Kevin VanDam

ONE MORE DAY…..ONE MORE TITLE

September 18, 2009
(basszone.com, September 18, 2009)

Montgomery, AL – It’s down to just one day left to decide who will be crowned the 2009 Toyota Trucks Angler Of the Year, and for all intensive purposes, it’s down to a two man race. With the top performance of the day, Kevin VanDam closed the gap and sits just six points behind the TTAOY points leader, Skeet Reese, who ended Thursday sitting in third.

Even though most of the attention on Friday will be on VanDam and Reese, there’s still a lot of on the line for the other 10 anglers jockeying for final positions in the TTAOY standings. In the next 24 hours, someone will walk away with a $200,000 check and the most sought after title in professional bass fishing.
Virtually everyone who is fishing Championship Week has become a part-time mathematician by trying to determine the exact combination of daily position required to stay in the hunt. The fishing, it seems, has taken a subdued backseat to all of the hype surrounding the Trophy Triumph.

With another day left to decide who will ultimately walk off the stage as a newly-crowned champion, the fishing is what it’s all about. The Alabama River ran strong as a result of the draw down occurring at Lake Jordan. Conventional wisdom would have you thinking that bass would be bunched up and easy to catch.

The weights of the first day of the finals, however, proved that conventional wisdom is often wrong. If you’re Skeet Reese, the last person you wanted to see have a good day was Kevin VanDam. However, VanDam took the early lead by weighing 14-3. Nearly four pounds behind him was Kelly Jordon, with 10-15.

Despite the early lead, VanDam still needs all the weight he can muster Friday in order to have a shot to catch Skeet Reese, who came into the week with a 16-point lead. Still, with one day to go, Reese is showing no signs of letting the lead slip away. He ended the day in third place after boating 10-5.

Mike Iaconelli, the winner of the Lake Jordan’s first half, ended the day tied with Reese, and by looking at the numbers prior to the start of the second half he’s going to need a banner final day and a little help from both Reese and VanDam if he’s to have a shot at his second AOY title.

Gerald Swindle wound up in fifth place heading to Friday’s finale with a meager limit weighing 9-4, and Alton Jones rounded out the Top 6 with nine pounds even. Friday’s forecast calls for a 40% chance of scattered thunder storms, but based on today’s results, a little more water won’t hurt a thing.

VanDam One Day Down, One More to Go
With the third quarter officially over, it’s safe to say that Lake Jordan provoked the most dangerous man in bass fishing to seek revenge. Historically speaking, when that happens it’s all but over. VanDam, while not setting the water on fire, was able to at least generate a mild smolder as his 14-pound bag was the best by over three pounds.

What’s more important is the fact that he’s confident he’s on the winning fish, getting them to continue to cooperate, however, is a question that only Friday can resolve. “I really had a decent day, although the muddy water sort of threw me a curve for a little bit,” VanDam said.

“The biggest thing is that I just didn’t get any quality bites. I’m around them, and I really felt sure that I would get a couple of nice fish today.”

Based on VanDam’s confidence, tomorrow might not bode well if you’re trying to hang on to a points lead. “The big fish were there the other day, but today they weren’t,” he said. “The current swell stirred things up, but the water is really clearing fast…and I know that the big ones are still there.”

Behind in the Chase by 6 points, a solid showing tomorrow could seal number five for VanDam, but only if Reese falls below 4th place. “I feel really good about things right now,” he said. “I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do when I got here, and so far everything is working well for me.”

http://www.basszone.com/2009eliteseries/alabama/riverday1/story.htm

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