KVD's Crucial Decision: Focus On Smallies Only

At the Wissota Bassmaster Elite 50, all eyes were on Kevin VanDam. He'd won the previous Lewisville E50 under difficult conditions and was in position to win the E50 points title for the second year in a row. Once again, the bite was tough, and once again 'The Krusher' clobbered the field.

His intensity and vast knowledge of northern post-spawn smallmouths pushed him to the top of the leaderboard on day 3 and he never looked back. The win gave him his second E50 victory in a row, and

his second consecutive E50 points title.

It didn't come without drama though.

At the start of day 2, he was in 2nd place. By the end of the day, he'd dropped to 6th. He lost five fish that day.

But under the E50 format, weights are zeroed after day 2 and anglers move to a predetermined six-hole course. That played to his advantage. He stuck to his pattern on days 3 and 4 and it held. He won by more than 3 pounds – an almost insurmountable lead on this stingy body of water.

Once again, the win left no doubt: Kevin VanDam is the most dominant angler of the modern era. Here's how he won Wissota.

Practice

VanDam's practice was less than stellar. "Practice was really tough for me," he said. "I practiced for 3 days and only caught four fish total. It was very difficult to get the 14-inch keepers we needed.

"The only pattern I had was the fish were in really shallow water – I mean less than 2 feet deep. There wasn't any particular lure – it was more the water depth.

"Plus, there just wasn't much habitat to target. There were some docks, overhanging trees and lots of grass. In the main lake, I tried to make sure I was casting to hard-bottom areas that had either sand or gravel."

But it was a productive practice, because it helped him rule out largemouths. "After practice, I decided I'd concentrate solely on smallies. I figured that since I grew up on lakes like Wissota, and cut my teeth fishing these fish this time of year, they were the best chance I had to win."

Days 1 & 2

> Day 1: 4, 9-04
> Day 2: 0, 0-00 (4, 9-04)

"On the first day I went out and had four decent fish," VanDam said. "They all came on a jerkbait."

He noted casting accuracy was important. "Accuracy was so important this week. I was skipping all of my baits under docks, under overhanging trees and into little pockets at the edge of the grass.

"I ended up with four decent fish that day and figured I only needed one on day 2 to make the cut."

Day 2 turned out to be more than a letdown.

"I don't know what happened on the second day," he said. "I had five fish hooked and lost them all.

"I lost two fish on a Strike King 3X Zero, two on a popper and one on the jerkbait. I just couldn't keep them pinned."

Days 3 & 4

> Day 3: 4, 8-07
> Day 4: 3, 6-05 (7, 14-12)

VanDam planned to stick with his pattern when he got to the hole course, and his first fish on day 3 sold him on the plan.

"I started in hole 3, which had what appeared to be the best largemouth water in it. I cast my 3X Zero to some weeds – where I didn't figure any smallies would be – and caught my first fish. It was a smallie.

"That smallmouth really showed me that they were the predominant fish in this lake. Right then and there, I knew I had to concentrate on them.

"It wasn't easy," he noted. "In fact, it was tough. I ended up with two topwater fish and two 3X Zero fish for the day and felt confident about the last day."

Day 4 wasn't a banner day either. "I lost a topwater fish, a Zero fish and a jerkbait fish," he said. "But the three I caught were enough to win."

All his day 4 fish came on the jerkbait.

Winning Gear Notes

> Jerkbait gear: 6'6" medium Quantum PT series rod, Quantum Energy spinning reel, 8-pound Bass Pro Shops (BPS) XPS Fluorocarbon line, Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue (gold/black back, floating, "about 20 years old").

> Zero gear: Same rod, same reel, 10-pound XPS Fluorocarbon, No. 1 Mustad Beak hook, Strike King 3X Zero (green-pumpkin/candy, wacky-rigged).

> Topwater gear: 6'6" medium Quantum rod, Quantum RG600 casting reel, 14-pound BPS XPS line (mono), Yellow Magic topwater ("goldish").

Notable

> Main Factor in his success – "The main reason I did so well was my experience with this type of bite. I grew up on lakes like this and know what to do this time of year under these types of conditions."

> "This was by far the most mentally tough tournament I've ever fished," VanDam said.

> On his achievement: "This is a great feeling. I've done pretty much everything there is to do in tournament fishing, but had never won back-to-back tournaments. Now I've attained that goal."

> "Smallmouths don't like to hang in really thick vegetation," he noted. "Instead, they like to hang on the edges of the weeds. I used that bit of knowledge to help me this week."

> His topwater bait, the Yellow Magic, is a Japanese bait.