VanDam Holds Off Horton at Kentucky Lake
June 17, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
The final day of the Bassmaster Elite Bluegrass Brawl on Kentucky Lake was billed as “The Greatest There Was vs. The Greatest There Is” or “Rick Clunn vs. Kevin VanDam.” But as it turned out, that shootout never materialized. Instead, VanDam faltered, Clunn stumbled, and Timmy Horton seemingly came out of nowhere to pass Rick and challenge Kevin.
In the end, VanDam had enough for the victory, but Horton had a great time making him sweat it out. We’ll hear from both of them in this episode.
Kevin VanDam Claims 14th Win
June 16, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Furthering his reputation as the best angler on the planet, three-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., scored his 14th BASS victory Sunday at the Bluegrass Brawl presented by DieHard® Platinum Marine Batteries on Kentucky Lake with a four-day total of 81 pounds, 13 ounces. VanDam held off by just 1 pound a hard-charging Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., who weighed in 24 pounds, 11 ounces Sunday to make things interesting.
In addition to the $100,000 victory, VanDam claimed the lead in the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. With only three events remaining in the Trail to the Trophy, VanDam leads Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, by 65 points, a modest margin. Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Ark., is third and reigning AOY Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., is fourth. The eventual winner will take home $250,000, and the standings will also determine the brunt of the 2009 Bassmaster Classic qualifiers.
After narrowly missing out on an Elite victory by 8 ounces last week to Jeremy Starks of Charleston, W.Va., on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake — part of the Tennessee River chain along with Kentucky Lake – VanDam was able to exact some redemption on the Elite field. At Wheeler, he absorbed trash talk from Starks and relinquished the lead on the final day. But, on Kentucky Lake, VanDam led wire-to-wire and pushed his career BASS earnings to nearly $3 million.
“This win means more to me than any that I have experienced in a long while,” VanDam, 40, said of the Father’s Day victory. “Two years ago, I finished third in this tournament, and this year I was smart about it. I planned for the boat traffic and made sound decisions.”
Fishing fans can catch all of the action on The Bassmasters on Saturday, June 21, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2. As always, live, streaming video of the final day weigh-in and real-time leaderboards was available on http://www.Bassmaster.com.
Plagued by boat traffic from competitors in other tournaments, VanDam was able to catch more than 20 pounds each of the first three days of competition. Surprisingly, he struggled Sunday, the one day the boat traffic decreased. But VanDam had saved for late in the day a final spot that he identified during practice, and he was able to upgrade his weight in the final hours of competition. The victory is his fourth in Elite Series competition, the most of any angler since the format was created in 2006.
Throughout the tournament, VanDam mixed it up with a variety of lures. His most productive, like last week on Wheeler, was a Strike King series 6 in sexy shad color. He said he used jigs, spinnerbaits and other crankbaits throughout the four-day competition. The key to victory, he said, was keying on rough spots on shell beds in the bottom of the lake. VanDam felt the fish were bunched around these spots and found most of his productive schools at these locations.
Now, after his fourth consecutive top-12 cut, VanDam’s focus turns to the all-important Angler of the Year race.
“That is the ultimate goal,” said the two-time Bassmaster Classic champion. “Amongst the anglers, that’s what we talk about. It’s just an honor to be in the hunt.”
Horton, who totaled 83 pounds, 12 ounces through four days, nearly made an amazing comeback. He trailed VanDam by almost 7 pounds heading into the final day, and though he was satisfied with his catch Sunday, he lamented a few lost fish that he felt would have won the event for him.
He threw a crankbait like most in the field, but the key to Horton’s success was shaving the edges to allow the bait to swim through the water with greater ease.
“This one is a little bit easier to swallow because I came in thinking I was fishing for second place,” said Horton, the 2000 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “You just don’t expect Kevin to slip. But it was a great tournament.”
In third was Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., who moved up from sixth with 78 pounds, 3 ounces. McClelland moved up from seventh to fourth with 77 pounds, 1 ounce. Rounding out the top five was Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., with 75 pounds, 14 ounces.
Elite rookie Wade Grooms of Bonneau, S.C, finished seventh and four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn, second heading into the day, slipped to ninth.
In addition to the Angler of the Year race, the Advance Auto Parts Rookie of the Year race will be settled based on Elite Series performance. Elite rookie Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., has opened up a commanding margin of 257 points over Grooms. With only three events remaining, Lane will need to falter to relinquish his sizable lead.
Next, the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit heads to Old Hickory Lake out of Hendersonville, Tenn. The ninth event of the season, recently rescheduled from the Mississippi River because of unsafe conditions in Fort Madison, Iowa, is set for June 26-29.
Straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border, Kentucky Lake is 185 miles in length, with 160,000 surface acres and 2,380 miles of shoreline. Barkley, a navigable canal, adds another 80,000 surface acres. The Bassmaster Elite Series made its last stop at Kentucky Lake in June 2006, when the top seven pros each caught more than 60 pounds through four days. Winner Morizo Shimizu weighed in 66 pounds, 9 ounces.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit Bassmaster.com. Visit ESPNMediaZone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video, audio clips and more.
The local sponsor of the Bluegrass Brawl is the Kentucky Sports Authority.
Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury, Purolator, Skeeter, Yamaha, Evan Williams Bourbon, Longhorn, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Costa Del Mar, MotorGuide and Ramada Worldwide.
Location and Field
Bluegrass Brawl presented by DieHard Platinum Marine Batteries®
Kentucky Lake
Gilbertsville, Ky.
June 12-15, 2008
Field
107 pros, 107 co-anglers
Cut to top-50 pros and co-anglers after Day 2
Cut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3
Launch/Weigh-in
Kentucky Dam Marina
1300 Administration Drive
Gilbertsville, Ky.
8 a.m./ 5 p.m. CT
2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Event Tournament Locations/Dates
March 6-9 Sunshine Showdown Harris Chain of Lakes Leesburg, Fla.
March 13-16 Citrus Slam Kissimmee Chain Lake Wales, Fla.
April 3-6 Lone Star Shootout Falcon Lake Zapata, Texas
April 10-13 Battle on the Border Lake Amistad Del Rio, Texas
May 1-4 Pride of Georgia Clarks Hill Lake Evans, Ga.
May 15-18 Carolina Clash Lake Murray Columbia, S.C.
June 5-8 Southern Challenge Wheeler Lake Decatur, Ala.
June 12-15 Bluegrass Brawl Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.
June 26-29 Tennessee Triumph Old Hickory Lake Hendersonville, Tenn.
July 31- Aug. 3 Empire Chase Lake Erie/Niagara River Buffalo, N.Y.
Aug. 7-10 Champion’s Choice Oneida Lake Syracuse, N.Y
About BASS
For 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multi-media platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer and comprehensive web properties in Bassmaster.com and ESPNOutdoors.com, the organization is committed to delivering content true to the lifestyle. Additionally, television programming on ESPN2 continues to provide relevant content from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage to passionate audiences.
The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the Bassmaster Classic, the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS sanctions more than 20,000 events annually.
BASS also offers an array of services to its more than 525,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
