said the fish preferred that it be dragged most of the time.

Photo: BassFan Strike King crankbaits in the sexy shad color that VanDam developed accounted for most of his fish at Kentucky Lake.

> Crankbait gear: 7'10" medium-heavy Quantum KVD signature series cranking rod, Quantum Energy 750 casting reel (5:1 ratio), 14-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, Strike King Series 5 or Series 6 crankbait (sexy shad).

> The rod is part of a new line that features six cranking models. "To me, the 7'10" is the mega-launcher," he said. "It's a fiberglass composite and I can throw a plug a mile with it. On day 1 and day 2 when the wind was blowing, it helped me get the distance I needed. I could throw the bait 10 to 15 yards father than I could with a 7-foot rod, and that allowed me to keep it in the strike zone longer."

> He swapped out the stock hooks on the crankbaits for Mustad Triple Grips (No. 1, extra-strong, round-bend). "I was catching some doubles (two fish on the same bait) and things like that, and I wanted a hook that I knew wasn't going to straighten out."

> Spoon gear: 7'4" heavy-action Quantum PT rod, Quantum Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound XPS fluorocarbon, No. 5 Strike King Sexy Spoon (sexy shad).

> Jig gear: Same rod and reel as spoon, 17-pound XPS fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce Strike King football-head jig (brown/purple), Strike King Rage Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – "Just having the confidence to stick to my gameplan and put the baits in the spots where I knew (the fish) should be sitting, and trying to trigger them."

> Peformance Edge – "The Biosonix unit was a key, and every tournament I'm seeing more and more guys with one on their boat. I know it helped me keep the schools fired up."

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