The Cast

The Cast: Kevin VanDam through the years

Watch FS1 Sunday, Jan. 11 at 8 a.m., when The Cast presented by Bass Pro Shops returns with an hour-long episode on B.A.S.S. Superstar Kevin VanDam, four-time Bassmaster Classic winner, seven-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year and 25-time champion.

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Craig Lamb
Four Bassmaster Classic wins. Seven Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles. Twenty-five Bassmaster tournament wins. The sum of the whole makes Kevin VanDam one of the greatest bass anglers of all time.
What makes VanDam’s achievements so remarkable is those milestones mirror those of the early legends, or pioneers of B.A.S.S. tournaments. 
Rick Clunn has four Classic wins, two of those back-to-back (so does VanDam). Only the great Roland Martin has more AOY titles at nine. Nobody has as many Bassmaster tournament wins as VanDam at an unprecedented 25 tournament titles.
Rightfully so, many refer to VanDam as the G.O.A.T. pro angler across the sport’s more than five decades in play. 
VanDam also defined and redefined the marketability of anglers as brand names among themselves, thereby elevating their value to marine and tackle manufacturers. 
VanDam created his KVD brand and everyone else followed suit. The positive results added credibility to products, increasing brand visibility, market share and profitability for manufacturers. The symbiotic relationship between sponsors provided pro anglers with credible income beyond tournament earnings. 
VanDam’s Bassmaster resume includes 314 tournaments fished, 245 of those in the money for total winnings over $6.4 million. 
Consistency was a commonality across his three-decade career, with 112 top 10s, 177 top 20s and 220 top 30s across the 314 total events. 
Beyond VanDam’s tournament skills and polished marketing savvy is another accolade that stands out above it all. The personable and approachable angler prioritizes his connection with bass fishing fans. 
VanDam draws a crowd wherever he goes, even today. VanDam is also deeply involved with the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame as a board director, working diligently to celebrate, preserve and protect the future of the sport. 
VanDam’s final win came at the 2018 Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake in Oklahoma. VanDam was 50 years old at the time, or nearly 25 years after his first win. Let that sink in. A quarter century’s worth of dominance and then some. 
The 2005 Classic at Three Rivers in Pittsburgh set a record low winning weight of 12 pounds, 15 ounces for three days of competition. Given the ultra-tough conditions, it came as no surprise that VanDam grinded out the win. 
The reigning Bassmaster Angler of the Year also took home the 2010 Classic title on Lay Lake in Alabama. VanDam’s $500,000 first-place prize also made him the first B.A.S.S. pro to earn $4 million in total career winnings.
In 2011, VanDam (again) demonstrated how records are made by winning a fourth Classic title with dominance. VanDam returned to the Louisiana Delta, where he won his first Classic, to catch 28 pounds on Championship Sunday, also pushing his B.A.S.S. earnings to $5 million, another record. 
VanDam collected his 23rd B.A.S.S. win in a dramatic ending to the 2016 Bassmaster Classic Bracket, a first-of-its-kind tournament. 
The elimination-style format played out over four days on the Niagara River, with eight pros competing in a head-to-head bracket format. 
In the end, VanDam ruled with yet another win. 
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Also in 2016 after claiming his 21st career victory earlier in the season, VanDam won again at Cayuga Lake in western New York. 
After going five years between victories, VanDam made up for it by winning twice in seven weeks, erasing any doubt that his productivity was fading. 
VanDam went into Championship Sunday in third place, and then produced a limit of 15 pounds, 7 ounces to score the come-from-behind win. 
By noon on Championship Sunday, VanDam was already headed back to the weigh-in site in Waddington, N.Y. He knew it was over — and so did most everyone else. The outcome would be yet another milestone for VanDam — and the sport-at the 2017 Bassmaster Elite on the St. Lawrence River.
After leading the first three days, VanDam caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 12 ounces to punctuate a dominant victory with a winning weight of 90 pounds, 3 ounces. Second place came in at 82 pounds, 3 ounces. 
“I fished my very first B.A.S.S. tournament here on the St. Lawrence River in 1987,” said VanDam, who earned his B.A.S.S.-record 24th victory. “Someone told me today that this is my 300th tournament with B.A.S.S., and I had no idea. So, all of that makes this really special.”
VanDam’s winnings pushed his career earnings to more than $6.2 million, another record. 
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The final record-breaker of his stellar three-decade career came with the 25th career win at Grand Lake. 
“These tournaments are very difficult to win, and I’ve been very blessed over my career, but I’ll never take any of it for granted,” VanDam said. “I still get very emotional, just like winning my first B.A.S.S. tournament in 1991.”
VanDam solved a prespawn equation with male bass already shallow on the bank. To win, he needed to back out and intercept the larger females, which he did after fishing 50 spots per day and then later in the week dialing into the quality bite in the championship round. 
The 50-year-old VanDam placed an unprecedented 25th Bassmaster trophy on his mantle — a feat many believe may never be broken. 
Tune in for the full episode of The Cast: B.A.S.S. Superstar Kevin VanDam on FS1.

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