Kevin VanDam

VanDam Stuns Birmingham, Sacks Shocking 19 1/2

February 22, 2010
(bassfan.com, February 22, 2010)

The outcome seemed almost a given. Even as Kevin VanDam made his way from the stage to his boat, some reserved shouts and cheers went up from the Birmingham, Ala. crowd. There was an icy air – a palpable electric current that seemed to signal the best who’s ever been was about achieve the inevitable.

There wasn’t the tension then emotional outpour like when Takahiro Omori won and feel to his knees in a heap of emotion. There wasn’t an NBA-height leap like when VanDam edged out Martens at Pittsburgh.

VanDam simply weighed the biggest bag of the tournament and won by a mile.

Maybe that’s more what it’s like when a champion achieves such a level of dominance in a sport that a win is expected before he even enters the arena. Maybe it’s more a function of technology – readers watching BASS’s Internet coverage on cell phones pretty much knew VanDam had it locked up.

But if one thing was certain, this Bassmaster Classic at Lay Lake – or more specifically, the final moments of today’s weigh-in at the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Complex – scribed a new page in sports history.

VanDam’s victory – secured by an unthinkable 19 1/2-pound bag from beat-up, used-up water – cemented him as perhaps the most dominating pro athlete in sports history.

It marked his third Bassmaster Classic title – only Rick Clunn, at four, has more. He begins the Elite Series season as the reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) for the second consecutive time (he’s won five BASS AOY titles). He surpassed the previously unimaginable mark of over $4 million in career BASS earnings, and $4.5 million in combined BASS and FLW Tour winnings. And he’s been the No. 1-ranked angler in the world for most of the past decade.

He clinched the win fishing close to the launch in crowded Beeswax Creek. As the first boat out on day 1, he had his choice of spots to fish. He didn’t head for what others in the field felt would be the best spot in Beeswax – that’s where runner-up Jeff Kriet fished all 3 days.

Instead, VanDam made an abrupt left turn from the launch, went under the nearby bridge, put down his trolling motor and moved little for 3 days. As he predicted in practice, that specific area had the right combination of elements to not only hold up for 3 days, but actually improve as the expected warm weather arrived.

Kriet’s spot, on the other hand, petered out and he weighed a respectable but ultimately insufficient 14-05 today. Kriet started the day 2 ounces ahead of VanDam, but finished 2nd by a massive 5-pound margin.

Todd Faircloth, who also fished Beeswax in the vicinity of VanDam and Kriet, faded hard today when he brought 12-05 to the scales to end the Classic more than 7 pounds behind VanDam.

Local favorite Russ Lane finally got his bite to turn on in Spring Creek. He bailed on Beeswax and weighed 18-01 out of Spring – a bag second only to VanDam’s – and improved two spots to finish 4th.

And Brent Chapman rode Beeswax to a 16-12 sack today and a 5th-place finish.

Rattlebaits with some cranks mixed in were the ticket in Beeswax, but 6th-place finisher Mike Iaconelli threw a grub in there too. For Ike, today marked his third consecutive championship Top 10. He finished 2nd in both the 2009 Classic and Forrest Wood Cup.

In the end, this Classic didn’t come down to which pattern prevailed. It was determined by choice of starting spot – a choice that was complicated by arctic-like weather and muddy water during practice. Water temperatures in the low-40s seemed to shock the fish (and the anglers).

But Beeswax, which dominated the tournament, was the warmest of the creeks. It also had some of the only coontail in the fishery, and is a popular release site for local events.

http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3530

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