A Remarkably Straightforward Approach

Quickly examining all of the facets of a lake provides VanDam viable options if foul weather alters his primary areas and patterns. For instance, if heavy winds and torrential rains pummel a highland reservoir and disrupt his main-lake pattern, he can go to a feeder creek explored in practice and fish the freshets that run in heavy rain. From experience, he knows that in late winter and early spring, freshets draw bass in highland reservoirs, and such current may hold a few fish year-round.

Tackle Selection

Saving time is a critical part of VanDam’s practice plan, and toward this end he has 25 rods fully rigged in his boat. At times, he has 15 neatly arranged on the deck of his Nitro Z-9. Some rods sport the same lure in different hues, which saves time by avoiding retying. During some practice sessions, he suspects that such shortcuts save him 10 minutes a day.

Except at deep, clear waters like Lake Erie, he spends 90 percent of his practice time employing power tactics. Even during winter or after the arrival of a horrendous cold front, he finds his power tactics more effective than finesse methods, at least for quickly locating groups of bass.

His confidence lures include Strike King’s Series 5 and Series 6 Pro-Model Crankbaits, Premier Pro-Model Spinnerbaits, Red Eye Shad, and King Shad, a big, jointed swimbait. At times, he fishes Strike King’s Wild Shiner or other jerkbaits, as well as their Series 1 and 4S Pro-Model Crankbaits. During 2008, he won one event with a 1/2-ounce Red Eye Shad and another with the Series 5 and Series 6 crankbaits. At all but two waterways, he relied on either the King Shad or Series 5 and Series 6 cranks to catch scores of bass on his way to the BASS Angler of the Year Trophy.

Because of his 10-minute rule, it’s rarely practical for him to try a drop-shot rig, Carolina or Texas rig, wacky worm, or jig while prefishing. Lately, however, he’s added a hefty football jig to his repertoire, which he retrieves speedily across bottom. In short, he uses lures that cover acres of water quickly, knowing that his favorite lures provoke some bass to strike, even when conditions are difficult.

He fishes deep-divers with a 7-foot 10-inch Quantum TKVD7106M fiberglass-graphite-composite rod and Quantum Energy E750 PT reel with 5:1 gear ratio. He typically retrieves baits rapidly to continuously ricochet off bottom. He feels that a composite rod allows crankbaits to ricochet more slowly and seductively than a stiff graphite model would, and feels the subtlety of the resulting ricochet provokes bass to strike, calling it a finesseful way to use a quickly retrieved crankbait. Nearly 99 percent of his hook-ups on a Series 5 or 6 crankbait are on bottom. He catches suspended bass with a crankbait only in waterways where the forage is blueback herring, smelt, alewife, or cisco.

To maximize his 10-minute periods, boat speed and position are critical, he adds, along with lengthy casts. Stacey King notes that VanDam’s casts are exceptionally quick, long, and accurate, often surpassing 50 yards, and he calls him the best caster on tour.

To check extensive shallow areas such as riprap shorelines, VanDam often selects a Red Eye Shad, a rattlebait that shimmies like a Senko as it drops horizontally. To work such areas, he runs his 109-pound-thrust trolling motor at the highest speed, parallel to the bank; makes long casts; and quickly retrieves the lipless bait using a Quantum Energy E750 PT reel with a 5:1 gear ratio on a medium-action 7-foot Quantum TKVD705M fiberglass-graphite composite rod. As the Red Eye Shad traverses the rocks, he points his rod tip down to keep the lure near bottom and occasionally sweeps it to the side. The rod sweep is followed by a pause, allowing the Red Eye Shad to fall with its alluring wiggle.

To quickly get baits down he generally fishes XPS Fluorocarbon line, which sinks fast, allowing better depth control. He reports that it also enhances casting distance, has excellent knot strength, abrasion-resistance, sensitivity, and low visibility in water.

Putting It All Together

As he pieces together the piscatorial puzzle that each tournament offers, he doesn’t try to catch many bass. Instead he wants to determine the depth, position, and nature of structure the fish are using, as well as the types of cover, including species of underwater plants, boat docks, manmade attractors, buckbrush, or other options.

When fishing, he fuels his relentless energy by eating nutritiously before, during, and after each practice day, noting that the dietary habits of many of his competitors are paltry. He also sleeps soundly, and is well-known for cultivating a positive mental attitude.

By the time a tournament commences, he’s ready to completely dissect all of his primary areas and some secondary ones, as needed. Not only will he use his hallmark power-fishing tactics, but also will attempt to coax tentative bass into eating a drop-shot rig, football jig, jigging spoon, or shaky-head jigworm.

Assessing VanDam’s brilliance is similar to describing a great work of art. Most of us recognize a masterpiece upon viewing it, but it’s much more difficult to articulate why it’s great. For example, when I asked Brian Snowden, also of Reeds Spring, Missouri, why VanDam is so overpoweringly good, he could only shrug his shoulders with a look of awe.

Though Stacey King has watched VanDam work his magic for 19 years, about all King can say is that VanDam “has the intuitive and physical skills to find bass faster than any angler in the world.”

Even Rick Clunn is uncharacteristically at a loss for words, but in due course concludes VanDam has the capability to shift into an “extremely fast, efficient, and proficient gear,” one which leaves the bulk of his of competitors in his wake.

After observing, analyzing, and interviewing VanDam on and off for many years, I haven’t been able to pinpoint the essence of his greatness, either. Nonetheless, these details should provide anglers with some tools.

Field Editor Ned Kehde, Lawrence, Kansas, is a longtime contributor to In-Fisherman. His detailed accounts of the tactics of expert anglers are widely acclaimed.