You think KVD is not serious

[Tim_T]

This is from a B.A.S.S. press release about the Duel on the Delta tourney:

"No one is better at salvaging a positive out of a negative than Kevin VanDam.

Case in point: In the third round of the Duel on the Delta, the two-time Bassmaster Classic champion ran into a submerged object that tore a gapping hole in the side of his boat.

His bilge pump could not keep up with the water entering the boat. Instead of panicking, KVD called for help. While waiting for a replacement boat, he put the trolling motor down and managed to catch two bass before help arrived.

Remarkably, VanDam finished with a catch of 22 pounds, 4 ounces to make the top-12 cut for the final round."

[flippindrew]

wow, he never ceases to amaze me. truly an inspirational man.

[jonasseed]

He is without a doubt the best angler in the world. This guy is unbelievable. Id ike to see him fish Laurel lake..lol

[kyfishing]

Personally I would love to see him fish Beaver lake in Anderson county. He is one heck of an angler though.

[artcarney_agr]

I think I also would be able to stay calm knowing that I didn't have to fool with any of the repairs....must be nice to have that luxury!

[DYNATRAK]

I think I also would be able to stay calm knowing that I didn't have to fool with any of the repairs....must be nice to have that luxury!

exactly.

[know1]

Is the correct term "serious" or is it "foolish"? After seeing him nearly run over those people in the classic and then hearing that he's running around fast enough in apparently unknown water to cause that damage to his boat, I'm not sure that his competitive spirit is something to be admired in this case.

[bigrod]

Get your facts straight. It was not him they kept showing in the Classic, it was Gerald Swindle.

[know1]

Hmm....sorry for that. I don't follow professional fishing very close (obviously), but I thought it was the same person.

[Toadman]

KVD was not the one who ran close to those boats up the river at the classic it was Swindle. As for KVD running in unfamiliar water..who knows. I do know this, a submerged log can show up anytime and anyplace. Anyone who has ever driven a boat on our lakes and rivers can have a bad luck day and hit something. I have seen it happen to some guys who know the water they were running like the back of there hand. Now I do realize that there are some who take off across the water without know what is up. But I think that KVD knew the water he was running. He is not in the habit of destroying equipment. And he is the best out there IMO. He could probably catch fish from a ditch.

[Tim_T]

In 1998 I was a press observer at the Red Man All-American. The tourney was on the Mississippi River out of LaCrosse, Wisc. There was one local angler in the field. He, like the rest of the anglers, was forbidden from being on the water during the off-limits period. He went out on the first day and caught a limit that would have placed him in the top 10, except that he beached his boat on a gravel bar in a place that he had run 100 times. Don't act like it couldn't happen to any of us.

As far as not having to worry about fixing his boat, that is a luxury, but not one that wasn't earned, and since he depends on his boat to make his living, he probably was just a bit stressed. Regardless, he did what needed to be done.

And for Beaver Lake, He could figure the lake out in a matter of hours. All you have to do was see what those guys did at Taylorsville a few years ago in that WCF tourney under terrible conditions, when all of the locals said fish would not be caught.

[Bobby Headrick]

Yea run Barren, Rough, Green, in the early spring, or Barkley after a storm, always plenty of stuff, floating around, this stuff can happen to anyone, if anything it shows he is human and normal, he is just serious about this sport,