®
bigger fish got too good of a look as his swimbaits and shied away, instead of biting.
THE DELTA
Of all of the western fisheries VanDam has visited, the Delta is the one he was most excited about he said it was not only his favorite in the region but one of the favorite places he has ever been. “It fits my style perfectly and is so vast and you can get away from everyone,” he said. “You can catch numbers and quality and you always have the chance at a giant fish of a lifetime.”
He credits the quality habitat for the quality fishing. “It is one of the most dynamic fisheries I have ever been to,” he added. “It has current, rocks, tules, grass and everything else a bass would need.”
The tournament schedule has brought them to the Delta around the spawn and VanDam wishes it would be a different time of year. “It is a great place to run different patterns and every time we are there it seems like we are grouped up together,” he said. “I went there to pre-practice one fall, before the tournament in the spring and we filmed two shows and caught them really well with a crankbait.”
TACKLE TRENDS
The west coast is known for their ingenuity when it comes to bass fishing and that isn’t lost on VanDam. “Fifteen to 20 years ago that is where all of the Japanese tackle started to become available and then it continued with things like swimbaits,” he said. “There has always been a western theme in some
new fishing tackle. It’s also the birthplace of flippin’; so that says a lot about the region.”
VanDam saysthateverytimeheisonthewest coastforfishingorpromotional events, heislookingfor tackle. “I canrememberbeing thereforBass-A-Thon andI wouldspend$500 foralittleknapsackoftackle -high-dollarswimbaitsandjerkbaitsmostly,”heshared.
WESTERN ANGLERS
If you look at the top anglers in the professional bass fishing ranks you will see a large portion with western roots. Aaron Martens, Skeet Reese and many more began their careers fishing in the west. Professional anglers like VanDam notice this too and he feels the quality fishing and diverse venues has something to do with it.
“There are some really talented anglers who come from there; it is the same type of breeding ground as Toledo Bend was back in the day,” he said in reference to the success of the “Hemphill Gang” of Larry Nixon, Tommy Martin and Harold Allen who all came from the same region and went on to success with Bassmaster.
Bass anglers in the west have many excellent fisheries that rank right up with the best in the country. The varied fisheries, beautiful landscape and chance at giant bass is something that anglers across the country envy. One of the best anglers in the history of bass fishing, Kevin VanDam agrees and says the region should be proud of the fisheries, tackle ingenuity and anglers who have come from the left coast.
VanDam in search of big Clear Lake bass Photo: Jody Only
32