Kevin VanDam

Private Practice

February 19, 2009 – bassmaster.com

BOSSIER CITY, La. — The way Mike Iaconelli figures, anglers choose between two strategies on a day like today, the last day of practice before the Bassmaster Classic.

They can make the rounds to the spots that they discovered in earlier practices, verifying that the fish they found are still hanging around, and perhaps finding secondary spots nearby. Or they can trust that the fish they found will hold during competition, and, in Iaconelli’s words “start over.”

When he won the Classic in New Orleans four years ago, he took the first tack. Today, circumstances led him to the latter.

“I’m using today as a brand-new day,” Iaconelli said on his boat before launch. He’s able to take that approach in part because he found what he suspects is “a magic area” during practice Sunday. “Even if we don’t get a keeper today, I’m happy,” he said.

There’s no telling whether Iaconelli’s will be the prevailing plan on this final practice day, but it certainly won’t be the only one. Fellow Elite Series pros Dave Wolak and Brent Chapman, to name two, intended to “expand” their water, combing areas close to where they already expect to fish.

“I think it’s a day to hunt fish regardless,” Wolak said, adding that he would target “the areas around the areas.”

One pitfall of relying on the practice to locate fish is the fickle weather. The conditions at launch were almost balmy — warm, windy and moist — with a high today forecast to push 80 degrees.

Competition days will be more brutish, with freezing temperatures at launch and highs around 60.

“The weather today is conducive to finding fish,” pro Bernie Schultz said. “Whether they hold up is the question.”

Chapman echoed that sentiment: “They’re going to bite great today. They’re going to tease a lot of guys.” The Kansas pro sees the final practice as a chance not to eliminate water, but to eliminate baits. He’ll throw a variety today, with the expectation of ditching any that fails to attract a fish in such pristine conditions. “If it doesn’t work today,” Chapman said, “it won’t work come tournament day.”

Class(ic) registration

February 17, 2009 – bassmaster.com

SHREVEPORT, La. — While Peter Thliveros talked about watching “The Family Guy” too late on cable last night, and Rick Morris mentioned that he parked his boat for so long this winter that his trailer tires went flat, and Fred Roumbanis showed off the new phone he got after dropping his last one in the water — Ken Baumgardner stood against a wall near the elevators of the Hilton lobby.

As one of the six Federation Nation qualifiers among the 51-angler Bassmaster Classic field, Baumgardner not only is an underdog, he’s a degree removed from the class reunion atmosphere among the Elite Series anglers who qualify for the most prestigious tournament in the sport.

Larry Towell

The most coveted trophy in fishing

But at angler registration Tuesday, Baumgardner didn’t much mind.

“I told my wife when we came here, ‘We’re flying under the radar,’ “ the Pittsburgh angler said. “This could be a life-changing tournament.”

His relative anonymity will likely help him come tournament time, when dozens of spectator boats will follow the top anglers in the sport. Funny thing about registration, though, is that it was Baumgardner, in his embroidered competition jersey, who stood out as an obvious angler.

While a few competitors wore their jerseys — and a couple of them picked up UPS packages at the desk containing new jerseys — most wandered around in their civvies, heavy on the jeans and sweatshirts, looking for the most part like just a bunch of dudes.

Even if you didn’t know the Classic was old hat to, say, Steve Kennedy, you might guess it, on account of his wearing an old Auburn hat.

The registration is among the only times this week that anglers will convene with so few distractions. Someone asked Kim Bain-Moore to autograph his copy of BASS Times and Rick Clunn obligingly posed for a photo with some fans, but mostly, this was low-key all the way.

Still, the anglers talked business, as well. A few, for instance, are considering using aluminum jet boats instead of fiberglass — not as fast, certainly, but better for easing into the Red River’s prized backwaters.

“Just idling into some of these places is like a Disney ride,” said Kennedy, miming the bounces and knocks of driving over stumps and debris. “It’s fun for about 10 minutes until you actually try to get somewhere.”

Kennedy and Randy Howell are among a small group of anglers who brought aluminum boats, which they said they’re unlikely to use in competition. But you never know.

Be careful what you wish for

February 14, 2009 – bassmaster.com

The prevailing desire was unmistakable as soon as the Red River was announced as the site of the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. Most of the competitors wanted stable weather and low, clean water not at all representative of the body of water’s namesake.

Only for the moment, it seems the old adage holds sure: be careful what you wish for.

“If you were just riding around out there, you’d think you’d be catching them everywhere,” Randy Howell said. “But really they’re just not biting well right now. I think if you got everybody together and they were telling the truth, it’s across the board slower than what was anticipated.”

Howell said he was also running into a problem efficiently covering the water he needed to cover due to the treacherous nature of the vast stump flats that define some of the more productive backwater areas.

“I don’t believe I’ve covered half the water I should have by now. There’s so much idling in getting into an area that before you know it, you’ve burned a large part of your day,” said Howell. “It makes for a lot of hard decisions coming up on Wednesday.”

Howell wasn’t the only one perplexed by the paucity of action in an event billed by most everybody as shaping up as a Classic for the record books.

“I figured we’d be absolutely cracking them, but it’s just not happening,” said 2007 Classic champion Boyd Duckett. “When I’ve gotten away from the crowds, I’ve gotten some good bites — I got a seven (pounder), a four and a three today — but that’s it.

Anglers expect conditions for Classic to hold steady

February 13, 2009 – bassmaster.com

After practicing on the Red River for the first time since December, the Bassmaster Classic anglers say the system is in a classic prespawn mode, and most likely will remain as such through the event.

After Friday’s first day of a three-day practice period, the anglers say weather patterns spurred by recent balmy afternoons and relatively clean river conditions with little rain forecast all work to their benefit.

“It’s a lot warmer than what it was back in December (prior to the cut-off). It was 59 degrees when I dumped the boat in and didn’t vary too much after that,” Todd Faircloth said. “The backwater got up to about 61. Those areas are a little more sensitive.

“They’ll get warmer faster and cool off faster, too. But there’s not a whole lot in the long-range forecast that says that it’ll affect it that much.”

Gary Klein said going in to the practices that he’d be happy with five to seven bites a day. He got 10 Friday, and though he said that they weren’t what he was looking for, they did give him a pretty good idea of what it’ll take to be in contention.

“They’re nice fish. They’re chunks. An average limit in this tournament is going to be 16 or 17 pounds,” he said. “I haven’t found anything that I can honestly say that I can feel real confidently about, but it tells me that you just have to find the right bite.”

Shaw Grigsby spent a long day on the water only to peg his weight at between 12 and 14 pounds. But the fish he did catch and how he caught them gives him an idea that he’s fishing the right way, he just needs to fish the right water.

“I’ve got some work to do — I still think it’s gonna take 56-60 pounds when it’s all said and done. I’m just not fishing where the big ones are,” Grigsby said. “I’ve just got to explore some new areas.”

Pre-practice preliminaries

February 12, 2009 – bassmaster.com

On the eve of the 2009 Bassmaster Classic official practice period, anglers did little to dispel the notion that the Red River in the northwestern corner of Louisiana would continue in a notable line of weigh-ins marked by heavy bags of bass.

Since the world championship of bass fishing moved from the summer swelter to February’s often spectacular propensity for pre-spawn patterns, battles bordering on slugfests have been very much the rule.

Even as scouting strategies proved as varied as the spectacularly hued boat wraps to be unveiled this week, the consensus swung distinctly in the direction that it would take upward of 18-20 pounds per day to have a shot at the sport’s biggest crown.

“Just talking with some guys around here, I’d say it’ll take 17 or 18 pounds a day on the low end and 20 to 21 a day on the high end to be in it at the end,” said Skeet Reese as he relaxed at a local marina. “We’ve got the best possible weather and water conditions possible as it stands right now.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t change between now and then, but it’s setting up great. It should be a full-on prespawn bite.”

Reese eschewed the notion of checking out the water by riding around the river system.

“Flying might be something you could do to help. I know (Rick) Clunn is flying today. But it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to spend $50 in gas riding around in a truck to see water I’m going to see tomorrow anyway. Driving over a bridge is not going to really give you an idea of what the water is like.”

A stable river level and the recent period of mild temperatures — mid-afternoon temperatures were in the low- to mid-60s Thursday — eased the minds of anglers as they relaxed, rode and rummaged through tackle in prep for the final extended tune-up for this year’s Classic.

Red River Rundown

February 11, 2009 – bassmaster.com

What can history tell us about the 2009 Bassmaster Classic? What can a look back do for your Fantasy Fishing team?

Bass has held 10 professional tournaments on the Red River, with the first coming in 2000, and the last coming this past season.

——-

2007 Central Open
Date: June 14-16
Winner: Danny Smith
Winning weight: 42-6
Anglers: 158
Final Standings

Smith said he was fishing a jig in 5 feet of water around the bridges, going back and forth between two areas. Simple enough, and sounds like something McClelland might try, but this tournament was at the start of summer.

For second-place finisher Marvin Ettredge, the key to success was knowing the river and reading the currents.

“Current is what helps us to catch fish,” Ettredge said. “When the current gets moving the shad get more active. Of course you’ve got to have the right water, the right drop and the right cover and have the bait fish, and if you have that you have the big fish.

“I’ve never fished current like this in June, it’s always in the spring. It was definitely different but once I found them and got onto the current pattern, it kind of got easy.”

The only notable name near the top was Dave Wolak, who finished 11th.

2008 Central Open
Date: April 24-26
Winner: Billy McCaghren Jr.
Winning weight: 54-0
Anglers: 195
Final Standings

By the time this tournament was being fished, the Classic location had been announced, so it attracted a few names that might not have otherwise made the trip.

Rick Clunn finished 17th, Hackney finished 19th, and Open qualifiers Michael Burns and Jamie Fralick finished 20th and 13th, respectively. Other Classic competitors that didn’t do as well: Wolak (39th) and Byron Velvick (83rd).

McCaghren caught all his fish fairly deep on a late-spawn pattern using a 6-inch junebug-colored Berkley Power Lizard, rigged with a 1/4- or 3/8-ounce Tungsten sinker, making the weight choice according to the prevailing wind. He said he cast the lizard to the tree and let it fall straight down.

The eventual fourth-place finisher, Kyle Fox, made long runs to what he considered to be better fish. He gave BM.com his take before and the after the tournament.

KVD, Reese, Big Show Ready To Rock Again

February 9, 2009 – bassfan.com

Kevin VanDam — Kalamazoo, Mich.
> Qualified through: Elite Series points (1st)
> Fished: 18 Classics
> Best Classic finish: 1st (2001, 2005)
> Current world rank: 1st
> Insight: The heaviest of favorites, as always. He’s notched five consecutive Top 5s in this event, including a win at Pittsburgh 4 years ago, and has lots of momentum coming off another Angler-of-the-Year campaign. His power-based game should play just fine here. One ray of hope for the rest of the field: He was 93rd in the tour event at the Red in 2001.

Skeet Reese — Auburn, Calif.
> Qualified through: Elite Series points (4th)
> Fished: 9 Classics
> Best Classic finish: 2nd (2007)
> Current world rank: 4th
> Insight: At this stage of his career, he comes to the Classic each year with winning as his only goal – it’s the one big feather that hasn’t made its way into his cap. Suffered a devastating blow 2 years ago when he was edged out by Boyd Duckett at Lay Lake, and only a bad day 1 kept him out of contention last year. Has all the tools and the right mindset to get it done – he just needs a break or two to go his way. Has no issues with current. A definite short-lister.

Dean Rojas — Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
> Qualified through: Elite Series points (7th)
> Fished: 6 Classics
> Best Classic finish: 4th (2003)
> Current world rank: 13th
> Insight: Sat out the Classic last year for the first time since 2003 and didn’t enjoy it, so came back with a superb year on the Elite Series that included a win in the finale at Oneida to make sure it didn’t happen again. His frog arsenal could play at the Red, and even if it doesn’t, he has plenty of other weapons. He’s as confident as he’s ever been going into a new year and it would be no surprise to see him start this one with a bang.

Official word from the weather guru

February 9, 2009 – bassmaster.com

Although Louisiana is known for its humidity and tropical weather patterns during the warmer months of the year, this winter hasn’t seen much rain in the Red River watershed.

“This winter has been considerably drier than last winter in the Red River Basin,” said C.S. Ross, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La. “Consequently, the Red River is flowing at pretty low water for mid-to-late February, and we expect low-water conditions to continue through mid-to-late February and the Classic.

“Indeed, in parts of the basin, moderate drought conditions are expanding,” Ross said. “At best, it’ll only receive about a half an inch of rain (during the rest of February) — not even enough to cause a bump in the Red River’s water level.”

On average, Ross said, it generally rains three to four inches in the month of February in the Red River basin. So far, this February basin-wide rainfall totals haven’t exceeded a-quarter inch.

What does this mean?

“Good fishing conditions,” Ross said. “You’ll see very little current on the banks of the river — perhaps one-half knot in the navigation channel.

And what kind of rain event would it take to make a significant impact on the Red River around Shreveport?

“At least a good two to four inch-er,” Ross said, “and I don’t foresee that. It’s very dry in Oklahoma and Texas.”