Kevin VanDam

Velvick Bops Big’un

March 19, 2010
(bassmaster.com, March 18, 2010)

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Feeling right at home, Byron Velvick toted 29 pounds of Clear Lake bass to the scales Thursday and took the opening-round lead at the Golden State Shootout, the second event of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series season.

Nearing the 10-year anniversary of when Velvick established the three-day BASS’ record for tournament weight here, Velvick, once a West Coast resident, raided Clear Lake in a similar manner, boating the first double-digit bass of the Elite season, a 10-11 beauty.

Now settled in Del Rio, Texas — on the periphery of another bass-factory Lake Amistad — Velvick is in a different place now.

“Ten years ago, I actually missed some of my bigger bites,” said Velvick, 45. “But not today. I have more knowledge now and the equipment is miles ahead of where it was. I absolutely love this fishery. Maybe I should move to Clear Lake.”

Although prevailing Clear Lake wisdom would assume that Velvick tied on a big swimbait and fired it around the whole day, the two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier said not so. Instead, he is mixing up his lure choice — a swimbait is still a big part of it — and is mining shallow water spots that have consistently produced over the years.

“You have to mix it up,” Velvick said. “It’s just not a good idea to stick with one lure. Variety is the name of the game this week. And I think that was a key to my success today (Thursday). I’m doing something a little bit different, but it’s smart.”

With Clear Lake in a funky way — cold nights and mornings give way to bluebird, warm conditions later in the day — a deep bite has been productive for a bevy of anglers. But Velvick says it is “disintegrating” and will stick with his milk run throughout the rest of the week.

The record, 83 pounds, 5 ounces, would certainly be in jeopardy if the Elites were three-day affairs. But Velvick will have to sustain his performance for four days this week and for that to happen, the two-time BASS winner said he needed boat traffic, from locals and competitors, to be limited.

More than 5 pounds behind Velvick was Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif. Although he faces a sizable deficit, Lintner, who landed 23-4, has a sparkling resume here — he won a 2005 Bassmaster Open on the fishery — and could make up ground quickly with the right bite.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=5007856

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