What Makes the 2011 Bassmaster Classic Champion Kevin VanDam, Kevin VanDam
Day 1: Kevin VanDam on How He Chose His Winning Fishing Spot in the 2011 Bassmaster Classic
Editor’s Note: Today, there’s not a more-dominant tournament angler in the world of bass fishing than Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In the last 3 years, VanDam has won three Angler-of-the-Year titles, back-to-back Bassmaster Classic titles and nine BASS event series titles. Now he’s moved to the leader in all-time career money winnings for BASS, over $5 million. How does Kevin VanDam consistently win tournaments and titles and completely dominate the sport of tournament-bass fishing? VanDam revealed his secrets of success in the press conference that followed after he won the 2011 Bassmaster Classic. Each day, this week, VanDam will tell us what makes him successful, and how he has won big tournaments and become the leader in all-time career winnings in bass fishing.
VanDam has the mind of a bass. He often knows what the bass will do before the bass know what they’ll do. He knows where they’ll go, when they’ll arrive there and how to catch them. VanDam’s brain is an onboard computer. He calculates water temperature, air temperature and the bass’s seasonal migration patterns. Then he looks for the areas where the bass should show-up on the days he’ll be fishing. The spawn comes in February in the Louisiana Delta near New Orleans, where the 2011 Bassmaster Classic was held. The weather conditions and the water conditions were right for the bass spawn during the tournament, and VanDam chose the area where he thought the most, big female bass should show-up during the Bassmaster Classic. Click on the video to learn how VanDam selected the place where he’d fish.
