Kevin VanDam will not make it to the Bassmaster Classic in 2015. What an uproar it has the fans in. Yes, certainly that’s news. It would be like Dale Earnhardt Jr. failing to qualify for Daytona. The biggest name in the sport won’t be in the field at the sport’s biggest event of the year. I have seen posts on message boards claiming everything from the sky is falling to all the fish turned belly up to they ought to make a provision in the rules to allow VanDam in on a past champions provisional. I’ve seen claims that VanDam’s ability to fish is declining, his health is declining, or his desire is declining. As best I can, I’d like to clear some of these misconceptions up from my point of view.
As odd as it might seem, back in 2013 when I rode with VanDam as his Marshal on the Alabama River, I asked him some of the very same questions that have been popping up on the message boards. Specifically, I asked him: “Do you find the game tougher today with the younger competition and their newer tactics that deliver larger average sized fish?”
One thing you find out quick riding with VanDam is he doesn’t elaborate a whole lot on any question. Answers are short. His answer to that one was “Yes.”
If you remember back to that tournament, it was the first time in several dozen tournaments that VanDam was out of the Top 50 after Day 1. That was, in fact, the main story for Day 1 of the Alabama River Charge. That day I was riding with Boyd Duckett and we saw quite a bit of VanDam during the day. I was surprised that he was that far back as I had observed him catching fish. He had a good Day 2 and made the cut for Saturday, but didn’t make the Day 4 Top 12 cut. I rode with him on Saturday, Day 3.
I have seen people mention that VanDam is getting older and that older people can’t be competitive on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Phooey! I remember a few years back during one of Brett Farve’s several retirements, my wife said of Farve: “He’s getting old.”
“Honey,” I pleaded, “Brett and I are the same age. Neither of us are old.”
“He’s older than you,” she said.
“No, he’s not.”
During my college time at Alabama, I used to hang out with the placekicker Phillip Doyle some and Farve occasionally made it to that circle of people. He is, in fact, almost a year younger than me.
Kevin VanDam is 10 months older than me. I would not call him old. He’s 46 for goodness sakes. Look down the list of Elite anglers; there are plenty that are significantly older than Kevin VanDam. Paul Elias, Tommy Biffle, and Shaw Grigsby are all between 55 and 65 years old. Paul, Tommy, and Shaw are all competitive and have all three made Day 4 cuts in the last two years. Tommy Biffle pulled down a win last year. Yes, age and physical condition change an angler’s competitive potential at the Elite level, and we would be naïve to discount those factors. That said, I can assure you, neither age nor physical condition caused VanDam to miss this coming Bassmaster Classic.
One of the first things I noticed riding with VanDam was, aside from the fact that he catches 70 fish a day or better, he’s not a lot different than me. Maybe it can be attributed to being the same age and growing up during the same time period. Many of the anglers I have ridden with as a Marshal have secret baits. The day I rode with Brandon Palaniuk he fished at least three baits that were unique to him. They were baits that weren’t sold in stores or on the internet. You know what I mean, experimental.
That is not what Kevin VanDam fishes with.
As he pulled out his rods, I noticed quickly that the baits tied on looked like what I’d have on my deck. He had a shallow crankbait, a deep crankbait, two different jerkbaits, a popper, a spook, spinnerbait, jig, fluke, and a floating worm. Please understand, I call all bandages Bandaids. All of VanDam’s baits were the KVD branded ones. I even asked, “Are these off the shelf baits or modified ones?” He said they were all off the shelf with one exception, the KVD Splash Popper hadn’t been released yet but was due out in a week or two.
VanDam is known as a power fisherman, a reputation consistent with what I saw that day on the water with him. I didn’t see the first drop shot or shaky head or even swimbait. What I did see was a guy catch an endless stream of 2- to 2 1/2-pound fish. I believe he ended up with around 13 pounds that day and waded through 70 some odd fish to get there, culling 1 or 2 ounces at a time.
Some years ago, I wrecked a boat in a blastoff for a tournament. My steering system quit and it resulted in a high-speed spinout causing the boat to flip. Fear of that wreck kept me away from tournament fishing for almost 5 years. When I quit fishing tournaments, 15 pounds on 5 fish was considered top tier and in the money for sure. When I came back about four years ago, things had changed drastically. Now 25 pounds on 5 fish is what it takes a good portion of the time even at the local level. The techniques and tactics that worked 10 years ago still work but they still bring in 13 to 15 pounds on 5 fish. The competitive challenge is the younger generation is sometimes bringing in 25 pounds on their tactics.
I’ve often heard it asked, “Could Bear Bryant or Bob Neyland be competitive in today’s college football?” It’s truly hard to say but the answer is they would definitely have had to adjust. My day job is in sales. Some years ago an older man in the same company said, “I need to re-invent myself one more time before I retire.” What he was referring to is changing what he does to increase his sales once more. In my business, I have to do that every so often. Simply, one well runs dry and you have to dig a new one. I’m there in fishing myself. I was there the day I asked VanDam the question I asked him.
When I started fishing again, I found out real quick that everything had changed. Baits I’d used in the past were discontinued, rods and reels I’d used in the past weren’t made any longer. The line I’d used in the past was also discontinued. Basically, I had to learn to fish again. What I found out quickly was my “old school” power fishing techniques still caught fish but they didn’t weigh enough to be relevant. I knew if I wanted to be competitive I had to figure out how to turn 2- to 2 1/2-pounders into 4- to 5-pounders or better. I’ve spent the last two years or so trying new things and trying to perfect things that allow me to catch bigger fish. What I’ve found is it’s a balancing act. Sometimes you catch three bigger fish but that’s all.
On my ride with Brandon Palaniuk, I don’t believe he caught over 10 fish the whole day. However, the 10 fish he did catch were good enough to put him in 11th place. He told me early that day that he was fishing for specific fish that he knew weighed enough to win. Numbers weren’t the key. VanDam waded through 70 fish or so that day to put together 13 pounds. Culling was a matter of 1 or 2 ounces not pounds, and pounds is what both of us knew he needed to rise in the standings.
If you think VanDam won’t be back with a vengeance, you surely haven’t met him and don’t know his personality. I have no doubt he’ll be back. That said, reinventing in this sport takes time. It may not be a one-year come back. June fishing conditions only come around once a year. If what you are testing in June this year works, that’s great. If not, then your next opportunity to test two weeks postspawn comes around next year in June because six weeks postspawn in mid-July isn’t the same.
I think the largest single factor that prevented Kevin from making the 2015 Bassmaster Classic is something that happens to all of us; the demand of our time from many sources. I have personally adjusted to knowing I’m probably not going to be competitive again. Between business obligations, family obligations, and assorted other obligations I have, I know I don’t have the time to devote to becoming a top stick.
One thing I think the average fan doesn’t understand about this sport is very few of the Elite anglers make a living fishing. The costs to participate in this sport are high and the payouts rarely match the expenses. Most anglers make it on sponsorships, appearances, and the like outside of actually fishing. If you ride with VanDam as a Marshal, you’ll see it. The other 99 anglers are in their boats getting their tackle ready and making sure everything is ready to fish when blastoff happens. They’ll be going over notes, GPS coordinates and making sure everything is ready for the day. VanDam is at the ramp with a TV camera and reporter in his face doing an interview. His status as the most successful angler in B.A.S.S. history affords him the opportunity to do a lot of things outside of fishing tournaments, and that’s where he makes his living. He’s developing his own line of baits, working with KVD branded merchandise, starring on TV fishing shows, doing TV interview, being interviewed by writers and reporters. He’s being KVD, the king of the sport.
In summary, here’s the answers to the questions I’ve seen:
Is KVD too old or too out of shape to cut the mustard on the Bassmaster Elite Trail?
No, not by a long shot.
Is KVD capable of reversing his fortunes and coming back better than ever?
You’d be foolish to believe otherwise, particularly if you are another competitor.
Will the youngsters in the sport continually force the “old pros” to reinvent themselves to be competitive?
You can bet your bottom dollar they will.
Lastly, in parting, I have seen many posts online saying, “A past champion should have an automatic berth in the Bassmaster Classic.”
I think from what I know from a day in his boat, if you asked VanDam that, his answer would be “No.” The Bassmaster Classic is what it is and shouldn’t be changed to accommodate any one angler’s situation. You must earn your way into the Classic. It can’t be bought and I think it should stay that way. We are talking about the most prestigious bass tournament in the world. The Classic is not the kind of tournament where scores aren’t kept and everyone gets a snow cone at the end of the game. The Classic is the place where the best of the Elites compete with the best from your local regions and the best from other circuits to find out exactly who is the best in the land. Any change in the formula to admit anglers to it would be detrimental to the foundation of that tournament.