A Day With KVD - BASS Elite Series, Potomac River

[Turkey sandwich]

This thread is awesome!  Hearing about Marshall/co-angler experiences with top tier guys makes it seem like one hell of an educational experience.  I've never fished tidal waters consistently (completely stupid for living on the Delaware, I know), but it really impresses me how much detail someone like KVD goes into for plotting his day.  

KVD also seems like a casting machine.  I'm curious, how much time did he spend covering water with search baits before slowing down with the caffeine Shad?  What kind of commonality (being a local) did you find with him in approach to finding consistent patterns in tidal rivers?

 

 

On August 14, 2016 at 7:02 PM, S Hovanec said:

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.

Dude, that sounds like he also had a pretty incredible weekend.  Whenever you get those stories... Just sayin'

[Logan S]

7 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

KVD also seems like a casting machine.  I'm curious, how much time did he spend covering water with search baits before slowing down with the caffeine Shad?  What kind of commonality (being a local) did you find with him in approach to finding consistent patterns in tidal rivers?

He didn't really go into 'KVD mode' in this tournament...The conditions just didn't really set up for that super fast run-and-gun approach.  He was focused on getting in area that held fish and working it over thoroughly, which is how nearly all the top finishers played it too.  He never threw a crankbait and made only a handful of casts with a spinnerbait and jerkbait.  The majority of is day was spent throwing the popper and frogs.  I think his bait selection was just related to the type of water he chose to fish, his areas were very shallow (2' or less for the most part) and very grassy so the popper and frog plus flipping and the caffeine shad could get through/over that stuff...Crank/spinnerbait/jerkbait/etc would just foul on the grass too much.  He could have fished areas where those other baits would do the job, but he chose his areas to fish based on what he saw in practice.  His prime spot, the one he never got to fish during the tournament, was one where he would have been throwing a spinnerbait or crankbait...It just didn't work out for him.  

His tide strategy didn't seem overly complex.  He wasn't 'running the tides', where you chase an optimal tide window up/down the river all day.  His strategy was actually pretty similar to the one I use most of the time...He had spots that were good on certain tide windows and he hit them when appropriate.  The rest of his time was spent fishing areas that hold fish on most/all tide stages and working them thoroughly.  This type of strategy is pretty common at least among most of the guys I know.  The one thing that was a little different was that he really wished we had high tides early instead of low...Most guys would probably tell you they prefer low water, but his popper pattern was much better on a high tide.  You almost have to consider him a pseudo-local based on how well he knows the river...Like all good Potomac fisherman, he had spots and patterns for high water, low water, moving water, and everything in between...Things just didn't work out for him on the tournament days.  

[Turkey sandwich]

That's pretty shallow. What were water temps like?

[Logan S]

85 to 88 depending on where you are.  The majority of bass in the Potomac (and most tidal water) are probably caught in 6 feet or less...Just to put it in perspective.  It's a shallow water fishery, outside of a select few areas there's not much to hold bass deeper than 6-ish feet.  

[Skeeter Dan]

Thank you for such a great story. I've followed KVD since he was a new comer. If he was to stop his tournament fishing today it wouldn't be long before he would have his own fishing show and yes I would record them every week.

 

[nosdog2]

Great write up Logan.  I need to hit you up next time I fish the P!  LOL!

[blckshirt98]

Nice, this post made it to Jay Kumar's Bassblaster newsletter!

[RHuff]

Awesome story. KVD is the man. You are lucky to get that draw and to get to follow him for a day. Shows the kind of guy he is to take the time to talk to you and to treat you like someone other than push you off. Those photos are something for you to keep! 

[Bob Price]

Awesome story on the chance of a lifetime Logan. 

Being you were a marshal could you answer a question regarding the rules of that particular event ? 

[Logan S]

1 hour ago, Bob Price said:

Awesome story on the chance of a lifetime Logan. 

Being you were a marshal could you answer a question regarding the rules of that particular event ? 

I can do my best, what is the question?  The tournament staff briefs Marshals on the major/important points but they don't go through the entire rule book point by point, so I wouldn't call myself an expert in rule interpretation.  

[Bob Price]

Thanks for your reply Logan. In no way do I want to derail your thread but here's my question. 

 Was it against the rules for a pro to approach local anglers or for anyone in a pros boat to touch another boat, local or pro?

[Logan S]

11 hours ago, Bob Price said:

Thanks for your reply Logan. In no way do I want to derail your thread but here's my question. 

 Was it against the rules for a pro to approach local anglers or for anyone in a pros boat to touch another boat, local or pro?

The answer to both questions would be no based on what I read/heard.  I would think it would be rare that pros and locals would be close enough to touch, but I'm sure it would be allowed to push off or otherwise touch the boats within reason.  

If this is referring to a specific situation that happened in Chickamuxin Creek...All I'll say is that I'm not getting involved or commenting further on it since I wasn't there.  One of the people involved is a good friend of mine, so I know what happened based on his perspective...But it generated a lot of drama that doesn't need to be re-hashed here.  Feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like.  

[Bob Price]

That's more than a fair enough answer. Not looking to pollute this forum with that confrontation.

["hamma"]

   This is an excellent topic and you should be proud of the way you discribed it. Kudos to you Logan!

    Im sure this will be something you wont soon forget, the chance of a lifetime, handed to you on a "chance" is awesome. Kinda wonder what your thoughts were the moment you found out you were to be on his boat for a day. Just to watch him fish from afar would be a bass anglers treat, but to be on his boat, simply incredible. 

 Again,  good read Logan !

[Dinky]

Logan,

I just now read your posts on your experience as a Marshal for KVD last August on the Elite Series on the Potomac.

I've been Marshalling for the Elite Series since its *** and was fortunate to draw KVD several years ago on Lake Pickwick on Day 2. ( I had drawn Boyd Duckett on Day 1).

Your experience mirrors mine in that KVD is certainly very easy to talk to and willing to impart so much information about exactly what he is thinking and doing and why. One of the most approachable on the tour. All of the elites are very friendly, but KVD is more willing to share interact with his Marshal than most anyone of them. Hackney is another one also.

The day I was with him he had not been home for several weeks and had run out of his wife's famous "lucky" chocolate chip cookies that everyone has heard so much about. It was pretty dismal around the launching area when we were putting the Nitro in and I was worried he might forget me when I went to park the truck! But he was waiting quietly for me and we idled to the docks and hung around for about half an hour with Hack and a few others when a FED-X Truck sped up, honked its horn and a guy jumped out, ran down to the boat with a box and asked for a "Mr.  Van Dam". 

Right. It was a box of the cookies. They were delicious. But....KVD MISSED THE CUT. 

 When we left the weigh-in it took us over 45 minutes to walk to the boat tied up in the slip so we could idle back to the ramp. He was mobbed by fans, old, young, kids, families. They wanted autographs, pictures, shake his hand, talk to him. He never hesitated. He never ceased to smile, take time to speak to everyone, pose for pics, sign autographs, laugh, shake hands. It was the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed up close like that.

On the way to the ramp I asked him if he ever got tired of that: his response: "That's what it's all about. Especially the kids".

I was definitely speechless for a bit. 

Like you, Logan, there are pages and pages more to my day with KVD. 

And books of my days with Boyd Duckett, Ish, Hack, Chris Zaldain, Edwin Evers, Steve Kennedy, Takahiro Omori, Dean Rojas, Skeet Reese, Davey Hite, Randy Howell, Tommy Biffle, Tim Horton, Moritzo Shimizu, to name a few.

Did you know that Moritzo is actually a rock star in Japan? Or that Davey Hite's son attends one of our US Military Academy's? 

I used to fish in the Opens as a co angler and I've been paired with Ish Monroe and Marty Robinson and Chris Lane, and others. It was really a lot of fun because since I knew them from seeing and meeting them on the Elite Tour, I was suddenly fishing with them in the Opens. It was like a normal week-end fishing trip rather than a tournament when I drew them.

I have done 3 Classics, including the first one they allowed Marshals. That is expensive and a real grind but worth it in  my opinion, at least once.

I would normally take my boat, Marshal for the entire tournament and then fish the lake Sunday afternoon, evening and Monday. I would keep track of the spots my pros were fishing, and go to some of them if they weren't too fished out. I'd tell them what I was doing and often they would tell me what they thought might work and what other areas might be productive after the tournament.

I have done as many as 5 tournaments in one season. My goal would be to do every one of them. 

I may be too old for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[roadwarrior]

 

                                      WOW!

                                                                       

[gim]

I have often wondered what it would be like to fish with an Elite guy for a day, but this thread kinda answered it for me already.  It would be awesome, clearly.

[Nitrofreak]

Had to be an experience of a lifetime man, thanks for sharing this with us !!!

[Dinks4days]

wow sounds like an awesome experience! 

[Brayberry]

In my opinion this is the single best thread on this entire site.   WOW