Kevin Van Dam

Many Elite Pros Having Career $easons

May 27, 2008 – basszone.com

Norman, Okla. – Along with the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points Series, there is another measuring tool to define success on the Elite Series; that second measuring stick is season earnings.

The high-risk nature of the Elite Series’ long season and big entry fees also brings the potential for high rewards. In 2007, 34 Elite Series pros won $100,000 or more. The big winner of last season was Boyd Duckett who rode the strength of his Bassmaster Classic and Bassmaster Legends victories to $836,500 in earnings.

Like Duckett did last season, the quickest and most obvious way to earn big money is to win tournaments, and thus far in 2008 the primary means to breaking the six figure mark has been to win. However, one angler has found that consistent quality finishes has equaled one big payday.

The BASS ZONE has been keeping statistics and here are those anglers ahead of the curve at just past the midway point of the 2008 Elite Series season.

Leading the Pack
At $568,500, Alton Jones not only grabbed the half million-dollar purse as Bassmaster Classic Champion, but he has also collected a paycheck in every event thus far this season, including two Elite 12 finishes [Kissimmee Chain and Clarks Hill]. Jones’ average finish in 2008 has been 27th place.

Second on the money list is two-time Bassmaster Classic Champion Kevin VanDam, from Kalamazoo, Mich. Van Dam has earned $192,500 in 2008. After winning at the Kissimmee Chain, the three time Angler of the Year has also been in two other Elite 12 fields besides his 3rd place finish at the Classic [Clarks Hill, Lake Murray]. Van Dam’s average finish thus far has been 24th place

Another Texan, Todd Faircloth, has been riding a string of steady paycheck finishes that dates back to last season. At $176,750 Faircloth has already eclipsed his earnings from last year. His win at Lake Amistad, along with two other Elite 12 finishes [Harris Chain, Clarks Hill] have carried him to second place in the Angler of the Year standings; his average finish is 20th place.

At fourth on the earnings list with $171,500 in winnings, Mike McClelland is the current Angler of the Year Points Leader, and like the others, McClelland has won a tournament, and has consistently placed in the money. Besides his season opening win at the Harris Chain, the Bella Vista, Ark. Pro has been in one other Elite 12 field [Amistad] and has an average finishing position of 19th place.

At $154,900 in earnings, Kenyon Hill of Norman, Okla. Has already bested his 2007 earnings by more than a hundred thousand dollars. Hill, who won the Clarks Hill event has only missed one paycheck [Lake Amistad] and has had two other Elite 12 finishes [Harris Chain, Kissimmee Chain] his average finish position has been 27th place.

Roumbanis wins by following his instincts

May 18, 2008 – bassmaster.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Fred Roumbanis remembers clearly the thought that went through his mind after four hours of catching nothing on the first day of the Bassmaster Elite Series Carolina Clash presented by Evan Williams. It was, “Oh my gosh, I might blank.”

With a four-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces, Roumbanis went from zero to hero on Lake Murray, winning the $100,000 first place check Sunday. His margin of victory was 1 pound, 9 ounces over Steve Kennedy. Most important, the 29-year-old Bixby, Okla., resident did it by following his instincts and doing something completely different than the rest of the field.

While every other angler was concentrating on main-lake points where bass were feeding on blueback herring, Roumbanis found his fish way up the Saluda River where bass were feeding on bluegill. Ultimately, the bluegill trumped the bluebacks — and following your instincts surpassed following the crowd.

“I didn’t even know about the Sebile Magic Swimmer,” said Roumbanis about the dominant lure in this tournament. “That’s how out of the loop I am.”

For Roumbanis, his method of doing it meant more than the money he won.

“It really, truly makes me feel like I’m a pretty good angler,” Roumbanis said. “I feel like I can trust my instincts and run with it — not worry about what everybody else is throwing, not worry about what a typical pattern is on a lake.

“There are so many keys to the puzzle on every lake you go to. There are probably five different patterns on any body of water that you can win a tournament. And I think this is just one of the patterns guys could have caught them on, if they tried.”

20 Pound Limit Pushes Roumbains to the Top

May 18, 2008 – basszone.com

Columbia, SC – Until this week’s Carolina Clash at Lake Murray, the sixth stop of the 2008 Elite Series regular season, the biggest roller coaster in the palmetto state was The Hurricane at Myrtle Beach. There have certainly been more highs and lows in this tournament than any of the best coasters the state offers.

Just as some started to figure out a few things, others seemingly lost the advantage they had. However, as evidenced time and again this year, if you can get to the Top 12 anything is possible.

Most assumed that Murray would be the perfect opportunity where post-spawn specialists and hometown heroes would shine. Assumptions proved largely inaccurate though as Mark Davis, arguably the best post-spawn fisherman in the game, caught only two bass Saturday and there wasn’t but one homer in the Top 12 at the end of the day.

The wind and clouds on Friday changed things up allowing the deep bite to be more productive, but Saturday there were few clouds and little wind – forcing some to go to their back-up plans. Some of them thrived as Saturday saw the biggest limits of the week, but some of the leaders stubbed their two in a big way.

Cream rises

May 17, 2008 – bassmaster.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Only three of the anglers who started in the top 12 on Saturday caught more than 13 pounds on Day Three — and only half will be fishing Sunday’s final.

Taking advantage of the slip were some of the biggest names in the sport: Fred Roumbanis, Kevin VanDam, Steve Kennedy, Davy Hite, Aaron Martens and Ish Monroe all moved from the outside in. Day Two leader Rick Morris only caught 5 pounds, 10 ounces (18th) and second place Mike McClelland (20th) had four fish that weighed 6 pounds.

Fred Roumbanis moved from 15th to first with the second-biggest bag of the tournament: 20 pounds, 9 ounces.

“I tried running and gunning the first day of the tournament and actually got pushed off some of my spots,” Roumbanis said. “I thought I was actually going to blank the first day, so I started looking around for something else and I found something that really fits my style.”

Most of the anglers, like Morris, weren’t thrilled with the high skies and lack of wind to start Saturday, but they still believed fishing points on the blueback herring bite was the only way to have a shot at winning. Roumbanis disagreed.

“I’ve waited for this sun all week,” he said. “My bite has nothing to do with the blueback — bluegill maybe, but not blueback. Nobody else is doing it.”

Roumbanis said he caught a limit within the first hour of fishing and culled all day. His bag, which included a 5-8 and a 5-4, was missing an 8-plus pounder he said he missed first thing in the morning.

Unpredictable baitfish and new weather keep anglers on their toes

May 17, 2008 – bassmaster.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The leader of the Carolina Clash presented by Evan Williams only had three fish with an hour left on Friday.

Rick Morris, of Virginia Beach, Va., caught 17 pounds, 7 ounces on Day Two and leads the tournament with 35-7. It was the fourth-largest bag on a day where the average weight dropped slightly, despite what most anglers considered to be perfect weather for Lake Murray.

Even though he caught 18 pounds on Day One, Morris said he decided early on Friday when upon catching his first keeper that he was going to go big — or go home.

“I went two hours without a bite, and three hours into the morning, I only had one fish, but it was a 6-pounder,” Morris said. “So at that point I thought, ‘I’m in the cut with that one fish. No more small fish.’”

Morris said he tied on every big bait he could find — of all different varieties — spinnerbait, topwater, and “big giant things on Carolina rigs.” He was still fishing points like the majority of the field, but was only targeting the larger bass.

That style required patience. Morris only had four more bites, but got two of them into the boat — one was over 5 pounds and the other over 4 pounds. After missing one late in the day he said would have put him over 20 pounds, he thought it might be time to switch things up.

“With an hour to go, I thought, ‘You know what? I better fill out this limit,’” he said. “I got out a little Berkley finesse worm and caught two more keepers within five minutes. They were just little 13-inchers, but they’re the reason I’m in the lead.”

Straight to the Point

May 15, 2008 – bassmaster.com

IRMO, S.C. — South Carolina angler Casey Ashley summed it best as he came across the stage late in the Day One weigh-in of the Carolina Clash presented by Evan Williams Bourbon.

“Nobody’s fishing alone,” said Ashley, who sits in 34th place with 13 pounds, 5 ounces. “There’s about 50 good points out here and we’ve got about 100 guys constantly running them.”

Matt Sphar, who is in third with 18-4, was one of the last anglers to leave Thursday morning and, after his first four points were taken, he just waited around for one to open up.

“I watched them leave, and I just pulled in right behind them,” he said.

Sphar and leader Grant Goldbeck, who was the only angler to break 20 pounds on Day One (20-4), said they both tried doing something a little different to give the bass a new look.

Sphar said he was finesse fishing while everyone else was power fishing. He caught an early limit on one spot with a worm, but he’s nervous the big fish will start reacting to the power baits on Day Two.

“But if they start biting like that, I’ll just use a bigger worm,” he said. “I think my pattern should hold up.”

Goldbeck wasn’t interested in talking about his tweak to the chase, but he did admit — like everyone else — that he’s keying in on Lake Murray’s baitfish, the blueback herring.

Elite returns to ‘Classic’ state for Carolina Clash

May 14, 2008 – bassmaster.com

Marking the first trip to the Palmetto State since the enormously successful and exciting 2008 Bassmaster Classic, South Carolina is the destination for the Bassmaster Elite Series’ Carolina Clash presented by Evan Williams Bourbon, set for May 15-18 on Lake Murray out of Columbia, S.C.
Bassmaster Opens

As always, fishing fans can watch the on-the-water action from the May 15-18 Carolina Clash on The Bassmasters, which airs Saturday, May 24, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

Created in the 1930s, Lake Murray is a top fishing destination in the Southeastern U.S and has been the site of 10 previous BASS events. It has never hosted a Bassmaster Elite Series event.

Elite pro Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., has fished Lake Murray many times, and he said next week’s event will bring some big fish.

“It’s going to be a topwater slugfest,” Ashley said. “The herring will be running. It’ll be a lot like Clarks Hill, it’ll be postspawn and the fish will be up in the flats. A lot of topwater action … that’s all you can do. Maybe throw in a jig now and then.”

Last week, Ashley finished fifth in the Pride of Georgia presented by Evan Williams Bourbon. Since he thinks Murray will fish similarly to Clarks Hill, the South Carolinian hopes the upcoming event in his home state will deliver a second straight top-five finish, and maybe victory.

“I sure hope so,” Ashley said.

So You Want a Sponsor?

May 14, 2008 – bassmaster.com

Every pro angler, or aspiring pro, needs sponsors. But not every sponsor is created equal. Some are top shelf, others bargain basement; some offer product only, others pay cash. Those are the ones worth pursuing.

In this 3-part series we’ll look at how the top companies select their paid pro staff positions. Part 1 will detail a lure company, Part 2 will detail a boat company, and Part 3 will do the same with a nonendemic company. Each featured company is a top shelf mainstay of our industry.

Part 1: Strike King Lure Company

“Out first consideration is fishing ability,” says Strike King Marketing Manager Chris Brown. “If you aren’t fishing after the last cut, and catching fish on a consistent basis, no one will be interviewing you. We want our paid pro staffers out front, in the media. Catching fish is the only way they can do that over the long-run.”

He continues to say, however, that catching bass is only the first step in the process. The second step is marketing ability.

Brown describes that as being an intelligent and articulate interview, being able to answer the same question over and over as if it’s the first time it’s ever been asked and being cheerful after a tough, disappointing loss. It’s also about manners, courtesy, personal grooming and appropriate attire.

“Our anglers are expected to be professional. That means using correct grammar, using clean language and answering questions honestly and accurately while promoting our products whenever possible. And, we expect them to look the part. That means being well groomed and wearing clean clothes. They should be ready for media photos whenever possible.

“And, anglers should know that marketing ability will go a long way toward making up for lesser fishing skills, a bad tournament or a bad season. Marketing ability is very important.”

KVD Texas Q&A

May 8, 2008 – bassfan.com

More than a few BassFans have noticed that Kevin VanDam, the No. 1 ranked angler in the world, coughed up a few fur-balls in Texas.

He scored a mediocre 45th at Falcon, then failed to check at Amistad. And although he doesn’t factor it into his performance evaluations, the team he captained finished dead-last in the PAA-sanctioned Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC).

The Texas trip-up seems somewhat magnified, since he saddled up in the Lone Star state immediately after a decisive win at Florida’s Lake Toho.

BassFan sat down with VanDam to ask about his Texas troubles. That conversation is summarized in the Q&A below.

BassFan: You have a win this season, but alongside that, you’ve had a few struggles, all of which puts you at 8th in the BASS Angler of the Year race. How would you evaluate your performance so far this season?

I’ve had a couple of good tournaments, and I’ve also had a couple I’m not too happy with. Texas was not good to me at all.

It’s all in the decisions you make at the time. In Texas, those were such good lakes that you can’t hardly bounce back if you get behind at all. And that was really the case for me. Especially when we lost that day at Amistad – that makes it tough. When you’ve got to make the Top 12 in 2 days, instead of 3 days, it’s a challenge.

Do you lump the TTBC in there too?

No, not really. I don’t really look at that. I had some bad luck there, but when your three other teammates don’t have a good day – or no good series at all – that’s the way it goes.

Were you trying to force your bites in Texas, did you pick the wrong areas? What happened?

I probably overthought it. Well, I definitely did. I overthought the situations more than anything else, especially at Amistad. I knew the areas and what to do to catch the big ones there, but it really didn’t happen for me.

I didn’t catch any real big ones, so I kept searching deeper, trying to do different things – trying to find them elsewhere – when I should have stuck with what I know happens down there.

And Falcon was kind of the same. When you’re catching 5-pounders, it’s hard to leave when you need to go to a place to catch 7s or 8s.

Murray’s next week. Are you in one of your “mad” moods where you’re ready to turn things way up?

I try to do well at every event, and you can’t always do that. I can get mad every week, but that doesn’t mean I’ll end up having good results.

I’m going to try my best there (at Murray). It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. I’m sure the lake’s changed a lot since I’ve been there, but I do like the lake.

BOOMER SOONER BABY

May 5, 2008 – basszone.com

Augusta, GA – Anglers at this week’s fifth stop of the 2008 Elite Series tournament trail at Clarks Hill have cautioned all week that if the weather continued to warm the Blue Back herring would get it all figured out and, consequently, the bite would improve.

Due to drought, The Pride of Georgia was being fished this year minus several acres of water – lower by several feet than in any of the previous three years the Elites have visited the famed Columbia County pond. Still, from the start, it was apparent that if you were in the right area you’re day could be the peach instead of the pit.

Denny Brauer stormed out of the gate with a 22-pound bag, but wasn’t able to come close to it for the next three days as Edwin Evers seemingly took control of the tournament and led the charge at Sunday’s launch. However, behind him were 11 of the sports most recognized superstars – including Denny Brauer, the Day One leader.

As said previously though, the key was consistency – and who could make the most of the emerging herring presence and predictability. If you were around the herring, and had a slough of spots to back it up, your stock was on the upswing. Saturday, anglers who’d found, and made the most of the bait and the opportunity they afforded, spearheaded the Top 12.