TW_Staff
09-23-2009, 03:32 PM
The final day of competition at the Alabama River for Toyota Trucks BASS Championship Week couldn't have been any tighter. Kevin VanDam followed his tournament-best 14-03 with a relatively massive 16-03 limit. He blew the field away and won the leg by 7 1/2 pounds. Kevin captures his fifth Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
Skeet Reese still controlled his own destiny though. To clinch the BASS Angler of the Year (AOY) title, Reese needed to finish 4th or better. He started the day in 4th, went to the only thing he had after a mediocre practice – the far upriver reaches of the pool at the Bouldin Dam – but mustered a meager 10-02.
"I'm overwhelmed," VanDam said. "I really didn't expect this. I'm really excited, but I also feel for Skeet. I didn't think I had a chance. I opened the door last week. (Skeet's) a great fisherman – a great competitor. Things usually don't work out for me like that.
"I was extremely surprised," he added. "Yesterday I had a good day, and I felt confident I could go out and do it again. I've never been in the position where I have to count on other guys to catch them for you to win. This was nail-biting. It's a really intense format, without a doubt."
"You can do a lot of things in this sport, but the AOY title, to fishermen, is the toughest, most prestigious one to win. I've had a lot of people ask me what this one would mean, and I'll tell you that with every one – I appreciate it more and more.
Competition:
The pattern I was fishing was basically all main-river oriented – current-type (areas), where these spotted bass can set up and feed on shad. The primary forage this time of year is shad. And they ran a lot of current.
I was fishing basically different sandbars – some on the main river, some right off the side, either real shallow or real deep. It was one of those things where I was looking for something irregular like a turn, a corner in the shallowest spot.
One of my very best places was a super-shallow hard spot. That's where I caught them yesterday. I threw a Strike King Series 1 SX (crankbait) and Strike King Caffeine Shad (soft jerkbait). Today I fished the midriver with a Strike King Series 6 in sexy shad, and caught a couple on a Strike King 3 1/2-inch Shadilicious (swimbait) on a jighead.
With the current today, I was just running and looking for schools of better quality fish. I found in practice a couple areas that had better quality fish, and I was hitting them several times a day. I'd let them rest, then run (back) into them.
Kevin was fishing a particular spot that was shallow, ranging a foot to a foot and a half. “There was some scattered shoregrass, some stumps and some hyacinth. I spent a lot of time in practice looking for little pieces of wood or trash (to) memorize (in case the water came up). The fish would sit right up by a little piece of cover. I give a lot of credit to my Oakley sunglasses for seeing in the dirty water.”
Winning Gear:
Crankbait gear: 7’10” Quantum KVD Signature Series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QKVDC) rod, Quantum KVD Signature Series PT casting reel (5.3:1 gear ratio), Strike King Series 6 crankabait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMCB) (sexy shad), Strike King Series 1XS (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMXS).
"That reel gives me a little more power and the spool is bigger so I can make longer casts," VanDam said. "If you match that reel and rod together, I can thrown a lure a long way."
Jerkbait/Swimbait gear: 7’4” Quantum PT Series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSCR) rod, Quantum Burner (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QTPVCR) casting reel, Strike King Caffeine Shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPCS), 5/0 Mustad Ultrabite hook, 3.5” Strike King Shad-A-Licious (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKSAL).
"The bass were feeding on shad there, so that's what I was trying to imitate," VanDam said.
Kevin used the Biosonix (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BXRFSF) unit to help trigger extra bites.
TW Staff
Skeet Reese still controlled his own destiny though. To clinch the BASS Angler of the Year (AOY) title, Reese needed to finish 4th or better. He started the day in 4th, went to the only thing he had after a mediocre practice – the far upriver reaches of the pool at the Bouldin Dam – but mustered a meager 10-02.
"I'm overwhelmed," VanDam said. "I really didn't expect this. I'm really excited, but I also feel for Skeet. I didn't think I had a chance. I opened the door last week. (Skeet's) a great fisherman – a great competitor. Things usually don't work out for me like that.
"I was extremely surprised," he added. "Yesterday I had a good day, and I felt confident I could go out and do it again. I've never been in the position where I have to count on other guys to catch them for you to win. This was nail-biting. It's a really intense format, without a doubt."
"You can do a lot of things in this sport, but the AOY title, to fishermen, is the toughest, most prestigious one to win. I've had a lot of people ask me what this one would mean, and I'll tell you that with every one – I appreciate it more and more.
Competition:
The pattern I was fishing was basically all main-river oriented – current-type (areas), where these spotted bass can set up and feed on shad. The primary forage this time of year is shad. And they ran a lot of current.
I was fishing basically different sandbars – some on the main river, some right off the side, either real shallow or real deep. It was one of those things where I was looking for something irregular like a turn, a corner in the shallowest spot.
One of my very best places was a super-shallow hard spot. That's where I caught them yesterday. I threw a Strike King Series 1 SX (crankbait) and Strike King Caffeine Shad (soft jerkbait). Today I fished the midriver with a Strike King Series 6 in sexy shad, and caught a couple on a Strike King 3 1/2-inch Shadilicious (swimbait) on a jighead.
With the current today, I was just running and looking for schools of better quality fish. I found in practice a couple areas that had better quality fish, and I was hitting them several times a day. I'd let them rest, then run (back) into them.
Kevin was fishing a particular spot that was shallow, ranging a foot to a foot and a half. “There was some scattered shoregrass, some stumps and some hyacinth. I spent a lot of time in practice looking for little pieces of wood or trash (to) memorize (in case the water came up). The fish would sit right up by a little piece of cover. I give a lot of credit to my Oakley sunglasses for seeing in the dirty water.”
Winning Gear:
Crankbait gear: 7’10” Quantum KVD Signature Series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QKVDC) rod, Quantum KVD Signature Series PT casting reel (5.3:1 gear ratio), Strike King Series 6 crankabait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMCB) (sexy shad), Strike King Series 1XS (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPMXS).
"That reel gives me a little more power and the spool is bigger so I can make longer casts," VanDam said. "If you match that reel and rod together, I can thrown a lure a long way."
Jerkbait/Swimbait gear: 7’4” Quantum PT Series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSCR) rod, Quantum Burner (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QTPVCR) casting reel, Strike King Caffeine Shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPCS), 5/0 Mustad Ultrabite hook, 3.5” Strike King Shad-A-Licious (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKSAL).
"The bass were feeding on shad there, so that's what I was trying to imitate," VanDam said.
Kevin used the Biosonix (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BXRFSF) unit to help trigger extra bites.
TW Staff