5/18/2011
Jonathon VanDam - After Murray


Hey folks it's JVD.

I just finished up at Lake Murray here; I missed the cut again. Unfortunately I had the opportunity to have a really big day on day two; things just didn’t work out for me.

But I’ll just start getting ready to start looking at the Arkansas River now, looking at that to see what we need to do there to get things done. I’m not sitting very good in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year points standings so I really need to win one of the last two tournaments to get into the Bassmaster Classic

So, I’m going to go home and catch a bunch of smallmouth to get some confidence built up and start looking at the Arkansas River and have a better tournament there than the last three or four events

That’s about it for now; hopefully I’ll have some better news after the next tournament.

5/2/2011
Jonathon VanDam - On to West Point


The past few days were basically just driving away; I was following Uncle Kevin down, going through Nashville, headed on down towards Georgia! Our destination was West Point Lake in Georgia to kick off the second half of the season for the Bassmaster Elite Series.

Been pretty busy lately; getting some sponsor stuff and working on someone other sponsor proposals and I just did a sports show for my Dad’s store D&R Sports Center up in Kalamazoo, Mich. We did a show there Easter weekend, basically just working out some speaking engagements.

Really looking forward to the second half of the season. West Point should be an interesting one; I’m looking forward to that a lot because that kinda puts everything on an even playing field, because not many people have been there before.

I’m going to go from there to Lake Murray in South Carolina, looking forward to that one too, kinda happy to hopefully get out away from some sight fishing to get away from the spawn a little bit and get the fish off shore a little more for me.

The offshore power fishing bit is a little more my style. I like to get out there and throw my Strike King crankbaits around to offshore targets, and these next two tournaments seem to have a little more of that potential.

We’ll see how it goes; I’ll talk to you next week.

4/8/2011
Jonathon VanDam - Tough at Pickwick but Good News


I’m just leaving Pickwick where things didn’t go as good as I had wanted it to go.

I finished 85th, but I felt like I was right there in an area that I could have had a big bag at any time. I was fishing in the same are with some of the guys who are in the Elite 12. What was really frustrating is that I was doing the same thing too; I just don’t know what the difference was that meant I was catching two pounders and they are catching three to four pounders.

I was Flippin’ and Pitchin’ a Strike King Rodent on a 5/16 Tour Grade Tungsten sinker and a 4/0 TK190 TroKar Tournament Tube hook. I also used a Hack Attack Jig in black and blue with a matching KVD Perfect Plastics Chunk. I caught plenty of fish, but I just couldn’t get a big bite.

I want to tell you that hook is bad! I started using it for anything I Texas Rig when we were fishing at the St. John’s River, and I used it on my Rodent here at Pickwick. The plastic B.A.R.B. keeps the bait up on the hook, and when I set the hook; it’s buried; I really like it a lot.

It doesn’t replace the TK130 Flippin’ Hook for punching, but I’m using it for everything else I Texas Rig.

I got some good news before I came down to Pickwick; I got my first shipment from my new rod and reel sponsor; Shimano. I got them all set up for the event and was really happy with how they performed.

I’m mostly using Core baitcasters and Stradic CI4 and Stella spinning reels. Most of my rods are the Cumaras, but I did order a few of the Cumulus rods too and they are really impressive.

It feels really good to be working with a company like Shimano. They are a great company, who put quality and innovation at the front of their goals, and I’m proud to be with them. They really make great products and it’s a company that gives me the opportunity to grow with.

I did a segment of Hooked Up! On Bassmaster.com this morning and will head down the road to Toledo Bend on Saturday and get ready for next week.

3/27/2011
Jonathon VanDam - Florida Wrap Up


I’m just leaving Atlanta where I did a photo shoot for Lazer TroKar on my way back from the first two stops on the Elite Series schedule for 2011; my Rookie Year. The photo shoot went pretty well; I’m excited to be a part of their team.

My first event went pretty well; I finished in the top five at the Harris Chain, and I was pretty happy about that. My second event, on the St. John’s River didn’t go as well. It was a sightfishing deal and I didn’t do so well on that one. To be honest, I’m not much of a sight fisherman, so St. John’s got away from me a little bit.

The Harris Chain was a little bit different; I’m sure I was catching spawning fish, but I just couldn’t see them to sight fish for them. I was pitching a Strike King Perfect Plastics Game Hawg and another soft plastic worm into the reeds.

I weighed 14 the first day, 12 and half the second day, 19 the third day and 13 and a half on the last day to finish fifth; one spot behind Uncle Kevin.

Now I’m starting to think about Pickwick Lake, and the third stop on the schedule; I’ll catch up again next week.

3/8/2011
Jonathon VanDam - Classic Show & In FL
First Elite Event

After spending three days at the Classic working the show for Strike King, Triton / Mercury and TroKar hooks, I got home and headed to Nashville to pick up my new boat.

Back to the Classic for a minute; I had a good show, and was able to do a lot of work with my sponsors there. I helped customers, shot videos and met with my sponsors, so it was a productive weekend; I’d have rather been fishing, but it was a good show anyway.

I really enjoyed talking to the guys at TroKar; they are really cool, really aggressive and they make great hooks. One of the stops I made coming to Florida was to do a photo shoot for the TroKar website and their advertising campaigns. I can’t wait to see how they turn out with that really cool effect of the glowing eyes and everything; it’s a really cool look.

Anyway, I got my Radical Outdoors.com wrap done at Fast Signs in Nashville. They did a really good job on the wrap, it turned out really nice. They cost a little bit more than other places, but I really got what I paid for.

Now it’s time for my first tournament in the Elite Series; I’m practicing for it like I would any other tournament, hopefully it all goes well, and I start on a good finish.

Talk to you after

2/5/2011
Jonathon VanDam - Moving Forward
New Boat, Trip to the Classic and New Sponsor

I must be a good friend, because I’m helping a friend move from Michigan to Cincinnati. It’s warmer down here than at home though, and that’s nice.

The past couple of weeks have been really busy, and most of it has been on the phone with my sponsors getting ready for the Classic Expo and setting up meetings there. I’ll be leaving for New Orleans to spend time at the show for Triton and Strike King.

I’m waiting on my boat to get finished, it should be here right after the Classic so that I can set it up. I ordered the Triton 21XS with the Mercury Pro 250 Pro XS. Most of my Triton teammates order the HP model because it’s faster. I end up fishing on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie enough that to me it makes a difference to have a boat that is a little slower and a lot more stable in big water.

My Triton is going to be wrapped in RadicalOutdoors.com, a new outdoor supply retailer on the Internet and I’m hoping to have my jerseys in time for the Classic. The guys at Rayjus are working on getting it done, and hopefully it will be in time for the show.

I got some good news yesterday; I just joined the Lazer TroKar team. I’ve been using their hooks for awhile, and I’ve been really impressed with them. I’m really happy to be working with the guys at TroKar, those hoks are bad.

Anyway, that’s about it for me, talk to you next week.

1/26/2011
Jonathon VanDam - Elite Rookie on Tour
Getting Ready and Answering Questions

It’s been a busy offseason since I qualified for the Elite Series. I’ve been going to school, and I’m working full time at my Dad’s store here in Kalamazoo; D&R Sports Center. The store is an outdoor retailer and a boat shop that sells Triton and Nitro in the bass lines, and we have a full service department too.

Along with working and school, I’ve been trying to find a title sponsor for the year. I’d like to be able to pull together something, but if I was to head for Florida as it is now, I’ll run a wrap for my Dad’s store, and include Strike King in it as well.

I’ll be at the Classic working the show. I’d rather be fishing the tournament, but I didn’t quite make it. I’ll be there and spend some time in the Triton and Strike King booths as well as walking around meeting and greeting folks.



I’m really excited to get started with the season; I’ve been looking at the schedule and am really excited about the way it lays out for my style of fishing. My first real chance to show the fishing world what I can do was at the St. John’s River in the Bassmaster Opens in 2008, and I’m excited to get back there. I’ve been hearing a lot about West Point Lake and from what I hear; we have a lot to look forward to. From what I can tell, it sets up really well for me to have a good tournament there too.

Now that I’m stepping up to the Elites, I get asked a couple of questions that I wanted to answer here. The first one is always this, “Do I mind being compared to my uncle?” and second, “Am I nervous about going on tour against these guys?”

To answer the first question, I don’t really think about being compared to Kevin; he’s my uncle. Our family is really proud of him and everything he’s accomplished, but he’s still a competitor on the water. Our family likes to compete, and he’s always been a big help to me as far as the career goes, but when it comes to fishing, it’s not that way. I’m going to go out there and work hard, leave it all on the water and try to make my own path as an angler.

As far as fishing against the other guys, I know how good they are, because of being around my uncle, but mainly because of the fact that I’ve been fishing against so many of them in the Opens. I’m not scared of any of them, but mainly because I’ve known them for so long. It’s really hard to be scared of guys when they’ve been friends for so long.

That being said, I know the Elite Series is the best and brightest stage in the business, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and performing on it.