ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608060041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
Kevin VanDam isn't your typical good old boy, Southern Bubba bass fisherman.
For one thing, his home isn't deep in the heart of Dixie, but in Michigan, where bass traditionally take a balcony seat to elongated, toothy characters called pike and muskie.
VanDam doesn't have a beer gut, nor does a wad of tobacco swell either of his cheeks. He is tall and slim and youthful looking, because ... well ... he's only 28. Put him in a blue suit and he'll look like a promising, young stockbroker.
But bass are his business. He came close to winning the BASS Masters Classic in Greensboro, N.C., in August 1995, when he finished sixth, and this season he won the prestigious B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Title - again. He also won it in 1992, at age 24, the youngest man ever to do so.
So when you pick a candidate to dominate the 1996 BASS Masters Classic from Thursday through Saturday on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala., VanDam's name comes to the top of the list of the 41 contenders. Along with David Fritts, who is a good-old-boy Southern angler from Lexington, N.C., and Mark Davis, the defending champ, who visited fellow Arkansas resident Bill Clinton at the White House and reported: ``We talked a good bit about fishing, although he's not very knowledgeable about fishing.''
The field includes one Virginian, a Daves - not Woo this time, the veteran of a dozen Classics, but his son, Chris. At age 24 , Chris Daves is the youngest of the newcomers to the 1996 Classic. Young, maybe, but already a veteran of 21 B.A.S.S. tournaments.
``My dad used to have to sign forms for me so I could fish tournaments, because I was too young,'' said the Spring Grove angler.
Daves has been around professional fishing long enough not to be awed by the fact that he will be competing against heroes like Roland Martin, Rick Clunn and Larry Nixon.
``I fish against the guys all year,'' he said. ``As long as I catch some fish, I will be all right. I just don't want to come around to the coliseum weigh-in with no fish.''
Lay Lake?
Daves doesn't know much about it, either. Before the July practice days, he'd never seen it.
The most noticeable thing about Lay is that it is small, just 12,000-surface acres, little more than half the size of Smith Mountain Lake, which is considered a small tournament impoundment. What counts in the Classic is an arena large enough to hold the 20,000-plus spectators who show up for the weigh-in, and that is available 40 miles down the road at Birmingham.
Lay is part of a chain of power lakes on the Coosa River, were there are largemouth bass and spotted bass. A concrete dam separates it from Logan Martin Lake, site of the 1992 and 1993 Classics. Fritts won in 1993, gaining instant stardom, but he couldn't repeat the past two years on his home waters at High Rock Lake in North Carolina.
Lay has a reputation of being kind to crankbait fishermen, and Fritts is the king of crankbaiters. That makes him a strong contender.
Davis also is proficient with a plug, using a Rebel Pop-R on the surface and the new Bomber Fat Free Shad to go deep to hook the three-day, 47-pound, 14-ounce winning catch last year.
In practice, Lay has been a Scrooge.
``We practiced there last week and the fishing was pretty tough,'' said VanDam, during a telephone interview. ``It was hot. The water temperature was real warm. We had bright days, not a lot of wind. Tough conditions to catch fish on, but I still found a few fish.''
Versatility will be the key to success, he said.
``I feel like this Classic is going to be won by a person who can adapt, because conditions change on this lake, as far as them pulling water and not pulling water, bright skies, heat, thunderstorms or not thunderstorms, water clarity. The fish are very fickle there. You really have to be aware of what is around you and be willing to change and adapt. This tournament is not going to be won by a guy fishing one spot all three days, with one pattern and one lure.''
All this increases the stock in VanDam.
``I love to catch them with a lot of different baits, but I don't love to catch them on one particular bait to the point that I am afraid to put it down,'' he said. ``Crankbaiting is going to be a big part of the tournament, but there are a lot of other baits that are going to work, too.''
Last year, VanDam and Davis scored well with the Fat Free Shad, a lure made by Pradco that had yet to hit the market. Is there another secret lure in the offing this time?
``I think so,'' VanDam said. ``I hope I have it in my tackle box.''
One lure receiving pretournament attention is a smaller version of the Fat Free Shad, called the BD (as in Bill Dance) 6.
``It runs about 12 feet; it has some different colors,'' VanDam said. ``I have some special colors of my own in my box that nobody else will have.
``Matching the forage is very important. When the bass are feeding on bream, for instance, that is really what they want to bite. If you throw a crawdad bait when they are biting on bream, you aren't as likely to get a positive response. The guys who can really adapt each day are going to be the guys at the top in the end.''
You'd better add Rick Clunn and Gary Kline to that list, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Chris Daves. 2. At age 28, Kevin VanDamby CNB(left) would like to add the Classic crown to his lenghty list of
fishing accomplishments. color. Graphic: Chart: 1996 Bass Masters
Classic.