April 26, 2009 – bassfan.com
The 13-14 sack that Kevin VanDam caught today at Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake was his smallest of the tournament, but it was more than enough to give him his 15th career tour-level victory and push him to the top of the points list in his quest for a fifth Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) award.
The Michigander, who focused on spawning smallmouths throughout the event while the rest of the field was obsessed with largemouths, finished with a 4-day total of 61-12. It was his third finish of 8th or better in four events this season.
The Top 3 from day 3 remained unchanged. Alabama’s Matt Herren bagged 14-14 today to claim the runner-up spot with 59-05, and Kelly Jordon of Texas caught 13-14 today for a 3rd-place total of 58-03.
Louisiana’s Greg Hackney gained one spot with a 15-02 stringer that was the best of the day and his best of the tournament – he finished 4th with 57-00. Alabama’s Aaron Martens made the day’s biggest move, climbing from 12th to 5th with a 15-00 sack that gave him a 55-00 total.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3270April 26, 2009 – bassmaster.com
MONETA, Va. — Harkening back to his Michigan roots, four-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam picked apart a clear, deep fishery — just like he used to do years ago as a kid in Kalamazoo — on Smith Mountain Lake, to the tune of 61 pounds, 13 ounces, enough to hold off Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala., for a victory by more than 2 pounds Sunday at the Advance Auto Parts Blue Ridge Brawl.
With a decidedly different approach than most in the Elite field, VanDam targeted smallmouth bass by sight on the way to his 15th BASS victory and the accompanying $100,000 top prize. While most were sight fishing, no one else was actively seeking smallmouth. To boot, VanDam used a technique that isn’t considered one of his strengths.
But VanDam has shaped an illustrious career — his 15 wins put him third on BASS’ all-time list — by adjusting to the conditions. Sunday, he boated 13 pounds, 14 ounces, and threw everything but the kitchen sink to close out the victory.
“It seemed like every time things weren’t going right, I made an adjustment and things would turn on again,” said VanDam, who is closing in on $3.5 million in BASS career earnings. “It was just one of those magical weeks where everything fell into place. I’m just really proud of the decisions and adjustments I made.”
While VanDam was technically sight fishing, he wasn’t executing the technique in the traditional sense. He was keying in on areas where shad — the main forage on Smith Mountain — were spawning and attracting the aggressive smallmouth. His main weapon of choice was a 1/8-ounce Strike King Shaky Head paired with a 4-inch finesse worm in dirt color.
In a twist of fate, VanDam, who is often plagued by throngs of spectator boats, felt he got a boost from the abundance of spectator traffic on the spacious fishery. He felt the traffic helped to disturb the waters, causing the bass to become more aggressive in sensing an easy meal.
Perhaps most importantly, VanDam has put himself in the driver’s seat in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 1,063 points. A victory in the seasonlong points race would be his fifth and his second straight. His credentials already match up favorably with any bass angler who has ever competed.
“Since Day One, I have been focused on the Angler of the Year,” said VanDam, also a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion. “This year, it’s going to be interesting. I just want to get on a pretty good run here so I can build some momentum heading into the postseason.”
The AOY race is shaping up to be intense and memorable. An angler just as hot as VanDam, Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., the 2009 Bassmaster Classic champ, is close behind in second, trailing by just 65 points.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4103109April 26, 2009 – bassmaster.com
MONETA, Va. — Bassmaster Elite Series anglers beware. If there was a technique Kevin VanDam hasn’t quite mastered, most would agree that sight-fishing would be it. VanDam, the current and four-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, is closer to dispelling that notion as he successfully sight-fished his way Saturday to a three-day total of 47 pounds, 15 ounces — enough to take the lead heading into the final day of competition at the Advance Auto Parts Blue Ridge Brawl.
Plagued by another slow start on picturesque Smith Mountain Lake, VanDam persevered to boat 15 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday while most at the top of the leaderboard struggled. He holds a modest 3-plus pound margin over Elite rookie Matt Herren (44-7) of Trussville, Ala. Day One leader Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, held on in third place with 44-5, followed by skilled sight-fisherman Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., in fourth with 43-7 and Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 41-14.
While sight-fishing has been a popular technique this weekend for most in the field, VanDam is executing it a bit differently. Primarily targeting smallmouths — a favorite of VanDam’s — he has been finding fish by sight while using his customary fast-paced style to fish for them. Mixing in as much patience as possible, VanDam’s style is a bit of a departure from the textbook sight-fishing technique employed by Dean Rojas and others.
“I’m really proud of the way I have been fishing this week,” said VanDam, a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion. “I have made solid decisions and the right adjustments. But it has been a grind.”
With a solid tournament at Smith Mountain, VanDam should take the lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, who led the standings heading into this tournament, failed to make the top-50 cut, and others in the top echelon struggled, which left the door wide open for perhaps the most dangerous man in the field.
Searching for his 15th BASS victory, VanDam said he was confident that he could end up taking home the $100,000 top prize.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4100531April 24, 2009 – basszone.com
Huddleston, VA – When the 2009 Elite Series schedule was revealed, everyone knew that, weather permitting, this week’s Blue Ridge Brawl at Smith Mountain Lake would be primed for a bed-fishing slugfest. The weather has permitted, the spawn is on, but so far the egg-laden sows aren’t.
Granted, early in practice anglers were seeing egg-heavy bass cruising the shallows, if not locked on; however, a small cold front passed through Wednesday night and drove the big girls away from the bank.
Several other patterns are working in lieu of a strong sight-bite, but almost everyone in field Thursday – and everyone The BASS ZONE’s “On Location” team followed Friday – have dabbled in “looking at them.”
Kelly Jordon, one of the Elite Series’ most noted sight fishermen, jumped out front to claim top honors on the first day. He commented, however, that the big fish he’d seen during practice had vanished forcing him to make some adjustments on the fly.
Jordon wasn’t alone in noting the big bass’ vanishing act as several in Thursday’s Top 12 said as much. All agreed that with warmer nights the eager spawners would reappear, but none knew exactly when that might occur.
With weather conditions perfect for sight fishing on Friday, and overnight temperatures much warmer than the day before, it seemed like the second round could be the day. However, as anglers began streaming across the weigh-in stage it became apparent that Friday was a grind.
When the grind is on, there is perhaps no one more astute at dashing dreams than Kevin VanDam, who crossed the stage Friday with the day’s heaviest stringer weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces. The 17-pound bag pushed VanDam up the board from 12th place into the lead with a two-day total weight of 32 pounds, 9 ounces.
Fred Roumbanis climbed aboard the grind train as well and rode it for an impressive 16-pound, 8-ounce limit of Smith Mountain bass, pushing his combined weight to 31 pounds, 11 ounces. Day One leader
Kelly Jordon fell to third place after struggling through small buck bass all day en route to his final tally of 11 pounds and an ounce, giving him 31 pounds, 10 ounces after two days fishing.
Aaron Martens charged up the leader board from 33rd place into fourth thanks to his 16-pound, 11-ounce limit that boosted his total weight to 30 pounds, 13 ounces, and Matthew Sphar dropped two spots and ended the second day in fifth place after weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces, which brought his two-day total weight to 30 pounds, 10 ounces.
Dean Rojas dropped down four spots to round out the Super Six with a combined weight of 30 pounds even after weighing a lighter-than-hoped-for limit of 11 pounds, 9 ounces.
http://www.basszone.com/2009eliteseries/smithmountain/day2/story.htmApril 24, 2009 – bassfan.com
The Smith Mountain Bassmaster Elite Series isn’t the big-sow slugfest that many expected it to be – not to this juncture, anyway. Nonetheless, at the midway point, it’s an ultra-tight, toe-to-toe brawl.
Less than 4 1/2 pounds separate the Top 12, and everybody who made the 50-cut is within 5 pounds of 12th place. A wild weekend is in store, especially if a wave of big females moves to the bank before it’s over.
Kevin VanDam, the top-slotted angler in the BassFan World Rankings, sits atop the heap with a 2-day total of 32-09. He caught a day-best 17-02 sack today to get there.
He’s not sight-fishing exclusively, but he might not be ignoring the beds, either. He’s often tight-lipped in these situations because his gameplan is usually somewhat unique, and this is no exception.
He’s got a trio of prominent lookers right behind him. That crowd includes Fred Roumbanis, who moved up 16 places with a 16-08 bag that gave him a 31-11 total. He didn’t sight-fish today, but plans to do a lot of it tomorrow.
Day-1 leader Kelly Jordon slipped to 11-01 today, but is less than a pound back in 3rd with a 31-10 total. Aaron Martens popped 16-11 today to jump 29 spots to 4th with 30-13. Both are doing the bulk of their work on the beds.
Matt Sphar, who was 3rd after day 1, rounds out the Top 5 with 30-10 (12-13 today). He’s working a finesse pattern and came in considerably lighter today, but so did much of the field.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3266April 24, 2009 – bassmaster.com
MONETA, Va. — Despite experiencing a “slow day,” four-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., managed a two-day total of 32 pounds, 9 ounces — enough to take the lead at the Advance Auto Parts Blue Ridge Brawl on Smith Mountain Lake.
A notoriously fast angler, VanDam’s patience was tested Friday, but the reigning AOY ably managed to adapt.
VanDam, a 14-time BASS winner, was running a defined pattern in different areas, primarily focusing on smallmouth bass. He mixed in sight fishing — a technique used by many in the top tier of the field — along with a number of blind casts.
A key to his success was stealthy boat operation, as he said it was important to identify a fish and quickly cast to it before it sensed him.
“I was pretty fortunate today because it was definitely a struggle out there,” said VanDam, who leads the BASS career earnings list with more than $3 million. “The fish were in a pretty funny mood today and it was important to be patient.”
While he has established a slim lead — 14 ounces over Fred Roumbanis of Bixby, Okla., — VanDam said he would search for new water as he had tapped into many of the productive spots he located in practice.
He said he knew that the fish were relating to bottom but couldn’t identify exactly what about the bottom the larger bass liked.
Similar to last year, VanDam is making his performance count just when the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race is getting interesting. Nearly halfway through the regular season, with a solid finish here, VanDam could grab hold of the AOY lead. Dangerous with any lead, VanDam is excited about the new Bassmaster Elite Series postseason.
“This year, especially, there is going to be a ton of drama,” said VanDam, 41. “I’m on a pretty good roll right now but it’s important to peak right near the postseason. Anything can happen this year.” While VanDam’s pattern was defined, Roumbanis was all over the place Friday. He had 15 rods strapped to the deck and used every one of them while junk fishing around spacious Smith Mountain.
A skilled sight fisherman, Roumbanis tried that tactic but came up empty-handed Friday. He did, however, locate some bedding bass that he plans to go to Saturday.
His day started quickly — he boated a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass one hour into his competition day.
“The water is so clear so you can cover a huge area with one cast,” said Roumbanis, 30, who called his style “slow-fast.”
“So you don’t need to get too keyed in to any one area. I had the trolling motor on full all day. But at the same time, you need to patient.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4097158April 23, 2009 – bassfan.com
Kelly Jordon is a proficient sight-fisherman and always relishes the opportunity to catch bass off the spawning beds in a tournament. But for him, it’s not the most relaxing way to spend a day on the water.
“I’ve won several sight-fishing tournaments and I usually do pretty well, but it’s nerve-wracking,” the Texan said. “It’s not really all that enjoyable until it’s over.
“It’s all about, will they bite? Can I catch them? Can I even see them? Will somebody else catch them? Will they come in? Will they back off? Do I have to worry about pollen coming off the trees? Will boat traffic spook them? When it’s over, you just say, Whew, let’s go to the coast for a week and sit on the beach.”
He took the first step to winning another bed-based event today with a 20-09 sack that gave him a lead of more than 2 pounds at the Smith Mountain Bassmaster Elite Series in Virginia. He lost a 4-pounder that would’ve given him an even bigger advantage and still has some decent-sized spawners to try for tomorrow.
Arizona’s Dean Rojas caught 18-07 off the beds today to slide into 2nd. Like Jordon, he has a few marked fish left and found several new pairs this afternoon.
New Yorker Matt Sphar began the day sight-fishing, but quickly abandoned that tactic in favor of a finesse pattern. That move resulted in a 17-13 stringer that put him in 3rd.
Alabama’s Matt Herren caught a 17-11 bag of spawners that put him in 4th, but he doesn’t have anymore quality fish pinned down. Like a lot of the lookers, he hopes a big wave moves up prior to launch tomorrow, or at least by the end of the day.
Derek Remitz, the 2007 rookie sensation from Alabama who’s fared no better than 60th in the three tournaments this year, rounded out the Top 5 with 16-15. From there, the 6th- through 12th-place anglers (of which there are nine of them due to ties) are separated by only a pound.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3264April 23, 2009 – bassmaster.com
MONETA, Va. — Famed bank robber Willie Sutton was once reportedly asked why he robbed banks.
“Because that’s where the money is,” he replied, stating a truism that made him rich — and wanted. Nearly a century later, 99 Elite Series anglers blasted off Thursday morning into the clear but fertile waters of Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake for the first day Advance Auto Parts Blue Ridge Brawl, and once again riches apparently lie in the banks. After a spring dominated by unstable weather, a combination of favorable conditions have pushed the first major wave of spawners into the shallows, so 99 sets of eyes are focused toward the banks, where green and brown finned gold appear to be abundant.
While rainsuits and facemasks may have been the key pieces of equipment in this season’s first three tournaments, it seems that Power Poles and polarized sunglasses will finally be the anglers’ most treasured possessions this week. Today’s temperatures are expected to rise into the mid 70s, with light winds and clear skies. By the weekend, temperatures will likely reach the mid to upper 80s.
Florida veteran Shaw Grigsby, widely known as a key sight fishing innovator, and still an ardent practitioner of the technique, was cautiously optimistic about what the dominant paradigm would mean for his chances this week. “It’s finally nice to have one,” he said before blastoff. “It seems like we get one tournament like this each year and this is it. But I prefer it when it’s just starting or just ending. Right now everybody is doing it. I seem to have my best tournaments when no one else is doing it.”
Just because the fish are visible doesn’t mean they’ll be easy to catch. Oklahoma’s Fred Roumbanis said he marked 48 beds with bass over 2 pounds locked on them during practice, but he suspects that he’ll be able to catch “just a handful of them.” Accordingly, he worked hard to develop secondary patterns, both to guard against uncatchable fish and to protect himself should all of the easy-to-catch bass be snatched up early in the event.
“I figured out a little finesse thing,” he stated. “I can sight fish with the best of them, but I prefer not to. I like the post-spawn a little bit better.”
Arkansas -based Elite Series sophomore Clark Reehm made a scouting trip here at the conclusion of the 2008 season and like Roumbanis he would prefer that this event not be a full-on, eyes wide open and trolling motor on high slugfest. But unlike Roumbanis, he wouldn’t prefer post-spawn conditions — he was banking on the fish still being out in their pre-spawn haunts.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4091265April 23, 2009 – basszone.com
Huddleston, VA – With a rain soaked 2009 season nearing its midway point, the surviving Elite Series pros are running out of chances to define their year. The ’09 campaign can best be described as “mostly cloudy with a good chance of storms.” However, as 99 of the original 101 Elite Series anglers lower their boats into the clear waters of Smith Mountain Lake, the sun and hopefully good fortune will be smiling down on them.
For the first time in a long time, conditions are setting up perfect for the competitors. As fans, we enjoyed the slugfest, come from behind win by Williamson at Amistad. We watched with measured trepidation as Menendez pushed his way to victory on Dardanelle.
There was not a true die-hard bass fishing enthusiast that did not envy Biffle as he held on to win at Wheeler. But, for the pros, the first three events will forever be remembered for the rain dripping off of ball caps, wind whipping the water into a virtual mind field, and lost chances as safety won out over competitiveness.
The Smith Mountain Lake event is setting up as a fisherman’s utopia. The bass are headed to the banks for their annual mating fest and sitting just behind them are eager anglers waiting to cash a check based on the size of the bellies of the fish they can yank off the beds.
Mother Nature appears to be cooperating as the forecast hints at warm weather and clear skies. Thursday will be the just the 11th day of competition this year and for the first time the pros might actually enjoy their time on the water.
http://www.basszone.com/2009eliteseries/smithmountain/preview/story.htmApril 5, 2009 – bassmaster.com
DECATUR, Ala. — Through a series of flipping and pitching casts from a hidden cove, Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., accumulated 50 pounds, 13 ounces on his way to victory at the Evan Williams Bourbon Dixie Duel on Wheeler Lake. Biffle edged Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., who amassed 46-4 for second place during the third stop of the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series.
With the victory, Biffle earns $100,000 and valuable points in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, which awards the top 36 anglers qualifying berths in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic.
Biffle found a secluded spot on Wheeler Lake without any other boat traffic and remained committed to it through the weather-shortened event. Friday was canceled due to unsafe river conditions and the river levels increased nearly 2 feet since the first competition day on Thursday. Biffle, who bagged 14-13 on Sunday’s final day, said he was fishing in about 6 inches of water on the first day and the water was stained for the remainder of the event.
“I was more concerned that the river bottom was going to drop and my area would be dry and that was my biggest fear,” said Biffle, 51. “With the quality of the maps and GPS detail now you can find places that you could never find before. You know this is right up my alley as I don’t like to have others near. I was fortunate no one came in there.”
The area was large enough for others to join, and he was confident in being able to boat at least 15 pounds daily. The former race boat driver said he caught at least 50 fish daily throughout the event. He missed a couple big bites Sunday, however remained committed to using his pattern of a black and blue jig with a lizard trailer. He was fishing around a lot of structure that included bushes.
“I was able to skip an area if I missed a fish and come back to it later in the day, so it was a key to success,” he said. “The perfect condition would have been sunny all day and without the water dropping about 8 inches overnight, bigger bags would have been caught.”
His last BASS victory was 2006 Bassmaster Elite Series event on New York’s Oneida Lake, the inaugural season for the Elite Series. Biffle feels that the water temperature affected the bigger fish today. On Saturday, Biffle boated 19-14, the largest of the tournament.
“When I caught them really good yesterday the temperature was up about 68 or 69 degrees, today the highest it got was 64,” he said.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4044678