It’s Day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic, and I like my chances even though I’m sitting in third.
I needed a big bag yesterday, and while 19-3 is pretty good, I was hoping for better. The area I’m fishing has the potential to produce a giant bag, and it might do that before this thing is over.
The bite was weird. A lot of fish didn’t take it like I thought they would, but that’s due to the full moon and the fast warming water temperatures. These fish are looking to spawn, so eating wasn’t a big priority for them yesterday.
The important thing is I didn’t take myself out of contention yesterday like some anglers did.
Like the old saying goes, “You can’t win the Classic on the first day, but you sure can lose it.”
I’m happy with my decisions and glad I didn’t make the long run to Venice. Just as I thought, fog delays affected the tournament yesterday and will probably hold us up again Saturday and Sunday.
In my experience, it’s best to control as many variables as you can in a tournament like this; and knowing fog was likely, fishing a little closer to the launch site allowed me to do that.
Besides, the area I’m in matches the conditions perfectly. It’s a spawning area that is known for big fish. I caught an 8-pounder in there during practice and I think it will get better as the water warms up. I really believe the tournament will be won there.
Of course, I’m sharing the area with Day One leader Aaron Martens and my road roommate, Scott Rook, who is in second. We fished in there during practice so I expected the three of us would start there. We’re fishing within sight of each other and getting pretty close at times. We’re all professionals and will handle it accordingly.
We’ve attracted a sizable crowd of spectator boats, and I would imagine more will be there today. They’ve been respectful and we have no problems with them. Most of them stay back, anchor and watch with binoculars. The area is pretty shallow, so anytime there is a lot of trolling motors churning around it makes the fish a little uneasy.
There was a report yesterday that I had a tiff with a spectator, which is entirely untrue. I did yell to get the attention of a B.A.S.S. camera boat driver who was driving over an area I was about to fish. I just had to get his attention so that he knew where I was going to fish. It was no big deal.
Also, I want to let everyone know that my new, redesigned website, kevinvandam.com, is now up and running. You can also find me on facebook. Stop by and let me know what you think.