We caught up with Kevin VanDam in the middle of the day as he made his charge for the Day 1 lead.
Photo: James Overstreet
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VanDam already had the majority of his Day 1 weight in the livewell, and admitted he had been practicing for tomorrow.
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He was using his electronics looking for new schools of fish...
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...would occasionally hook up with a fish...
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...and sometimes with both the front and back hooks.
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He caught several of the wrong species during his afternoon on Toledo Bend...
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...but kept grinding, making one determined cast...
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...after another...
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...after another.
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He fired casts as far as he could...
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...trying to expand on what he had found in practice.
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His late afternoon search for new fishing locations finally paid off...
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...and he moved to the back of the boat to finish the fight...
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...with a fish he could cull with.
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He dropped the fish in the livewell...
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When you are culling fish this size...
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...you know you are in the game.
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Regardless, VanDam didn't quit grinding until the end of the day.
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He lost fish that wouldn't have helped him...
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...caught more that had no chance...
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...of helping him cull...
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...and white bass that were just an aggravation.
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He kept moving from one spot to the next...
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...and finished the afternoon giving his Day 1 Marshal a one-on-one seminar on offshore fishing from one of the best bass fishermen in history.
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