BASS PRESS RELEASE
Bass-fishing superstar Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., is in an early position to win a record-breaking 24th Bassmaster title. After weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces, the four-time Classic champion is leading the GoPro Bassmaster Elite at Dardanelle presented by Econo Lodge.
With $100,000 and valuable Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points on the line, VanDam fully understands what's at stake. But even the seasoned veteran was surprised at today's results.
"I've had mixed results on Dardanelle. I got second to Mark Menendez in 2009, and had a terrible tournament in 2014," VanDam said. "But I know the bass in this lake move around a lot, which makes staying consistent difficult sometimes. I'm actually very pleasantly surprised with my weight today, and the rest of the field did better than I had expected."
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| Van Dam at home on Dardanelle. (Photo: BASS) |
"I caught two big fish that really helped," he said. "I learned some things today, but on Dardanelle you can't always bet on a pattern holding — you have to stay flexible. I don't believe the forecasted storms will have much impact on how and where I'm fishing, but duplicating today's weight would surprise me again."
