Industry News
Archive For August 2008
The $3 mil. Man
August 19, 2008 – bassmaster.com
2008 has been good to Kevin VanDam. He won two Elite Series events, won his fourth Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, qualified for his 19th Bassmaster Classic and passed the $3 million dollar mark in career earnings.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I didn’t realize I was approaching $3 million in winnings until someone told me I broke that mark. It’s great, but I think it has to be put in context with some of the other money winners on the tour,” he said.
“The money has really increased over the years. As an example, look at how long it took me to earn the first million, then the second, and now the third. The time has gotten shorter between each mark.
“Some of that is that I’m a better angler now. But a lot more of it is because of increased prize money. That makes a big difference when you compare anglers over the years. You’ve got to take that into consideration.”
He points to the Classic as an example. In 1971 the champion, Bobby Murray, earned $10,000. In 2001, the year of VanDam’s first Classic win, he earned $100,000. His second title in 2005 earned him $200,000. Last year, Alton Jones’ win was worth $500,000. Jones made more money — a lot more — with one Classic victory than did VanDam with two.
“A lot of guys might not believe me, but the money is not what this sport is about to me. It’s really not even about catching the fish, per se. It’s about competition with other anglers and Mother Nature. I want to figure it all out and do better every time I go fishing.
“What makes them bite a particular lure? What can I do better to make them bite? Why are they where they are? Why are they behaving the way they do? What are they going to do later in the day or later in the tournament?
“I want the answers to those questions and a thousand more. If it’s about money you won’t last long out there. The competitive spirit is too high. There’s too much drive in some of the guys to survive if you’re only fishing to cash checks.”
VanDam’s feelings on this subject are strong. He believes prize money or tournament earnings should never be used as a measure success.
“Professional fishing isn’t like other sports. You’re not going to see an angler rack up successive wins like Tiger Woods in golf, Michael Phelps in Olympic swimming or Kyle Busch in NASCAR. It’s just not going to happen.”
He explains that every lake or river they fish has different factors to contend with every time they fish it. There’s the season, the wind, the sun, the rain, the barometric pressure and the baitfish.
“And those are only the things we know we know. What about the stuff we don’t know we don’t know? That’s even worse.
“Add to that the level of competition. As the money has gotten better, so have the anglers. I’ll tell you, the Elite Series that BASS came up with has completely changed the sport.
“The money is huge. It’s attracted really good guys. These guys aren’t simple minded fishermen. They’re educated technicians and true professionals. Mess around with them, and they’ll eat your lunch.”
So, how should anglers be measured? VanDam’s answer is simple and straightforward, if unworkable.
“There should be a level playing field. The Classic should be run like it was in the old days. Put us on a plane and point it towards a mystery destination — someplace none of us have fished. When it lands tell us to go bass fishing. We’ll find out quick enough who can figure them out!”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=b_KVD_3MillionVanDam earns “superstar” ranking with TTBAOY title
August 15, 2008 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kevin VanDam made ESPN’s SportsCenter “Top 10 Plays of the Day,” last Saturday morning. He was No. 3 on the list, based on winning the $250,000 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title the day before, during the Bassmaster Champion’s Choice tournament at Oneida Lake.
In a SportsCenter video clip showing VanDam swinging a smallmouth bass in the boat, it was noted “they call him the Tiger Woods of bass fishing.”
That comparison is both unfair to both men and getting a bit long in the tooth. But it’s not entirely off-base, either. VanDam and Woods represent the singularly-dominant figures in their respective non-team sports.
The problem is that golf and bass fishing aren’t really comparable. But the fact the latter is a sport — a physically and mentally challenging sport — has become increasingly apparent. That’s good news for professional bass fishing, which has long lived under the image of good ol’ boys swigging beer until they feel a tug on their line.
Jerry McKinnis, now 70, was in Syracuse last week when VanDam clinched the title. After hosting “The Fishin’ Hole” show for 44 years and founding a company that continues to provide TV production work for ESPN, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, McKinnis has probably witnessed VanDam at work more than anyone.
And McKinnis knows his sports, not just bass fishing. As a former minor league player in the Kansas City Royals farm system, McKinnis experienced that sport as a participant. While fishing became his way of making a living, McKinnis has never ceased to be a keen observer of the major sports in this country.
Plus, McKinnis has a couple of pretty good “sports advisors,” he counts among his closest friends, including legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight and former Major League Baseball manager Whitey Herzog, best-known for guiding the St. Louis Cardinals to three National League pennants and a World Series championship.
So just over a year ago, when McKinnis made that Tiger Woods/Kevin VanDam comparison quoted at the top of this story, it wasn’t merely a flippant comment from a know-nothing. As someone who has also fished in bass tournaments and observed every aspect of the modern evolution of the sport, McKinnis can speak with some authority on the subject of sports and the athletes participating in them.
Sunday morning, as McKinnis stood on the launch dock at Oneida Shores Park, he noted everyone sees VanDam’s competitiveness, and it’s certainly an important part of his success. But McKinnis’ TV work with VanDam also provided him a view of another equally-important part of KVD’s success.
“I don’t think people can see, or have a feel for, his focus,” McKinnis said. “He’s extremely focused. I notice that because he’s always very open to us sending a cameraman with him.
“It doesn’t matter what’s going on around him, because he’s oblivious to it all. His focus is really incredible.”
If you’re watching NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games now — and who isn’t? — count the times “focus” is used in describing an elite athlete. No one gets to the pinnacle of any sport without an extraordinary ability to focus on the task at hand.
And if you know McKinnis, you know he would never cheer for one angler over another. But you don’t work in the TV business for almost 50 years without knowing what viewers want to see. With malice toward none, McKinnis knows VanDam really is the Tiger Woods of bass fishing in that aspect.
It’s been well-documented how television ratings go up when Woods is part of a golf tournament field. And they go even higher when he’s in contention on the final day.
“I think Kevin is probably the most valuable asset that bass fishing has,” McKinnis said. “Again, I’m not trying to put down all the other anglers. But Kevin is the man.
“He’s the guy who can take bass fishing to where we want it to go.”
McKinnis made one more interesting observation about VanDam’s ability: his unwillingness to quit — ever — under any circumstances.
“All these other anglers talk about not giving up,” McKinnis said. “And in most cases, that’s just talk. Most of these guys give up at some point. It’s human nature.
“Again, I don’t mean that to be a negative toward the other anglers. But most of them shut down at some point. Kevin doesn’t do that, absolutely doesn’t do that.
“I think those two things — his focus and that he never gives up — are really important to where he is today.”
Where he is today can be measured by over $3 million in BASS tournament winnings. Only one other angler, 59-year-old Denny Brauer, has crossed the $2 million mark in BASS earnings.
A recent mathematical study by Jennifer Brown at the University of California – Berkeley, documented Tiger Woods’ affect on the other golfers in a tournament. Entitled “Quitters Never Win: The (Adverse) Incentive Effects of Competing with Superstars,” Brown reached the following conclusion:
_On average, higher-skill PGA golfers’ first-round scores are approximately 0.2 strokes higher when Tiger Woods participates, relative to when Woods is absent. The overall superstar effect for tournaments is approximately 0.8 strokes. The adverse superstar effect increases when Woods is playing well and disappears during Woods’ weaker periods. There is no evidence that reduced performance is due to ‘riskier’ play. _Something similar could have happened to Faircloth last week. Both he and VanDam acknowledged the enormous pressure they felt going into that final tournament with the TTBAOY title on the line. The first day was literally a wash, as both anglers had a 10-pound limit and stood in danger of missing the top 50, Day Two cut.
On the most crucial day of the season, VanDam rallied with 13 pounds, 1 ounce and moved into the top 50, while Faircloth faltered with 6-6, his worst single-day performance of the year.
The next day, Kelly Jordon, a fellow Texan who has known Faircloth since they were teenagers, still couldn’t believe Faircloth hadn’t found fish at Oneida Lake those first two days of the tournament.
“All I can think is that he got hung up on those smallmouth out here,” Jordon said. “That can happen to anybody. But it’s just hard for me to believe it happened to him on this pond, the way it’s fishing for largemouth.
“That was probably his curse, when he found that big school of smallmouth (in practice).”
Or maybe it was just another example of “The (Adverse) Incentive Effects of Competing with Superstars.”
With a fourth BASS Angler of the Year title added to his list of accomplishments, VanDam secured his reputation as THE superstar of bass fishing.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=3533661KVD Tours ESPN
August 12, 2008 – bassmaster.com
In recognition of his winning the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., visited ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, on Monday, one day after the conclusion of the 2008 Elite Series season.
VanDam and his family traveled to the Bristol, Conn., campus from the season finale in Syracuse, N.Y., and the four-time Angler of the Year made stops at ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, First Take and ESPNEWS.
In his first stop, at Mike & Mike in the Morning, VanDam was quizzed by a curious Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg — who broadcast their show live from the 2008 Bassmaster Classic in Greenville, S.C. — about VanDam’s favorite lure, the Strike King Series 6 crankbait in the Sexy Shad color, a crankbait KVD designed and one that helped him win four tournaments through the past two Elite Series seasons. The radio show hosts wondered what drove VanDam to name the color “sexy shad.”
“I think the highlight of the day for me was Greenie talking about Sexy Shad,” VanDam said. “We wanted to name it something catchy and transcendent — and when a guy who’s not an avid angler wants to talk about it, then that strategy worked.”
VanDam, also a two-time Bassmaster Classic winner, drove his tournament rig to the ESPN campus and parked it for the day outside the cafeteria, where hundreds of curious employees made stops to inspect his fully wrapped truck and boat.
“It was neat to see how many people came to check it out,” said VanDam, who answered questions and posed for photographs with fans. “It was a really great day. We had some BASS fans out there.”
VanDam was then interviewed by ESPN’s Michael Kim for First Take in a segment that will air Wednesday, Aug. 13, on ESPN. Finally, he talked with Cindy Brunson for a Monday afternoon spot on ESPNEWS.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=b_news_KVD_ESPNtourRojas’ 18-Pound Day Puts Him Solidly Out Front
August 10, 2008 – bassfan.com
Dean Rojas’ bags at the Oneida Bassmaster Elite Series keep getting bigger and bigger, and they’ve now taken him as high as he can go on the leaderboard. If the phenomenon continues tomorrow, he’ll almost certainly cure his self-described “7-year itch.”
The veteran from Arizona boxed 18-03 today to complete his ascent to the top of the standings (he was 4th after day 1 and 2nd after day 2). It was the biggest stringer of the day by more than 2 pounds, and with a 3-day total of 50-10, he’ll carry an advantage of more than 3 1/2 pounds into the final day.
His closest pursuer is New Jersey’s Mike Iaconelli, the day-2 leader who exchanged places with him today. Ike’s 14-04 bag (which gave him a 47-00 total) was nearly 6 pounds lighter than the one he weighed yesterday, but he attributed much of that to the slick conditions and is confident he can go big once again if the gray, wet weather returns, as expected, tomorrow.
North Carolina’s Kevin Langill caught 14-10 today and remained in 3rd with a 45-14 total. He’s been solid every day, but will likely need to do something spectacular tomorrow to have a shot at his first tour-level win.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3001Gray skies, bright attitudes for Elite Series finalists
August 10, 2008 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Before the official practice for the Champion’s Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide was over, Dean Rojas said he felt more confident than ever he would win the tournament. Now, thousands of casts later, he feels even better about his chances.
When a reporter tried to ask Dean Rojas how he’d adjust if his fish didn’t bite on this final morning, Rojas was quick to cut him off.
“They will bite,” he said emphatically.
Then he noted he believes it’s possible for him to increase his daily weight again, as he has done the previous two days. In fact, he feels a 20-pound limit is well within his reach.
“Why not? I did it yesterday,” Rojas said.
Mike Iaconelli, currently in second place with a three-day catch of 47-00, is slightly less than 4 pounds behind Rojas, but expressed a strong belief that he, not Rojas, will hoist the first-place trophy this evening.
“You have to be confident,” Ike said. “You have to think you can win every time.”
The conditions have played into his hands. Yesterday on stage, he stated if he could get overcast skies, he expected to bust a monster limit. His wish came true.
“I actually woke up a lot earlier than I planned to this morning,” Iaconelli said. “When I heard that patter of rain outside, it put a big smile on my face. It’s in my hands. I have to focus on every cast.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=3528309IKE GOES BIG ON DAY TWO AT ONEIDA
August 9, 2008 – basszone.com
Syracuse, NY – The rain and storms that greeted the Elite Series pros fishing day two of the Champions Choice did not dampen the spirits of those chasing their dream. At the end of the day, the AOY title, the majority of the Classic field, and 80% of next year’s Elites would be determined. For those anglers with their fate uncertain, Friday’s action was critical.
With take-off and weigh-in times in reverse order, the real drama wouldn’t take place until the very last, but with so much riding on Friday’s weights the excitement started early.
Rick Clunn virtually secured his spot in next year’s Classic marking the 32nd time the machine from Ava, Missouri will compete in the super bowl of bass fishing. His two day total of 29-13 put him in 6th heading towards the weekend.
Mike McClelland made a huge move vaulting from 69th to 13th with the day’s second biggest bag of 17-14. As impressive as McClelland’s catch was, it paled in comparison to Mike Iaconelli’s limit on Friday. 20 pounds and one ounce is what the scale showed after Ike’s five fish had been weighed and with that, the New Jersey pro sat in first place. Iaconelli jumped from 40th to first and will take a slim lead into Saturday’s round.
Not to be outdone, Dean Rojas backed up his 15-14, day one weight with 16-9 on day two. A combined weight of 32-7 will send the frog specialist into the finals just five ounces off the lead.
After all the other competitors had crossed the stage, VanDam and Faircloth squared off for their AOY showdown. Starting the tournament with a 21 point lead, Faircloth watched his advantage over Kevin dwindle to 15 points on Thursday. KVD weighed in 13 pounds, one ounce on Friday to take the 47th position. Todd Faircloth needed just over 13 pounds to keep the race alive, but struggled to catch a limit on Friday and his last day total of 6-6 pushed him all the way down to 93rd washing away his hopes of the Angler of the Year title. Kevin VanDam won his fourth AOY trophy.
http://www.basszone.com/2008eliteseries/oneida/day2/story.htmKVD returns to the top
August 9, 2008 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Todd Faircloth finally missed a top-50, two-day cut on the Bassmaster Elite Series this season. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time for him.
When Faircloth weighed in only 6 pounds, 6 ounces Friday on Day Two of the Champion’s Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide, it allowed Kevin VanDam to claim the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
Separated by only 4 ounces after Day One, VanDam rallied with 13-1 to make the top-50 cut with a two-day total of 23-14, and Faircloth finished in 93rd place with 16-15. That was sufficiently more than enough for VanDam to overcome the 21-point lead Faircloth had entering this final event of the season.
Faircloth had made every two-day cut in the previous 10 tournaments this season; VanDam had notched two Elite Series victories this year. But ultimately the AOY title came down to survival on Oneida Lake this week.
“I can’t believe it,” said VanDam, who was in 59th place in the standings here Thursday. “I knew this week would be critical, and Todd has not had a bad tournament all year.
“I was really disappointed yesterday. I thought I’d blown it. I knew when I got a second chance, I had to make it happen.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=3526494SO MUCH ON THE LINE AT ONEIDA
August 7, 2008 – basszone.com
Syracuse, NY – The 2008 Elite Series season comes down to the 11th and final tournament at Oneida Lake. If this were the World Series of Poker, many at the “table” would push all in this week as they’re either pressing to re-qualify for the 2009 season or trying to secure a berth in February’s Classic in Shreveport. In the case of Todd Faircloth and Kevin VanDam – this week it’s go big or lose out on claiming the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year title and $250,000 prize.
Faircloth edged VanDam out of the top spot last week at Erie by doing what he’s done all season – fish an exceptionally clean and consistent tournament through Sunday. VanDam, on the other hand, who came to Erie with a narrow 16-point lead, failed to make the Top 12 cut, and this week he’s at Oneida’s Champions Choice trailing Faircloth by 21 points.
When Tommy Biffle won on Oneida back in 2006, he defied conventional wisdom and pursued largemouth in extremely shallow water. In last year’s Major at Oneida, many anglers stole a page from Biffle’s playbook by going for largemouth for quality and smallmouth for numbers. This year, all reports indicate that the banks are lined with anglers looking for largemouth as the typically more consistent smallmouth bite has been incredibly difficult to find.
Unlike at last week’s Empire Chase, the weather at Oneida shouldn’t be too much of a factor, in terms of on-the-water conditions; however, the pros that The BASS ZONE spoke to pointed out that the late spring may be to blame for the inconsistent deepwater smallmouth bite. While they are graphing schools of smallmouth out deep, getting them to eat has been hit and miss.
Additionally, there are only a few shoals on the lake where bait and schools of smallmouth are congregating, which brings a new wrinkle to the week. If many anglers in the field are targeting largemouth, it’s safe to assume that at some point in the week that bite will fade. As good as each of the 106 anglers in this week’s field are, the smallmouth that are biting will likely have been found by several anglers.
http://www.basszone.com/2008eliteseries/oneida/preview/story.htmFierce storms batter Oneida but catches remain strong
August 7, 2008 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As waves of rain, bolts of lightning and the occasional burst of hail battered Oneida Lake, some of the Elite Series anglers decided discretion was the better part of valor and took cover from the elements on day one of the Champion’s Choice Presented by Ramada Worldwide. Others, like Denny Brauer, chose to tempt Mother Nature by sticking it out on the water.
The weather didn’t seem to bother either the smallmouths or the largemouths which inhabit this shallow grassy lake in central New York. All but 10 pros weighed in limits and it took over 14 pounds to eke into the top 20 and 12 pounds to make the top 50.
One or two big bites could help an angler jump 30 or more places in the standings and most of the leaders focused primarily on largemouths, which are generally considered more likely to produce a kicker fish. In fact, of the top four — Steve Kennedy, Britt Myers, Terry Butcher and Dean Rojas — only one of them brought any brown fish to the scales at all.
A week after suffering a harrowing mechanical failure on Lake Erie that caused him to forfeit his entire Day One catch, Steve Kennedy made it to the scales on time today with a limit of largemouths that weighed 17-10 and finished in first place.
“I haven’t caught a smallmouth since we’ve been here,” he reported. “I’m not sure that (the largemouths) will hold out all week, but on this lake, you have to catch what you can. I’m really concerned that I’ve used up all of my fish. I’m fishing for individual fish. It’s almost like hunting.”
He’s catching most of his fish in water that wouldn’t cover the back of his Jack Russell terrier, Louie, but he’s using multiple techniques to lure them into biting. He even caught one on a swimbait.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=3524576Faircloth survives scare
August 7, 2008 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Todd Faircloth looked like he’d seen a ghost after he was the first angler across the weigh-in stage Thursday at the Bassmaster Elite Series Champion’s Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide.
But the 33-year-old Jasper, Texas, native must have looked even worse two hours earlier, when he had only one bass in his livewell at 3 p.m. Faircloth just knew that his 21-point lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race was history.
“I said this morning that Angler of the Year can’t be won today, but it can be lost,” Faircloth recalled. “That’s what was going through my mind. I felt like — with one fish at 3 o’clock — I had lost Angler of the Year.”
However, Faircloth managed to fill out a five-bass limit in the next 90 minutes. And while those five bass weighed only 10 pounds, 9 ounces, they were just 4 ounces fewer than the limit Kevin VanDam weighed-in a few minutes later.
“Every time that Todd has opened the door for me, I haven’t been able to capitalize on it,” VanDam said.
By finishing three places ahead of Faircloth in Thursday’s standings, theoretically, VanDam was able to shave six points off Faircloth’s lead. But the 2008 AOY race may come down to Friday on Oneida Lake.
By being in 59th and 62nd places, respectively, VanDam and Faircloth are on the verge of missing the top-50 cut, which takes place after Friday’s weigh-in.
In essence, Thursday’s rain-soaked day on the lake was a wash in the AOY race.
“That’s a bad thing,” VanDam said. “It’s one less day.”
A single bass caught by either man Friday could very well decide the Angler of the Year race and the $250,000 cash prize that goes to the champion. In this, the 11th tournament of the season, the most prestigious trophy in professional bass fishing could come down to one day and one fish.
“One or two bites makes all the difference in the world,” VanDam said. “I’m going to go out there and swing at them again tomorrow.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=3524620