Kevin Van Dam Makes Return to Bass Fishing
Fifth Grader Catches 13-pounder in Texas!
13-pound Largemouth Breaks Junior Record
When the number (13) of the weight of your fish, exceeds your age (11), you’ve got a story to tell!
That is exactly what happened to fifth grader Stetson Davis of Tuttle, Okla.. He dad, Brodey, pulled him out of class so the two of them could take a father-son trip down to a Texas Lake.
Brodey already had a Texas Legacy Lunker of his own, catching a 17-pounder at OH Ivie back in 2022.
The duo saw the massive largemouth on their forward facing sonar, and the challenge was on to see if Stetson could get it in the boat.
After 15-20 casts, Stetson finally got the lunker to take his 6-inch swimbait. Brodey grabbed the net for the assist and the rest was history. The 13-pounder broke Stetson’s previous best of 8.8-pounds.
One Last Ride for KVD at MLF’s Redcrest TODAY!
Kevin Van Dam is the greatest professional bass angler to ever live, according to many in the bass fishing world.
Last year, KVD announced he would be retiring from tournament fishing, but he is back for his final event ever, participating in Major League Fishing’s Redcrest.
This morning (March 14th) he’ll be competing with some of the best anglers around the world for one last win!
If you are not familiar with Redcrest, it is MLF’s equivalent to the Bassmaster Classic. Now, let’s be honest, it does not carry the same weight as the Classic, but it is one of the top events of the year, nonetheless.
And now that it is KVD’s last rodeo, it has become even more significant in 2024.
This year’s event will take place at Lay Lake in Birmingham, Ala., where KVD fished his second-ever Bassmaster Classic.
In a story he wrote for Major League Fishing last week, KVD shared his thoughts on fishing in his final professional tournament.
“This is certainly going to be a sentimental week for me in Birmingham. There’s a lot of nostalgia that surrounds that place in terms of my 33-year career in competitive fishing. I’m probably going to get emotional at times. But I can guarantee my fans this: When the green flag drops and we go lines in, I’ll be all business in trying to win one more for all the great people who have cheered me on through the years.”
KVD is known for his style of power-fishing, using deep-diving crankbaits to help fill his boat with giant bass. But, this week, it sounds like he is keeping his options open.
“REDCREST will be the first time I’ve competed nationally since retiring after the Bass Pro Tour event at Saginaw Bay in 2023. I’m ready to get the competitive juices flowing again. I didn’t pre-practice or scout the lake in any way. We have three days of official practice, which is plenty. I’ve been to Lay Lake enough to know how it lays out and how it fishes this time of year.
Obviously, it’ll be much different than it was 14 years ago – we have a lot more technology in place now, which changes things up quite a bit. These days, there are a lot more options to consider. For that reason, I rigged up close to 50 rods before I left Michigan.”
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Winning Patterns on Kentucky Lake
No. 1 Jake Lawrence
Lawrence is a live scoping machine and it led to his big win on Kentucky Lake last week. Lawrence won the tournament using a Jenko prototype minnow style bait.
No. 2 Matt Robertson
If you know Matt Robertson, you know he goes big or goes home. That was no different on his home lake of Kentucky last week. Robertson threw big swimbaits, including a 6-8” Berkley PowerBait CullShad.
No. 3 Jordan Hartman
Jordan Hartman threw around the 6-8” Berkley PowerBait CullShad like Robertson, but he was able to finish in third place with the help of Z-Man Jackhammer Chatterbait, one of the most versatile baits in any boat.
No. 4 Harbor Lovin
It was a 5-inch Jenko Tremor Shad that powered Harbor Lovin to a fourth-place finish on Kentucky Lake. Lovin said he fished one area in 2-20 feet of water and the Tremor Shad did the rest of the work.
No. 5 Clint Knight
Another minnow-style bait, like this Rapala CrushCity Freeloader, was the key to Clint Knight fishing his way to a fifth-place finish and another check cashed at Kentucky Lake.
No. 6 Drew Gill
After finishing first and cashing an $80K check in February at Sam Rayburn, Gill had another top 10 finish, this time at Kentucky Lake. Gill, another force with forward facing sonar, filled his boat by using an Alabama Rig with Big Bite Baits Pro Swimmers.
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Cool stuff...can't wait to try out some of those baits here in Vermont once it gets a little warmer.