Kevin Van Dam

KVD is the man at Guntersville

April 30, 2007 – basszone.com

Kevin Van Dam proved once again why he is the most feared man in professional bass fishing by crushing a final day 25-pound, 5-ounce limit to stage a come from behind win; his first Elite Series championship, with a total weight of 66 pounds, 3 ounces in the weather shortened three day event. This is the 11th BASS victory for the two-time Bassmaster Classic Champion and three time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

Van Dam, the 39-year-old pro from Kalamazoo, Mich. started the day in fourth place merely one pound behind Butcher, and as he often seems to do caught his biggest weight of the Southern Challenge at precisely the right moment. His final day weight was bolstered by the big bite Van Dam said that he had been unable to get all week, the 7-pound, 5-ounce Purolator Big Bass of the day.

Mark Tucker, who was the only other angler besides Van Dam to eclipse the 20-pound mark on the final day of the event finished in second place with 59 pounds, 1-ounce. This marks the third second place BASS finish for the 47-year-old former professional bodybuilder from Saint Louis, MO.

VanDam up to challenge

April 29, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Kevin VanDam has won two Bassmaster Classics and three angler of the year trophies.

However, the 39-year old bass fishing legend had never won an event on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, which is known as one of the most diverse and challenging fisheries in professional angling.

But VanDam’s streak of close calls at Guntersville ended on Sunday when he claimed first place in the Southern Challenge presented by Purolator.

BUTCHER CUTS THE FIELD ON DAY ONE

April 27, 2007 – basszone.com

By the end of the first day weigh-in, it seemed that many of the anglers at the lower end of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race had sensed that urgency and leaped at the chance to gain some ground on the usual front runners, who were largely absent from the top half of the leader board.

Terry Butcher, the 35-year-old pro of Talala, Okla. did just that and stormed to the lead of the Southern Challenge. Butcher, taking the urgency to heart relied on two patterns to post his day one weight of 26-pounds, 3-ounces. Butcher’s solid day put him more than three pounds ahead of 34-year-old Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C. who finished with 22-pounds, 10-ounces.

After two tournaments without an appearance in the top 12, Kevin Van Dam of Kalamazoo, Mich. The 39-year-old found himself in third position with a limit that weighed 21-pounds, 4-ounces. Rounding out the top five were 38-year-old Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla. with 21-pounds, 2-ounces and fourth place. While 46-year-old Pete Ponds of Madison, MS weighed 20-pounds, 7-ounces grabbed the fifth spot.

Dealing with change - Day 2

April 27, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — With a myriad of fishing possibilities, Lake Guntersville is not only a proving ground for everyday anglers, but it’s also one of the most challenging stops on the Elite Series tour.

Now it seems that Mother Nature is trying to compound that reality during this visit to the 69,000-acre lake in north Alabama.

James Overstreet
The storm has officially passed and the anglers are ready to get on the water.

Heavy rains swept across the state Thursday morning and the forecast of extreme weather forced BASS officials to cancel the first day of the Southern Challenge presented by Purolator — a four-day tournament that has now been reduced to a three-day event.

The full field of 100-plus Elites will fish Friday and Saturday, but won’t be afforded the usual cut to 50 anglers after two days. Instead, the field will be pared to 12 on Sunday when the top pros will vie for the $100,000 championship check.

Southern Challenge - Day One Cancelled

April 26, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Kevin VanDam and Dean Rojas were among a handful of anglers, co-anglers and BASS officials huddled underneath a canopy on the shoreline of Lake Guntersville Thursday morning, anticipating the kickoff of the Southern Challenge by Purolator.

But the group wasn’t talking fishing Thursday morning. Instead their focus was on the weather.

As they contemplated the gloomy conditions, VanDam’s cell phone rang. After a short pause, he began reciting the conversation aloud for all to hear.

“Tell them it’s cancelled,” he said. “You’re not kidding. We’ll fish a full field Friday and Saturday then cut to 12 on Sunday. OK. I’ll let them know.”

Mike McClelland overcomes 5-pound deficit

April 22, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

EVANS, Ga. — Forget the old saw that says catching a fish on the first cast is bad luck.

Mike McClelland, a compact and earnest 39-year-old from Bella Vista, Ark., bagged a 6½ pounder on his first cast of the Pride of Georgia presented by Evan Williams Bourbon, and lurked near the top of the standings until sacking the biggest bag of the final day.

That 19-pound, 15-ounce limit — anchored by a bug-eyed 5-13 kicker — pushed him to 70-7 for the tournament, enough to come back against Chris Lane, who led the second and third days on Clarks Hill Lake.

Running Rookies

April 22, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

Derek Remitz is running away with the Rookie of the Year title — sprinting off even — but quietly and with much humility.

“I never expected to do this well,” Remitz said. “I just wanted to make some checks. This is incredible and I don’t know how to explain it.”

With three top 12s in four tournaments, including a victory in his first Elite tournament on Lake Amistad, Remitz is ahead of second-place Casey Ashley 1,015 to 847. Third-place Bryan Hudgins has 811.

“Hundreds and hundreds of points,” Ashley said smiling. He had just finished eighth in the Pride of Georgia presented by Evan Williams Bourbon on his home water, Clarks Hill Lake, and he lost ground in the rookie race. Remitz finished fifth.

CHRIS LANE STILL CLIMBING THE HILL

April 21, 2007 – basszone.com

Augusta, GA – Say what you will, but fishing at the week’s Pride of Georgia has been brutal to say the least – to the point where veteran big-stick specialist Tommy Biffle actually picked used a tactic to get a limit for the points. Another wave of spawners moved up over night to dust out vacant beds, but the sight-bite (as expected) never really materialized.

The absence of the primary forage of the bass at Clarks Hill this week, the transitional phase of the bass themselves, and a tight weight margin has set about to create a tournament where mere ounces – as opposed a wide margin of pounds – meant everything coming into Saturday’s top 12 cut.

Three Questions for the Elites

April 21, 2007 – espnoutdooors.com

EVANS, Ga. — It got cold again last night. The forecast Saturday calls for limitless skies, wind that wouldn’t cool soup and temperatures in the low 80s, but in the gloaming hour before first safe light, the remaining 50 Bassmaster Elite Series pros in the Pride of Georgia presented by Evan Williams Bourbon were bundled against a chill as they answered three questions from ESPNOutdoors.com.

They were: With 12th place at 30 pounds, 2 ounces after two days, what will be the 12-man cut weight today? How will the warmer, calmer weather affect the fishing? And what on this Day Three will be the key bite?

Cloud and Proud

April 20, 2007 – espnoutdoors

EVANS, Ga. — Kevin VanDam looked up Friday morning, but couldn’t see past a chubby, midnight blue cloud overhead. Those sun-blotting blobs, along with a brisk morning wind are why things may look up for VanDam and many of the rest of the Bassmaster Elite Series pros on the second day of the Pride of Georgia presented by Evan Williams Bourbon.

Of all the big names who struggled Thursday, none was bigger than VanDam, the two-time Bassmaster Classic champ who couldn’t even manage to boat a limit from Clarks Hill Lake, on the Georgia-South Carolina border and finished the day in 82nd place.

Like the rest of the field, he had to deal with “high, bluebird skies” and a slick water surface on a fishery that was expected to be comparatively difficult to begin with. A little cloud cover and a breeze had VanDam and others perked up Friday morning.