VanDam leading at Bassmaster Classic
Kevin VanDam heated things up on a cold day at Lay Lake to take the lead Friday after the first round of competition at the 2010 Bassmaster Classic in Alabama. The Kalamazoo, Mich., pro secured the lead early with a five-fish limit that weighed 19 pounds, 8 ounces.“I have a lot of confidence in fishing this time of year,” said VanDam, who weighed four largemouth and one spotted bass. “It’s the way that I like to fish, and I was fortunate to have a good day. It was kind of a grind. Mentally it’s tough – always in the Classic. When the water’s real cold like that and you have to work real hard for them, you better be confident in what you’re doing.”
When the Classic kicked off, temperatures were hovering around freezing, but by mid-afternoon anglers welcomed increasingly warmer temperatures – so much so that second-place finisher Todd Faircloth of Jasper said he was happy to take off his jacket for the first time since he arrived in Alabama.
Faircloth weighed in 18 pounds, 2 ounces of largemouth and said the fishing Friday was markedly better than any of his practice days. He fished the same southerly area of Lay Lake as VanDam, not too far from the launch point of Beeswax Creek Park in Columbiana, and he added that they had a lot of company.
“I felt like if I caught 13 or 15 (pounds) today that would put me in really good shape,” he said. “I was fortunate to exceed that by 3 pounds. The warmer water’s helping out for what I’m doing.”
Faircloth was in 2 to 7 feet of water for most of the day and caught a limit early and then went after a few productive spots he found in practice. He was able to cull after he landed two or three bigger bass.
“Whenever you have a long cold span, like we’ve had here for so long, and you get some warmer weather, the fish get more active,” he said. “They want to get up high in the water, in the sun, and soak some of that warmth in. I think that’s why it made it better today.”
Rounding out the top five were Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., in third with 16-7, Cliff Pace of Laurel, Miss., in fourth with 16-3 and 2004 Classic champ Takahiro Omori of Emory in fifth with 15-7.
VanDam said much of the field likely spent the four official days of practice scouting, not hanging out in any particular spot for too long.
“When it’s tough in practice, nobody’s really working their areas to see how many fish are there; you don’t want to burn anything,” he said. “And guys stumbled onto the right area, and there was a group of fish there – and that’s typically what happens in the winter and early pre-spawn bite. They’ll be grouped up. I was pretty confident that I had an area that was going to have some fish in it; I just didn’t know how active they were going to be. It was not easy – by no means.”
VanDam said Lay Lake fish have been lethargic and hard to entice, so he refused Friday to back off or save anything for Saturday or Sunday.
“You can’t really do that,” he said. “When you have that opportunity and those bigger fish are biting, you better catch them. So I’m going to worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”
VanDam is fishing a few similar patterns, and said he is trying to fish methodically in more obscure areas.
“Sometimes that pays off, sometimes it doesn’t,” he said. “These guys are the best guys in the world, and they don’t miss much, so I’m hoping I’ve got something for three days.”
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total
1. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 5 19-08 0
Day 1: 5 19-08
2. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 5 18-02 0
Day 1: 5 18-02
3. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, Okla. 5 16-07 0
Day 1: 5 16-07
4. Cliff Pace Petal, Miss. 5 16-03 0
Day 1: 5 16-03
5. Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 5 15-07 0
Day 1: 5 15-07
6. Billy McCaghren Mayflower, Ark. 5 15-04 0
Day 1: 5 15-04
7. Michael Iaconelli Pittsgrove, N.J. 5 14-09 0
Day 1: 5 14-09
8. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 5 14-03 0
Day 1: 5 14-03
9. Russ Lane Prattville, Ala. 5 14-01 0
Day 1: 5 14-01
10. James Niggemeyer Van, Texas 5 13-03 0
Day 1: 5 13-03
11. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 5 13-00 0
Day 1: 5 13-00
11. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 5 13-00 0
Day 1: 5 13-00
13. Gerald Swindle Warrior, Ala. 5 10-08 0
Day 1: 5 10-08
14. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 5 10-03 0
Day 1: 5 10-03
15. Byron Velvick Del Rio, Texas 5 10-00 0
Day 1: 5 10-00
16. Mark Tucker Kirkwood, Mo. 5 9-15 0
Day 1: 5 9-15
17. Jeff Freeman Max Meadows, Va. 5 9-08 0
Day 1: 5 9-08
18. Matt Herren Trussville, Ala. 5 9-07 0
Day 1: 5 9-07
19. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, La. 5 9-05 0
Day 1: 5 9-05
20. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, Ark. 5 8-15 0
Day 1: 5 8-15
20. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 5 8-15 0
Day 1: 5 8-15
22. Aaron Martens Leeds, Ala. 5 8-11 0
Day 1: 5 8-11
23. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 5 8-09 0
Day 1: 5 8-09
24. Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 5 7-13 0
Day 1: 5 7-13
25. John Murray Phoenix 4 7-12 0
Day 1: 4 7-12
26. Mark Menendez Paducah, Ky. 5 7-09 0
Day 1: 5 7-09
27. Frank Scalish Cleveland Heights, Ohio 5 7-02 0
Day 1: 5 7-02
28. Don Hogue Pasco, Wash. 2 7-01 0
Day 1: 2 7-01
29. Shaw Grigsby Gainesville, Fla. 4 6-15 0
Day 1: 4 6-15
30. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, Ga. 5 6-13 0
Day 1: 5 6-13
31. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 5 6-12 0
Day 1: 5 6-12
32. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, Ariz. 5 6-09 0
Day 1: 5 6-09
33. Brent Long Cornelius, N.C. 5 6-08 0
Day 1: 5 6-08
34. Bryan Schmidt Olney, Texas 2 6-02 0
Day 1: 2 6-02
35. Jason Quinn Lake Wylie, S.C. 2 5-12 0
Day 1: 2 5-12
36. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, Ark. 2 5-09 0
Day 1: 2 5-09
37. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 3 5-00 0
Day 1: 3 5-00
38. Randy Phillips Oxford, Mass. 4 4-05 0
Day 1: 4 4-05
39. Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. 4 4-02 0
Day 1: 4 4-02
40. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 1 3-05 0
Day 1: 1 3-05
41. Terry Butcher Talala, Okla. 2 2-15 0
Day 1: 2 2-15
42. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 2 2-10 0
Day 1: 2 2-10
43. Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 1 2-10 0
Day 1: 1 2-10
44. Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 1 2-09 0
Day 1: 1 2-09
45. Jami Fralick Martin, S.D. 1 2-08 0
Day 1: 1 2-08
46. Kevin Short Mayflower, Ark. 2 2-06 0
Day 1: 2 2-06
47. Scott Ashmore Broken Arrow, Okla. 1 1-07 0
Day 1: 1 1-07
48. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, Ala. 1 1-02 0
Day 1: 1 1-02
49. Jody Adkins North Canton, Ohio 0 0-00 0
Day 1: 0 0-00
49. Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 0 0-00 0
Day 1: 0 0-00
49. Darrell West Drasco, Ark. 0 0-00 0
Day 1: 0 0-00
