KVD Wins AOY

 Story By Dru Smith - Photos by Matt Pangrac 

Syracuse, NY – The rain and storms that greeted the Elite Series pros fishing day two of the Champions Choice did not dampen the spirits of those chasing their dream. At the end of the day, the AOY title, the majority of the Classic field, and 80% of next year’s Elites would be determined. For those anglers with their fate uncertain, Friday’s action was critical.

With take-off and weigh-in times in reverse order, the real drama wouldn’t take place until the very last, but with so much riding on Friday’s weights the excitement started early.

Rick Clunn virtually secured his spot in next year’s Classic marking the 32nd time the machine from Ava, Missouri will compete in the super bowl of bass fishing. His two day total of 29-13 put him in 6th heading towards the weekend.

Mike McClelland made a huge move vaulting from 69th to 13th with the day’s second biggest bag of 17-14. As impressive as McClelland’s catch was, it paled in comparison to Mike Iaconelli’s limit on Friday. 20 pounds and one ounce is what the scale showed after Ike’s five fish had been weighed and with that, the New Jersey pro sat in first place. Iaconelli jumped from 40th to first and will take a slim lead into Saturday’s round.

Not to be outdone, Dean Rojas backed up his 15-14, day one weight with 16-9 on day two. A combined weight of 32-7 will send the frog specialist into the finals just five ounces off the lead.

After all the other competitors had crossed the stage, VanDam and Faircloth squared off for their AOY showdown. Starting the tournament with a 21 point lead, Faircloth watched his advantage over Kevin dwindle to 15 points on Thursday. KVD weighed in 13 pounds, one ounce on Friday to take the 47th position. Todd Faircloth needed just over 13 pounds to keep the race alive, but struggled to catch a limit on Friday and his last day total of 6-6 pushed him all the way down to 93rd washing away his hopes of the Angler of the Year title. Kevin VanDam won his fourth AOY trophy.

Ike Zones Out 
Mike Iaconelli has been quiet most of the year. With a 10th place finish at the Classic to kick off the year, Ike failed to crack the top ten again until the tour made an impromptu stop at Old Hickory Lake. Iaconelli finished 9th in Tennessee, 5th last week on Erie and now sits in first with two days left in the Champions Choice. “You know how some athletes talk about being in the zone,” posed Mike on stage after weighing over 20 pounds on Lake Oneida. “That is what it was like for me today. Every cast had a purpose.”

With all the pre-tournament prognostication, none of the experts predicted a 20 pound limit on Oneida. “I’ve been fishing this lake for a long time and have never seen a 20 pound limit,” Mike admitted. “I was killing time out in the middle of nowhere and caught a 4 pound smallmouth. That is how the day went.”

Ike’s bag consisted of four largemouths and the aforementioned smallie and he credits his upbringing for his success on Friday. “I think being from the northeast helps you understand how these fish move and change. You have history up hear and definitely believe it is beneficial.”

Mike is not overly confident even after bringing in the tournament’s best weight. “I have to work for these fish. I don’t have a magic spot or a certain rock pile. It is hard work.” Iaconelli claims nothing changed from Thursday’s round except the quality of his bite. “I caught 15 keepers on day one and 25 today. The only difference was the size. I do have one bait that is working well.”

Rojas Right On Track
Rojas added 16-9 to his day one weight to stay close to the leader with 32-7 after two days. He visited two of the areas he’d left alone on Thursday and the move paid off. “I went there today and the fish were there,” he said. “I still have one more area that I have not even been to.” Dean revealed. ‘I don’t plan to change anything. It is working.”

With the field cut to just 50 on Saturday, Dean feels confident about his bite staying strong. “The conditions are conducive to what I’m doing and there will be less people out there tomorrow. I’ve had a lot of competition in the areas I’m working so it should be that much better.”

Dean hasn’t won a tournament since 2001 when he backed up his record setting performance on Lake Toho with a Top 150 Victory on Toledo Bend. “It win would mean everything right now. It is the last tournament of the season and I’m already in the Classic; I have nothing to lose.” 

Langill Doing It Deep
Third year pro, Kevin Langill did not fade from his 11th place performance on day one. The Skeeter pro from North Carolina brought 16-1 to scales on Friday and will launch on Saturday in 3rd place. “It went perfect today,” he said. “It started slow but got better as the day went on.”

One of the few anglers committed to the smallmouth bite, Kevin is sticking with the deep fish. “The storm kind of shut then down yesterday, but today they bit well. The wind isn’t really a factor, but I did have some waves come over the bow today.”

Langill found three different areas in practice and has only focused on one of those spots. “So far I have just really been fishing one spot and visiting the other areas. I’m watching my electronics and moving around a lot but it has been one general spot. The same thing is going on over there and I am excited to get back on the water.”

Butcher Hanging Tough
With a win, Terry Butcher could possibly make the Classic cut, but most calculations have him coming up just a few points short. Even so, the boy from Oklahoma is having quite a week “I’m working two different patterns and both seem to work at different times, he said. “I had a limit early with one good fish and culled four of them later in the day.

In spite of the changing conditions, Butcher’s bite didn’t go away. However, the pressure may be getting to the fish. “The largemouth bite was a little slower for me today. I’m sharing one spot with (Mike) McClelland and another with (Bernie) Schultz. I do have one more area so hopefully there are some more fish out there. They (fish) definitely took a beating today.

Kennedy Still In The Hunt
Day one leader, Steve Kennedy slid to fifth with 12-15 on Friday. “It was tough out there again today,” he said. “I got the key bites I needed, but today I broke two fish off.” Exclusively targeting largemouths, Kennedy knows the importance of every bite. “I’m fishing for 7 or 8 bites a day and when you lose one it hurts. Today, I lost two, but that is just part of the game.”

Kennedy continued to run all over Oneida to complete his limit even making a long run late in the day. “I have one dock that has a whole school of fish under it. It took me 20 minutes to run down there this afternoon and I finished my limit out. The wind picked up and it was brutal coming back. It reminded me of last week.” At last week’s event, Kennedy lost power to his bilges pumps while out on the dangerous Lake Erie and failed to make it back to weigh-in. 

Clunn on Track
Rick Clunn needed a great performance to make his 32nd Classic and with 14 pounds on Friday, he is within striking distance of a win. “I’ve got to do it one more day,” he said “If I can catch a good bag tomorrow, I’ll be right where I want to be.”

Clunn is a diverse angler and that has been key to his success on Oneida. “The conditions are changing all the time out there and you have to make the right adjustments. You have to be ready for anything.”

Angler Of the Year:
Faircloth Falls on Friday, VanDam Wins AOY
Todd Faircloth’s consistency played a major role in his AOY position headed into the final tournament. On a day when just a decent limit of fish would have meant the world to Todd, he only managed 6 pounds, 6 ounces. “The fish just left the area,” he said. “I thought I could catch a limit early and then go to my deep stuff, but when I did, the fish were gone.” Faircloth found a strong smallmouth bite in practice and hoped to cash in on the offshore school during the final tournament of the year. “I can’t explain it other than they were just gone. Once I lost my deep area I wasn’t real comfortable. Nothing felt right out there today.”

Faircloth can take little comfort in knowing he lost to arguably the best angler of all time, but that doesn’t ease the pain. “The AOY would have meant a lot to me and my career at this time. I wish the outcome would have different, but I don’t have anything to hang my head about. I like fishing for smallmouth, but I’ve never done well on this lake. 

It is difficult to imagine the stress of being involved in a race like this although Faircloth lost the race, he is glad it is over. “I went to bed thinking about it and woke up in the morning with it on my mind. It was physically and mentally draining. That being said, I look forward to being in this position again sometime during my career.”

Kevin VanDam ran on to the bass fishing scene in 1991 and won the Angler of the Year title in ’92, his first full season on tour. He punctuated that accomplishment with AOY wins in ’95 and ’99. His Classic titles came in 2001 on the Louisiana Delta and in 2005 at the Three Rivers in Pittsburg. Along the way, KVD has earned more that $3 million dollars as a professional bass angler. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Kevin answered when ask about his latest accomplishment. “I knew that after yesterday, I had a second chance.”

VanDam was in the same position last year and couldn’t take the title away from Skeet Reese. This time KVD took advantage of the situation. “I went out today knowing I need to make the cut. On Thursday, I lost two fish early and that didn’t sit well. I felt confident that I wouldn’t struggle two days in a row. I got myself ready this morning and stayed focused all day”

After wasting time on the largemouth bite during day one, VanDam only went after the abundant smallies on Friday. “I threw a drop shot, tube, spinnerbait; just about everything to get a bite. I fished fast and then slowed down. Basically, I fished the way I like to.”

Kevin’s fourth AOY title means more to him than the first three. “I can tell you the competition is much stronger today than it was just a few years ago. This is the Elite Series. This is the test of the best. I am real proud that I came out on top this year. I don’t believe in luck, but you do have to be fortunate out there.”

DAY TWO STANDINGS