One Reason KVD Fishes So Fast

Why does Kevin VanDam fish so fast? He doesn’t think he does, but he does. Dude is making a zillion casts while that little alien in his head makes real-time tweaks to presentation, bait and whatever other factors go into those calculations in alien-ville.

Stumbled onto a spinnerbait article the other day, ran on bassmaster.com last fall, that I hadn’t seen – gave me some insight about at least one reason for KVD’s speed. Here’s what I’m talking about (KVD talking):

All I want the bass to see of my spinnerbait is the flash and movement — not the blades, wire, skirt or the head. The flash and movement, or image of the spinnerbait, is what attracts the strikes. If they’re seeing too much of the other stuff, they know something isn’t right.

Lure speed, color, blade flash and even the surface of the water will help break up the lure’s outline and create more natural appeal.

That’s why I prefer to use a high-speed Quantum KVD reel and fish the lure high in the water column. I slow down in cooler water, but I’ll still fish it high.

If there is just a ripple on the water, I fish the lure an inch or two beneath the surface so it blends in and the ripple breaks up the background.

If fishing a spinnerbait in 3-foot waves, it’s the same thing; I want the lure up in the waves, not beneath them where the fish see it better. Even though waves reduce light penetration, you must always be conscious of the visibility of the lure.

I select natural colors that blend in with the background of the surface, so it’s critical to choose a lure that is as natural as possible.

The key is to create as much flash as possible so the fish can’t get a good look at the bait.
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Here’s the difference between KVD and me (and maybe you): I’m trying to feel the blades turn and hoping the fish are keying on that – or, in the case of me reeling fast, hoping they’re just going to bust the bait out of instinct.

As much as I obsess over worm hooks and weights to make sure they don’t flash (I usually use black), I never think of that stuff with a spinnerbait – because I want a spinnerbait to flash!

Crazy.