A Day With KVD - BASS Elite Series, Potomac River

[Logan S]

With the Elite Series stopping on my home waters of the Potomac River I had to sign up as a marshal to see how these guys attacked it.  I was confirmed for the first 2 days and got as lucky as you can get by drawing KVD for day 2 of the tournament (Friday).  

After launching we had some time before take-off so in between him doing a couple quick interviews we got to discuss his first day and his plans for day 2.  KVD's first day was a nightmare...Other boats in his spots, timing off, best areas trashed by the wind, and lost fish.  He told me that it was one of those days where everything that could've possibly gone wrong did go wrong.  We spent the first few minutes in the morning on day 2 talking about the weather, he was hoping the wind changed direction enough so that his best area wouldn't be blown out again.  After checking the weather a few different times he concluded that it was probably still going to be trashed, but there was enough of a chance to at least go check on it when the tide was right.  

When we finally took off as boat #60 he started up river to a spot where he saw several good fish in practice.  The first thing that jumped out to me was how he drove the boat...It was like a race car driver, not becasue of the speed but the 'path' he takes.  He runs right on the shoreline when he can (said it was smoother, and it was), as in you could touch it with a fishing rod, and cuts corners/points literally as close as you can.  I knew that in some areas he was in less than a foot of water.  It reminded me of race car driver cutting the apex of each turn...Zero wasted time and not even a foot of extra distance traveled. None of the other pros seemed to take it to this extreme, including my day 1 pro (Cliff Prince).  

It wasn't a far run to his first spot and there were 3 other competitors already there from an earlier flight.  He told me that all 3 were there yesterday too and had the very best spot locked down.  He wouldn't encroach on them, but said he was hoping to pick up fish on the periphery.  Two of the three were Hackney and Vinson and they did not move more than 50 yards all day, for both day's 1 & 2.  He caught his first fish quickly on a popper and made a joke about finally having something weigh in....He hung around for about an hour and besides one other blow up that missed his popper there was no action.  

His next stop was a short distance down river, a stretch of docks with good grass in front.  He spent most of the time here using frogs.  The new Poppin' Perch, a regular KVD frog, and a new SK toad with 'flat' feet (like a Ribbit).  He had two good blow ups just inches behind his toad and had a good fish knock his KVD frog in the air on a blow up...All were decent size fish but they never completely got the bait.  He switched colors a few times to see if that would get them to commit a little better but it ultimately didn't result in any more bites.  As he was re-tying he pulled out a bunch of the new Poppin' Perch frogs to show me and explained how he worked with SK for almost a year to get it how he wanted....After a few passes up and back with the frog he went into the docks and flipped them with a Menace, but had no bites.  

From there we ran upriver to a popular creek with another spot where he saw several quality fish in practice.  As we rounded the corner and set down he cursed when he saw Gary Klein sitting literally on his waypoint.  He showed me on his GPS and sure enough, it was exactly on top of his mark.  Klein was getting bit almost every cast on a walking bait and we watched him put his whole limit in the boat...KVD said that he probably got there just a few minutes before we did.  He got close to Klein but stayed away from the main spot.  The fish weren't as interested in his popper so he said he had to try a walker.  He pulled out his walker box and I learned that besides his Sexy Dawg bait, he also really like the Evergreen Shower Blows...He asked if I'd ever used it and when I said it was one of my favorites he agreed and I think his exact words were 'yep, it's a baaaaad sum-b****..." .  Even KVD likes a little JDM style .  He got no love on the walker since he couldn't hit the main spot, so he started digging in his rod boxes and pulled out a spinning rod.  He rigged up a 4" Caffine Shad and started skipping it quickly across the surface, trying to imitate the needlefish we get in the river this time of year.  He cycled through colors every few casts before finally settling on one.  This was the ticket for him as it resulted in 4 fish to fill his limit in the next hour or so.  Nothing huge, but he was happy to get 5 after the disaster on day 1.  

The tide eventually brought too much dirty water into the area and it was about the right time to go check on his primary spot.  We headed down river and as we got closer he looked over holding up his crossed fingers hoping for a little luck.  Unfortunately, the wind had it trashed again.  He still gave it a few minutes before giving up and we ran back up the river.  We bounced around to a few more areas but he wasn't able to connect on anything else that helped him.  

I know a lot of that is a little vague, but if i went into all the details this post would 4 pages long!  Honestly, the actual fishing part was awesome...But the real highlights to me we the conversations about tackle, strategy, locations, and everything else.  I asked about a lot of his baits and colors and the level of detail he considers for everything he has is impressive.  There is a reason/purpose for everything he uses and/or has his name on.  For example, we talked about the Caffine Shad and he told me that he designed it specifically to be different from the Super Fluke.  He said he wanted it to fall completely horizontal like a stick-bait instead of gliding around like the fluke.  He also told me that they have the Jr sized Rage Bug in the works .  His name on the package isn't just marketing, if it's got KVD on the package it's because he either designed or modified it to his liking.  

The thing that impressed me the most was how well he knew the Potomac.  He knows this river better than any local I've met, which obviously includes me too.  I'd like to think I know this river better than most and he was on another level.  He never went to an area that I haven't been (and neither did my day 1 pro), but the level of detail about each area and the history he knew was insane.  A few of the places he hit were some of my favorite areas and he had those places dissected to such detail that I never once thought "I wonder if he knows about 'XYZ' in this spot"...He knew it all.  I know he has a long history on this river, but even still it's unreal to me how much detail he knew.  

He couldn't have been a nicer guy and was very easy to talk to.  We talked quite a bit about some other waters in the area like the Upper Bay, James/Chick rivers, Gaston, and Kerr which was fun...Nothing like comparing strategies with greatest of all time .  I know in his mind he was probably fuming since he was having a tough tournament, but you never would have known it from talking to him.  At the end of the day I helped him bag his fish for weigh in and with a handshake I thanked him for the day wished him good luck with the rest of the season and he wished me good luck with rest of mine (which was cool, even though I'm just small time).  It was the best day I've spent on the water and I never even made a cast.  I also don't want to overlook my day 1 pro, Cliff Prince who was also great...But I'd be writing all day/night if I put everything that happened on both days in text....I'll just end by saying that if the Elites ever make a stop in your vicinity you should jump on the marshal opportunity...Even just hanging out before launch or at weigh in is awesome, every single pro was friendly and approachable.  It's worth every penny and every second.  

[Master Bait'r]

Whoa!  That is incredible!!  Congrats for spending a whole day rubbing elbows with The Man himself!  

[Scott F]

I seldom follow the pro tournament fisherman, but I certainly know who KVD is. How cool to spend a day in a boat with him during a tournament!!  Great post!!

[Molay1292]

Great story, it will be an experience you will always remember and tell.   I have always been a KVD fan, and your story only reminds me of why.     He is the greatest, there is a reason they all call him #1,

[A-Jay]

That had to be Fan-Tastic !

Super Write Up ~ Thank You for taking the time to do it.

If & when you get a minute ~ I'd be interested to hear what you thought about his casting technique & how you feel his tackle performed.

I bet you're still smiling.

A-Jay

[wes2000]

Thank you for the time spent writing this post, I really enjoyed it!

If you get any time I would really love to know exactly what he was looking for as far as wind direction on his spot

 

Thanks,

Wes

[BiteFiend]

What a great read! Sounds like the experience of a lifetime. One that I am sure you will not soon forget, and learned so much from. If you have the time at some point, a part 2 would be amazing. I, and I am sure others as well, would like to learn more about his attention to detail and a lot of the "little things" he does that the average angler doesn't think about. 

[Logan S]

21 hours ago, A-Jay said:

That had to be Fan-Tastic !

Super Write Up ~ Thank You for taking the time to do it.

If & when you get a minute ~ I'd be interested to hear what you thought about his casting technique & how you feel his tackle performed.

I bet you're still smiling.

A-Jay

His casting and accuracy were excellent as you would expect....However most of the fishing he did was in open water so it wasn't really on display as much.  Every time a bass or baitfish would bust on the surface he would be able to land exactly on top of it.  When he flipped the docks his technique was impressive.  Just a little loop-style flip with his left hand and it was under the dock and skipping every single time.  

All of his gear and tackle was dialed in how he liked it...His rods and reels were all his signature series models (the higher end ones).  I did ask a lot of questions about his gear choices...He used 17lb mono for his popper, 20 lb flouro for flipping, braid obviously for frogs, braid with a short 20lb mono leader for walking baits, and braid with a 12lb flouro leader on a spinning rod for his Caffine Shad.  Most of his tackle was Strike King as you'd expect, however he had a lot of other stuff too.  I already wrote about the EG Shower Blows, but I also noticed some Zell Pop's in his box.  A few others I recognized in the topwater box were the RI Vixen (had a bunch too), Brians Bee's prop baits, and what looked like Ima Big Sticks.  He also had some Spro frogs in his frog box.  His soft plastics were mostly SK as well, but he did have a lot of discontinued colors and he talked about how some the best colors simply didn't sell so they were pulled.  He said SK would make him batches of those colors when he needed them...Benefits of being KVD .  

His Nitro was impressive as well...It's on my shopping list now .  Not the fastest boat out there, but the holeshot was great even loaded down like he is.  It drafts incredibly shallow too...His 21 footer seemed like it could get into skinnier water than my 20' Stratos.  

Everything did it's job for him...He seemed like a function-over-form and no-frills type of guy when it came to his gear in most cases.  

20 hours ago, wes2000 said:

Thank you for the time spent writing this post, I really enjoyed it!

If you get any time I would really love to know exactly what he was looking for as far as wind direction on his spot

 

Thanks,

Wes

We had winds out of the S and SSW at 10-15mph both days.  He simply needed it to be just a little little more out of the west...The spot is a main river-type spot and if the wind is blowing against it or in-line with it the waves get it all churned up and muddy.  It's a hard cover area instead of grass so it really gets rolling like a washing machine and the fish don't like it.  It's a GOOD spot and one that's not very well known....You get 5 bites there and you're looking at 15lbs at least.  

[Logan S]

6 hours ago, BiteFiend said:

What a great read! Sounds like the experience of a lifetime. One that I am sure you will not soon forget, and learned so much from. If you have the time at some point, a part 2 would be amazing. I, and I am sure others as well, would like to learn more about his attention to detail and a lot of the "little things" he does that the average angler doesn't think about. 

I'm sure there's hundreds of little things that go on in his head...But the thing that jumped out to me was how much he keyed on color.  When he was switching out frog colors he was really concerned that he didn't have the 'right' color.  Same thing with the Caffeine Shad, he was really concerned with it...And once he settled on his color for that he got bit almost immediately.  

He was also really in tune with the tides and how the wind and weather would effect it.  Being a tidal guy myself this wasn't too much of a surprise, but just like his overall knowledge of the river it was pretty awesome to see how much of an expert he was at it despite not being a 'local'.  Little things like looking up the offshore winds for the main Chesapeake and Atlantic to determine if the south winds would have a big or small effect on the tide height and timing.

[A-Jay]

Thank you for the "supplemental" write up Logan, I really appreciate it.

A-Jay

[S Hovanec]

One of my buddies was there too.  He got 3 good draws.  Justin Lucas on day 1, Iaconelli on day 2 and Skeet Reese on day 3.  I haven't heard any stories from him yet.

[BiteFiend]

10 hours ago, Logan S said:

I'm sure there's hundreds of little things that go on in his head...But the thing that jumped out to me was how much he keyed on color.  When he was switching out frog colors he was really concerned that he didn't have the 'right' color.  Same thing with the Caffeine Shad, he was really concerned with it...And once he settled on his color for that he got bit almost immediately.  

He was also really in tune with the tides and how the wind and weather would effect it.  Being a tidal guy myself this wasn't too much of a surprise, but just like his overall knowledge of the river it was pretty awesome to see how much of an expert he was at it despite not being a 'local'.  Little things like looking up the offshore winds for the main Chesapeake and Atlantic to determine if the south winds would have a big or small effect on the tide height and timing.

Thanks for the follow-up. I appreciate it. ?

[buzzed bait]

very cool opportunity there man!

[Logan S]

Here's some more pics from Day 1 with Cliff Prince and a few from morning launches.  

[Choporoz]

Can't thank you enough, @Logan S .  I don't follow the pros at all, but, still, I was excited to have them in our backyard. 

So many things about that weekend have fascinated me.... Lucas getting nearly every fish from a single pier...seeing your pics of Prince at the top of the Occoquan (I never caught a largemouth that far up after April), your details about KVD's knowledge and approach...hearing of guys sitting on a spot, not fishing, just waiting out the tides...sounds like an incredible weekend.  Thanks again.

[roadwarrior]

Thank you for the story, I mean THANK YOU very much!

Incredible...

 

    

[Logan S]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

Lucas getting nearly every fish from a single pier...

You know what's even more crazy/interesting?  He didn't even fish all of it.  He fished the pit and front edge from what I saw, which is a good chunk of it.... But the backside holds a lot of fish and it also gives you access to MUCH more space under the dock since there are no cross beams on that side...You can actually fit your boat under it from the backside if you wanted to.  

Justin is an excellent fisherman...He said he won becasue he didn't think those fish have ever seen a dropshot...I can assure you that's not the case .  I've actually won a tournament at that same spot while sharing it with 10 other boats, and we were ALL throwing dropshots!  Justin is just really good at it! .  

One other thing that killed me while with KVD...While he was fishing I was standing on the back deck and saw bass in the 2.5 to 3 lb range about 10 feet from the boat.  Due to the no-information rules I couldn't say anything, point to it, or otherwise bring it to his attention.  He never saw it since it was moving behind the boat away from him, it was brutal to not be able to tell him!

[BrianinMD]

True, never did see him hit the areas on the back side. I was surprised to see it held up for 4 days, well actually 5 because there was apparently another tourney Wednesday night which was won from the same area.

[Gundog]

Truly great post Logan. You lived a dream of mine since I was a young adult. Back in the days of co-anglers on the BASS tournaments. Its a nice inside look at what goes on in a major tournament.

[Stingray23]

wow! Im jealous. Lucky you, man. I wish I were in your shoes that day. Thanks for sharing.

[blckshirt98]

Great recap, marshall assignment of a lifetime!

[basscrusher]

Superb write up.  Thanks for taking the time to do it.  If you ever get the time/energy, I'd love to hear some about your day with Cliff Prince, as well.  

[bmorebasser]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up.  Great read.

[IntroC]

If you don't mind, i'd be curious to know what colors he liked that were discontinued? Excellent write up by the way.

[Logan S]

24 minutes ago, IntroC said:

If you don't mind, i'd be curious to know what colors he liked that were discontinued? Excellent write up by the way.

He didn't mention them by name, the discontinued color on the Caffeine Shad he liked was a sort of smoke/clear with gold flakes...Reminded me of a shiner.  He didn't keep them a secret, it was just part of a conversation where he was talking about how some of his best/favorite colors didn't sell very well so they got pulled.  

He was much more concerned with the color on the soft jerkbait than his flipping baits...For flipping it was pretty basic, blue craw in clearer water and black/blue in dirty water.

On 8/16/2016 at 6:50 PM, basscrusher said:

Superb write up.  Thanks for taking the time to do it.  If you ever get the time/energy, I'd love to hear some about your day with Cliff Prince, as well.  

Cliff was awesome as well, I feel a little bad that the day with him seems like it was a secondary thing....But pretty much anyone would be next to KVD .  I launched his boat for him which was pretty cool, don't really know why since I've obviously launched mine countless times...But when it's a pro's boat with $20k in electronics staring you in the face it's just a little more fun .  (I offered to launch/load KVDs boat too, but he had his wife and sons there and he said they would help him)

He hadn't fished the Potomac prior to coming for pre-practice in June so it was still pretty new to him.  I actually grew up in Orange Park, FL which is about 40 minutes from where he lives in Palatka and both are on/near the St Johns River...So we compared the Potomac and St Johns quite a bit throughout the day.  

He started by running down to Aquia and I was surprised to see only 4 or 5 boats fishing the beach.  After a while with zero bites he ran back into the creek and planned on hitting the RR bridge with a crankbait, but found Clausen already there fishing it so he bypassed and went to some docks in the back.  Don't know how much Clausen caught off the bridge but he had a good first day so he probably did pull a few from it.  The back of the creek didn't produce either so he ran back up the river and hit a couple main river spots, still no success except for a couple blue cats.  He finally ran all the way to the back of Occoquan and picked up 2 keepers on a finesse jig.  He picked up his other 2 keepers by flipping grass below the 95 bridge.  He just ran out of time after that...He really wished that he just went into Occoquan first, he was apparently thinking about it in the morning.  He was in good water all day, the fish just didn't cooperate for him.  He threw a crankbait a lot but just couldn't get the bass to eat it.  He said back home on the St Johns the crank pattern he was running is very reliable in the summertime so it's his comfort zone.  

It was a fun day despite being tough.  Cliff was really friendly and told me to give him a call if I'm back down in FL, said he'd put me on some fish...I returned the offer to him if he makes it back up to the Potomac, Upper Bay, or anywhere else he might need to do some pre-practice.  I'm sure they all hear that everywhere they go though ...