July 15, 2010 – bassmaster.com
We’re nearing BASS’ second postseason, a two-tournament playoff that will determine the 2010 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year.
The format and the venue will be the same as last year. The top 12 anglers from the Angler of the Year standings will be competing. Their point totals have been adjusted from the regular season to reflect wins and set them up for the postseason. Here’s where they stand now:
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Angler
Skeet Reese
Edwin Evers
Cliff Pace
Derek Remitz
Kevin VanDam
Terry Butcher
Tommy Biffle
John Crews
Gary Klein
Greg Hackney
Aaron Martens
Russ Lane Points
216
201
187
185
185
184
182
181
177
177
177
177
Points for each event will be awarded as follows:
Place
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th Points
50
45
40
36
32
28
25
22
19
16
13
10
Some quick math will tell you that all 12 of the finalists still have a chance to win Angler of the Year, though Skeet Reese is the clear favorite. We’ll post odds for each of the qualifiers in the coming weeks. Until then, bring yourself up to speed on the race with these factoids:
• Skeet Reese posted the highest points total (through eight events) in Elite history with 2,116. The second-best total after eight events was 2,048 by Kevin VanDam in 2008.
• Five anglers headed for this year’s postseason also made it last year: Skeet Reese, Cliff Pace, Kevin VanDam, Tommy Biffle and Gary Klein. Four of the other seven are Classic bound. Mark Menendez (50th), Alton Jones (56th) and Randy Howell (57th) fell on tough times.
• Edwin Evers is back with a vengeance. After a lackluster 2009, when he finished 44th and missed the Bassmaster Classic for the first time in years, Evers is second going into the postseason and has a shot at his first AOY title.
• Kevin VanDam and Skeet Reese are the only anglers to finish in the top 12 each year of the Elite Series (2006-2010). In fact, VanDam has never been worse that sixth and Reese has never ranked lower than seventh.
• Tommy Biffle has finished in the top 12 in four of the five Elite seasons. Edwin Evers, Todd Faircloth, Greg Hackney, Michael Iaconelli and Aaron Martens have made it three times each.
• Terry Butcher, John Crews, Russ Lane and Derek Remitz are all fishing in uncharted territory. None of them has ever ranked so high in the AOY race before.
• Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., will be on his home waters during the postseason. The lifelong Alabaman has logged more hours on Lake Jordan and the Alabama River than the rest of the qualifiers combined. Unfortunately for Lane, he’s tied for last place going into the competition and may have dug too deep a hole to have a realistic shot at AOY.
• The Toyota 12 have won nine AOY titles among them (five for KVD, two for Klein and one each for Martens and Reese). VanDam, Reese and Martens account for five of the last six titles.
• The average age of the Toyota 12 is 38.91 years. The youngest angler in the field is Derek Remitz, who will be 28 years, 1 month and 1 day old at the end of the competition. The oldest angler in the field is Gary Klein, who will be 52 years, 9 months and 19 days old when it’s all over. The average age of an AOY is 35.63.
• If either Klein or Biffle win AOY, they will become the oldest ever to win the title and the first angler to win in his 50s.
• Kevin VanDam, the “Kalamazoo Kid,” is the third oldest angler in the field at 42 years, 9 months and 16 days.
Check back with us for more on Toyota Trucks Championship Week as the events near.
July 12, 2010 – basmaster.com
In the immortal words of the ’80s hip-hop icon Rob Base: “It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.”
The same could be said for the careers of many of bass fishing’s best anglers. No, they don’t share their boats with a teammate that helps them locate fish. No, they don’t have an entourage that follows them everywhere to wait on them hand and foot.
However, in the case of many of the top pros in the business, they do have a partner. Most of the Elite pros are businesses unto themselves. They are incorporated, and they deal with everything that occupies any other brick-and-mortar corporation.
While many corporations have people to play designated roles within the day-to-day operations, bass anglers quite frequently don’t have the luxury of people to spare. What they do have is a Chief Executive Officer — the angler — and in many cases a Chief Operating Officer — their spouse.
With the amount of planning, communication, negotiation and travel required to be a professional angler, the job is more than a 40-hour-a-week commitment. If it were left to only one person to handle all of the day to day as well as try to compete, the business might be short lived.
In the case of five-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Kevin VanDam, his wife Sherry took on the role of C.O.O. before they were married, and the pair has turned the “KVD Corporation” into a very successful venture.
Because they were engaged when VanDam started his pro career, Sherry was involved from the beginning, but it has evolved over the years, and her role has increased. “She handles all of the travel and promotional scheduling, deals with the accountant and the taxes and even communicates with some of the sponsors and our agency. She really allows me to concentrate on fishing and helping my sponsors with product development. Her help makes me more effective as an angler and as a promoter.”
Sherry said the key to her success is to try to stay flexible with the schedule. Her day includes not only all of the facets of being her husband’s C.O.O., but also the primary caretaker of the house and of the couple’s twin sons. “I try to be active in the boy’s school and activities, so it really is a juggling act,” she said. “I find a way to get it done, but modern tools have made it easier.”
In the past, before mobile phones and e-mail, communications was a challenge. Now things are easier. “We talk as many times a day as we need to,” related Mrs. VanDam. “It may be as few as three, but could be as many as ten or more, and that’s just the business stuff, we still have good morning and good night calls too. The best time to get things done is when he’s driving. A lot of business gets done behind the wheel of his Toyota Tundra.”
Sherry’s day starts at 6:35 a.m. when she arises to get the twins off to school, then to the office for e-mails and follow-ups with sponsors and business partners. It doesn’t end until the boys are in bed and she can wind down and go to sleep herself. She also gets some help at home. “Our families are near, and they are very much a part of supporting us in what we do,” she said.
As for her husband’s fishing career, Mrs. VanDam said she will keep on with her hectic schedule as long as her husband is fulfilled in what he does. “I really love the fact that Kevin gets to do what he wants to do for a living,” said VanDam. “There is a certain level of satisfaction for me, knowing that he is doing what he loves, and is very successful at it. Not everyone can say that.”
For Kevin, there is comfort in knowing his wife of 18 years is by his side in business as well. “I wouldn’t be anywhere near the angler or businessman I am if it weren’t for Sherry,” said the three-time Bassmaster Classic champion. “She does so much in one day, that I couldn’t even begin to tell you everything she does. She is one of the hardest working people I know.”
July 8, 2010 – bassmaster.com
Most serious anglers are looking for something different when it comes to their fishing tackle. They want old, hard to find lures, classic out of production finishes, one of a kind items and replacement parts for their favorite rods, reels, motors and electronics.
If you’re in that group, there’s no better place to find them — and still stay within your budget — than on eBay, the massive Internet flea market. Private sellers offer all of these items and more at auction. The inventory is constantly rotating, and prices reflect market conditions.
Baits such as Ed Chambers (WEC) crankbaits, original Cotton Cordell Big O lures, the old style Devil’s Horse wooden baits and aged Mann’s Jelly Worms are all available and ready to ship. Along with that, you’ll find parts for your ancient Evinrude, your 1991 Cajun bass boat or your three decades old Abu Garcia 5500, as well as schematic diagrams that’ll show you how to install those parts.
eBay is a Mecca for those anglers looking for homemade products, too. You’ll never find a better selection of one of a kind swimbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits than you will here. If you can’t find it through major Internet retailers such as Tackle Warehouse, you can probably find it on eBay.
For many anglers, all this is a dream come true. You can buy an almost unlimited supply of fishing products you can’t find anywhere else. Like most things, however, you need to know how all this works if you expect to avoid problems.
Here are the basics of buying through eBay.
1. Know what you want and how to find it.
eBay has a search engine that operates much like any other. You type in a word or two and then it does its thing. But keep in mind that the eBay search engine is precise, more so than the ones we all use to search the Internet.
For example: As of this writing, “Devil’s Horse” gets you 361 hits; “Devil’s Horse fishing lure” nets you 71; “vintage Smithwick Devil’s Horse fishing lure” will give you 63 selections; “vintage Devil’s Horse fishing lure” offers up 56 selections. Get in a hurry and type “hosre” instead of “horse” and you’ll get nothing. (Google would auto-correct that error and you’d be good to go.)
You can also use the eBay continuous search feature. Basically all you do is enter the search words and the site will continuously search for an item. When it finds that item, it’ll e-mail you and give you a link to find it on the site.
Tip: Often it helps to think about an item from the seller’s point of view. Use the words he or she might use to describe an item.
2. Understand the bidding process.
There are several ways you can bid. You can enter a fixed bid; you can enter a maximum price and the site will up your bid a little at a time as is necessary; or you can wait until just before the bidding closes and then enter your best price.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Think before you select a bidding process.
Tip: Make sure you know the retail price for an item. It’s easy to get carried away and do something stupid — like pay more for something than you should.
3. Investigate the seller before you buy.
There a simple process on the site by which you can determine the reputation of a seller. Each buyer rates a seller after a sale, and each seller rates the buyer. Over time this will give you a pretty good idea of what he or she is like.
Tip: The more people who have rated a seller, the more likely the rating will be accurate.
4. Understand the various methods of payment.
Each seller publishes a list of which forms of payment he or she will accept. Within those guidelines, how you pay is up to you. Make sure you understand how payment will be made before you buy.
Tip: Most people use PayPal. It’s a reputable third party company that insulates your financial information from the seller but still guarantees him or her the money.
This should be enough to get you started. If you want to learn more about buying (or selling) on eBay, check out the many Internet sites and publications devoted to that subject. Considering what you can find and the amount of money you can save, it’s well worth the time you’ll invest.