KVD Back on Top
It had been a little over five years since KVD had notched a victory and the whispers were starting to grow into mumbles. Many questioned whether or not he would ever regain his prominence in the sport and few even thought he may never win another event - odds were starting to stack against it. His last win, the 2011 Bassmaster Classic at the Louisiana Delta, seems like a distant memory. It was the Classic that defied the odds and produced massive stringers, introduced the bass fishing world to Brandon Palaniuk and cemented KVD as the greatest Bassmaster angler of all time. Since that win, VanDam experienced a drought that included a 2014 season which did not qualify him for the Classic. Needless to say, it was not KVD like. However, despite the lack of wins, he was still in contention for many victories as he accumulated three 2nd place finishes and several top-10s during that span, but it was winning that had always separated VanDam from the others and established him as the GOAT (Greatest of all time).
With the victory at Toledo Bend over the weekend, KVD has now compiled 21 victories and career earnings of 5.9 million with Bassmaster alone. Pretty incredible stats.
How'd he do it?
Practice was very limited for the anglers at Toledo Bend due to the high winds that swept the area causing most deep offshore spots to render useless for any quality dissection. As a result, most anglers who were not familiar with the deep water structure at Toledo Bend totally wrote it off and decided their best bet was fishing shallow for bass that were just leaving spawning beds. Most of the anglers in the tournament, and nearly all of the top-12, fished shallow water targets such as trees, grass and docks. VanDam on the other hand, knew his best chance of catching quality bass was out deep where the bass were headed instead of the shallow water that bass were leaving. It was pretty clear that 20lb bags could be had shallow, but that was not what was on VanDam's mind, he was after "Big Mama" and all of her sisters.
VanDam targeted depths of 17 - 24 feet where, like most of the lake, the bottom was littered with logs and stumps and who knows what else. He started off the event with a bang cracking a nearly 30lb sack on the first day, but after he left it was said that the locals watching him went right over and crushed his fish. Who knows if they caught much, but 15-20 boats on a Thursday afternoon means that spot wasn't going to be much better come the weekend. Day two was evident of that fact and VanDam weighed in a little over 20lbs. His final two days were vintage KVD as he could smell the victory and he went for blood. Bags of 24lb and 21lbs on days three and four respectively, sealed the deal for him and returned KVD to the winner's circle besting Chris Lane by 7lbs 11oz.
KVD's Baits
The tournament was vintage KVD. He kept chucking and winding his crankbaits nearly the entire event despite immense pressure from locals who actually fished his spot while he was on it. VanDam's arsenal was headlined by the
Strike King 10XD in the Sexy Herring color which he tossed for hours with his
7'11" Quantum KVD Crankbait Rod on end absolutely dredging the massive wood littered channels of Toledo Bend. His reasoning for this bait selection was largely due to the primary forage of big bass in the lake, the Bar Fish. While he did try Strike King's actual Bar Fish color, he found the Sexy Herring more to the fish's liking. VanDam also tossed the
Strike King 6XD and
Strike King 8XD crankbaits, but it was the size and action of the 10XD the bass were keyed in on.
Additionally, while not his money bait, VanDam also used a
hair jig,
Strike King Sexy Spoon and a
hollow body swimbait to catch a few of his fish. Kind of funny actually, many anglers said after the tournament they too tried cranking using the same baits and same types of areas, but they couldn't get the fish to bite. That's where KVD has always shined, he has the patience and persistence to keep at it until he finds the right angle that triggers a reaction strike.
Top-12 Baits
As mentioned, many of the anglers in the top-12 fished up shallow flipping jigs, plastics and punch rigs into grass, wood and bushes and some used moving baits such as swim jigs or topwaters. The guys who focused out deep, namely KVD and Keith Combs, targeted bass with crankbaits hoping to find locations where the bass replenished as they first reached the deep structure.
2nd Place - Chris Lane
Despite finishing nearly 8bs back of winner KVD, Chris Lane had a pretty awesome event and provided Bassmaster Live with some awesome topwater fish catches. Although Lane flipped a bit, his baits of note were the
River2Sea Whopper Plopper in the bone color and a
Super Spook. He fished grass and bush lines that were likely the former shoreline before the influx of water over the past year or so.
3rd Place - Ish Monroe
Ish fished the way he likes to fish. He flipped a 1/2oz and 3/4oz
River2Sea Biffle Junkyard Jig in the black and blue color with a
Missile Baits D-Stroyer trailer in the bruiser color (black/blue). Ish targeted all sorts of shallow cover, but caught his best fish around flooded bushes and willow trees.
4th Place - Keith Combs
Keith Combs was on the right program, but just lacked the kicker bass each day that helped bump KVD's weights over 20lbs each day. Combs tossed a
Strike King 6XD in the Tennessee Shad color.
5th Place - Paul Mueller
Paul Mueller mixed up during the event using both reaction baits and soft plastics. His soft plastic bait of choice was a
Reins Bubble Shaker worm which he rigged on a drop shot.
