Kevin Van Dam Wins 2018 Bassmaster Elite Grand Lake with 83-04lbs

25th BASS Victory for KVD! 
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD in a league of his own!
(Photo: BASS)

Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., relied upon large female prespawn bass to claim a record-breaking 25th title on the Bassmaster Elite Series, and a $100,000 payday at the 2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake in Grove, Okla.
 
During Championship Sunday, VanDam put up 18 pounds, 7 ounces to push his four-day total to 83-4, which outscored Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., by more than 5 pounds.
 
The 50-year-old VanDam will place an unprecedented 25th Bassmaster trophy on his mantle — a feat many believe may never be broken.

This isn’t his first victory on the famous Oklahoma lake. He won an Elite Series event on Grand Lake back in 2007 with 78-2.
 
The bass VanDam was targeting this time were primarily in the prespawn phase and were positioned along transition zones where one type of bottom met another.  
 
“The male bass were all in shallow along the bank and pretty easy to catch,” VanDam said. “I knew that to win, I needed to catch the larger females that were staging farther offshore — around 8 to 10 feet of water.”
 
After an unproductive practice, the four-time Bassmaster Classic champion said he was forced to adapt and experiment on Thursday’s opening round of competition.
 
“I really didn’t think I could win this thing after the tough practice I had,” he said. “But I knew I had to cover water to find active fish. The female bass that were moving in to spawn were not yet on beds, but they would still hit a reaction bait like a crankbait or a spinnerbait.”
 
VanDam said he fished at least 50 spots per day early in the tournament, but dialed in to the best locations during Saturday and Sunday, which meant less traveling from one to the next.
 
“Today was a tougher bite for me. I caught fewer fish, but I was focusing on the locations that were producing the largest bass. It proved to be the right decision,” he said.
 

2014 BASSFEST Day 1: Ike is King for a Day.

PLACE	NAME	DAY 1		TOTAL FISH	TOTAL WEIGHT
		FISH	WEIGHT
1	Michael Iaconelli	5	25-12	5	25-12
2	Edwin Evers	5	24- 3	5	24- 3
3	Tommy Biffle	5	24- 1	5	24- 1
4	Takahiro Omori	5	22-15	5	22-15
5	Kevin VanDam	5	22- 9	5	22- 9
6	Matthew Herren	5	22- 7	5	22- 7
7	Jacob Wheeler	5	22- 6	5	22- 6
8	Jason Christie	5	22- 5	5	22- 5
9	Davy Hite	5	21- 8	5	21- 8
10	Jason Williamson	5	21- 3	5	21- 3
11	Scott Rook	5	20-10	5	20-10
12	David Smith	5	20- 6	5	20- 6
13	Greg Hackney	5	20- 5	5	20- 5
14	Fred Roumbanis	5	20- 0	5	20- 0
15	Terry Scroggins	5	19- 7	5	19- 7
16	Brett Hite	5	19- 2	5	19- 2
16	Skeet Reese	5	19- 2	5	19- 2
18	Britt Myers	5	19- 1	5	19- 1
19	John Crews	5	18-14	5	18-14
20	Brandon Palaniuk	5	17-15	5	17-15

Smallmouth Strategies: Crawling a Swinghead Jig

By Luigi De Rose

A solid keeper that helped vaulted Biffle to a win
this year on the Elite tour.
(Photo: BASS)

One smallmouth presentation that get little acceptance is crawling a swinghead jig. These jigs are a unique twist to a traditional football head. The hook and football head is linked together via a ring. Gene Larew's Biffle Hard head is one of the first and definiately the most popular of these jigs styles.

Initially intended for fishing ledges for summertime largemouth, they are dynamite on smallmouth. Bassmaster Elite legend put a huge exclamation mark on this jig's success with a win on the Mississippi River smallmouth. How can a good ole boy from Oklahoma beat all the finesse smallmouth guys? Easy, by simply casting his Hard head jig along sand bars and current breaks. The crazy thing is that he did it solely with casting gear and heavy line.

One of the best is the Fastach Football head. Any hook can be
attached onto it. Swap out a damaged hook for a new one. 
I love the ability to mix smaller hooks with heavy heads.
You have to get some Fastach Football heads

Team up this jig with a craw or creature bait. Anything crayfish looking will do. One experimentation that needs to be done is trying bulkier shakey worms, leeches or minnow baits in tandem with a swing jig. The possibilities are endless.

So, the next time you're interested in fishing something new try or need to spark up your fishing, think like Tommy Biffle and grab a swing jig.

River2Sea Releases 8 New Baits at ICAST 2013

Richmond, CA - July 2, 2013 - River2Sea has long held a history of being aggressive at introducing new products to the industry at the annual ICAST Show, and 2014 is no different. The Richmond, Calif. based manufacturer of premium lures is poised to introduce eight new products at the industry show in Las Vegas next week.

Among those will be additions to the signature lines of Ish Monroe, Scott Martin, John Murray and Larry Dahlberg as well as a new signature introduction of bass fishing legend Tommy Biffle, a contest winning design and a new size to one of our best products. The signature products to be released are:

Tommy Biffle's Junkyard Jig - a jig made for the way this Flippin' legend operates, custom, short shank wide gap hook create and extremely compact jig with punch. Extra loud rattles on a custom Biffle designed head and hand tied skirts highlight this package.

Ish Monroe's New Jack Flippin' Hook - This extra strong straight shank Flippin' hook has a unique second eye / keeper barb that makes holding plastics easy, but also gives the angler a choice of tying a Snell Knot or most of the popular knots used by anglers today.

John Murray's Papa Mur Football Jig - A structure fishing king, Murray knows that a great jig starts with the right hook, and he designed this jig with a reverse gap round bend hook to maximize hook gap and fish holding power. An elongated Football head means less opening of the fish's mouth, and hand tied skirts make this a premium structure jig named after one of the best structure anglers in the business.

Tommy Biffle Wins with Smallmouth at the 2013 Elite Mississippi River Tournament!

By Deb Johnson
BASS Press Release

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Tommy Biffle was watching the clock. With 45 minutes left in the final round, Biffle knew it was time to give up on the special smallmouth spot he’d been milking during the entire four-day Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble presented by Power-Pole.

Aaron 2nd and winner Tommy
battled for the lead all tournament.
(Photos: BASS)

Thirty years of pro bass fishing tells you to when to make a move.

“If you sit there and hope they come and they don’t come, you have do something,” said Biffle, 55, of Wagoner, Okla.

Going into Sunday’s final round, Biffle was 7 ounces in back of leader Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala. Biffle wanted the win, and especially the Bassmaster Classic berth that comes with an Elite trophy.

He abandoned the spot that had kept him in contention all week, and ran to a similar place he knew of nearby, with hard current between two islands. It hadn’t produced much before, but Sunday it paid off quickly.

“First throw, I caught a big one, second throw I caught a big one,” he said. He built his weight to 16 pounds, 13 ounces.

2013 Bassmaster Elite Mississippi River Day 3: Martens Ounces Ahead of Biffle

By Deb Johnson

BASS Press Release

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Seven ounces.

After three days of competition, Aaron Martens was just 7 ounces from victory in last year’s Bassmaster Elite Series event on the Mississippi River.

Now Martens gets to play out a similar scenario on the same river, and he’s going for big bass in the same spot that put him in contention in 2012. And, oddly enough, once again 7 ounces plays into his game.

Aaron with his trademark spinning gear.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

But now the advantage is his. On Saturday, Martens put himself 7 ounces in front of his nearest challenger in the Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble presented by Power-Pole.

Martens of Leeds, Ala., amassed a 47-pound, 12-ounce total for the Rumble’s third-day lead.

Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., was the angler trailing Martens by 7 ounces. The day’s largest five-bass sack of 17-5 put Biffle in second place with a total of 47-5. In third place was John Crews of Salem, Va., with 42-14 — 4 pounds, 14 ounces behind the leader, or the size of one fat Mississippi River bass.

Tommy Biffle Joins River2Sea

River2Sea continues to make waves in the industry with the expansion of their product line, and now they are increasing the size of those waves with the addition of a true bass fishing legend to their pro staff. River2Sea is proud to announce the addition of Tommy Biffle, from Wagoner, Okla. to their pro staff. Biffle has a reputation for being a staunch competitor who has the ability to dig heavyweight bass from the thickest cover with his Flippin' Stick and heavy line. The combination of Biffle and his weapons has resulted in a career full of hall of fame worthy credentials.

2012 Forrest L. Wood Cup: Bucking the System!

Wheeler gets pasted by Yelas during Day 2 of the Cup
(Photos: FLW)

By Luigi De Rose

This year the FLW Cup is being held at the spotted bass capital of the world, Lake Lanier in Georgia. Spotted bass love the deep, fresh water during the humid summer. This translates to anglers hunting for deep brush piles teaming with bass. To catch them takes small worms or jigs. The western technique of doodling became entrenched with eastern anglers on this lake. Now, drop shotting is king. All predictions indicate that the winner will have a few deep water areas that will produce solid, consistent limits of spotted bass. Well, that might not be true.

Jacob Wheeler, who has lead both day 1 and 2 of this Cup is fishing shallow. Surprisingly, second place angler, Jay Yelas is also fishing shallow largemouths. One angler is a fluke, having the top two anglers doing the same thing is a winning strategy. It seems that as of Day 2, only Scott Martin is fishing exclusively for spotted bass.

Wheeler in the wood. 

This strategy of bucking the local school of thought is reminisce of Tommy Biffle's quest for the Bass Master Classic. On south east impoundments known for off-shore crankbaiting, Tommy had several Classic Championships slip through his fingers. As the pack cranked the bottom, Tommy pointed his boat far up river and flipped and pitched his Lunker Lure jig to wood. Actually, Jay Yelas won the 2002 Classic on Lay Lake fishing shore line cover as his rivals fished transitional summer time patterns.

Will history repeat itself? Will Wheeler and Yelas wash out like Biffle did when water levels ruined his best areas? Or, will bucking the system pay off? Wait and see.

Learn to Fish in a Crowd Part1

Roland and Scott Martin work a massive grass bed on
the Potomac River.
(Photos: Rob Newell & FLW)

Fishing in crowd is challenging. Angling community holes and surviving is an accomplishment . Many factors influence fishing in crowds. Dealing with crowds needs a two-prong approach. Even before the first cast is made, they are beaten. The flip side is relief. If others consider the same area worthy to fish, you might be on to something.

This multi-part article will article will focus on how to succeed in a crowd.  

Avoidance

Psychologically, it can be painful to watch fish being caught while you sit ideal. Frustration equals anxiety, which in turn translates into a poor performance.  For many, its best to ignore the crowds, even if community holes are teaming with bass.

Even the most seasoned angler feels deflated as they turn into their magic spot only to discover a mob. Confidence it a huge factor. Ideally, everyone needs some peace and quiet but weekend warriors and elite anglers fish the conditions they get. Avoidance is a strategy children are taught to distance themselves from rude people and it works for fishing.

Alton Jones, Tommy Biffle, Roland Martin and many others have made careers finding fishing grounds too far or too difficult for others to consider. Alton Jones once jammed his boat under a low culvert to win a BASS Top 100. In 1985, Roland  drove 60 miles down the Hudson River to hit the tide at peak feeding times.  Biffle, almost won a Classic by bucking the seasonal trend of cranking ledges to hunt for bass way, way up creeks in August. For them it is easier to fish for unpressured bass, even if there are not a lot of them. Some say it’s not smart but who can argue with their stellar careers.

Never easy.
(Photo: Izumi Outdoors

Canadian tournament ace, Bob Izumi, loves to out run the competition. For decades he would vault into the wildest of seas of the Great Lakes to out distance himself from the competition. Finding distant schools has made him one of the most talented  pros in history.  His 2011 FLW Northern EverStart win on Lake Ontario illustrated classic avoidance tactics.

Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash Day 4

Day 4 Morning Up-Date
By Luigi De Rose

Lake Murray is windy and the bass are biting. Ike, Snowden, Evers, Ashley and Hite have all be whacking them. Unofficially, the day's leader board looks like we will be in for a roller coaster ride at the weigh-in. Anglers fishing for schooling bass felt their whole day would unfold in the first few hours. By 10am the game might be over. Wind along with sunny skies might prolong the bite. So, if someone can nail a big bite after the schooling action dies, they really have a change to claim the win.


Check out the latest standings from BASSTrakk, all weights are unofficial. 

		Fish	Day 4	Total
1	Michael Iaconelli	5	16-00	59-05
2	Brian Snowden	5	17-04	58-05
3	Casey Ashley	5	10-08	56-06
4	Davy Hite	5	14-04	55-07
5	Edwin Evers	5	13-00	52-12
6	Tommy Biffle	5	10-04	52-04
7	Fred Roumbanis	5	9-14	48-05
8	Jami Fralik	3	9-04	48-05
9	Chris Lane	4	8-00	47-00
10	Jeff Conella	1	2-00	44-04
11	Rick Clunn	2	3-13	43-06
12	Kevin Wirth	0	0-00	42-01

Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash Day 3

Local Boy Ashley Lead Day 3


By Luigi De Rose

Casey's on top.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

The Bassmaster Elite anglers had a rough ride today. The highs were high but the lows were very low. Many who did very well the last two days barely qualified for the Top 12. South Carolina's Casey Ashley took the lead after Day Three on Lake Murray. His charming grin said it all when he placed his limit on the scales and claimed first place. Being a local might be his saving grace as he understands the moods of schooling largemouth bass.

Look carefully to see the double white flukes.

He seems to be doing most of his damage on a double fluke rig. This employs tandem Texas rigged soft jerkbaits. Jerked on the surface or just below it, bass envision fleeing bait fish and attack. Many are using this technique but Casey has the timing down. He is also been using topwaters and hard swimbaits but he has been tight lipped about confirming or denying specifics.

TOP 20
Place/name/day 3 weight/total
1 Casey Ashley 15-13  45-14
2 Michael Iaconelli 16- 6  43- 5
3 Jeff Connella 14-11  42- 4
4 Kevin Wirth 15- 3  42- 1
5 Tommy Biffle 16- 7 42- 0
6 Jami Fralick 14-15 41- 4
7 Davy Hite  11-12 41- 3
8 Brian Snowden 12-12 41- 1
9 Edwin Evers  18- 8 39-12
10 Rick Clunn 11-13 39- 9
11 Chris Lane 14- 9 39- 0
12 Fred Roumbanis 7-14 38- 7
13 Morizo Shimizu 12-12 38- 3
14 Marty Robinson 11- 8 37-13
15 Clark Reehm 13-11 37-10
16 John Crews 15-10 37- 7
17 Bradley Roy 14-13 37- 5
18 Dustin Wilks  11-13 37- 5
19 Matt Reed  14-15 36-14
20 David Smith 11-11 36- 8