Even after 32 years of competitive bass fishing, Kevin VanDam admits he spent a large portion of Tuesday night tossing and turning in a hotel room in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as his mind raced with thoughts of how to attack Day 1 of REDCREST 2022 presented by Costa on Grand Lake amid 38-degree air temperatures, spitting rain, and a ripping north wind.
“I said that Monday’s final day of practice featured weather for the ducks. Well today might be better suited for geese,” VanDam said with a grin.
But don’t think for a minute Northeastern Oklahoma’s raw weather had the Kalamazoo angler defeated before the first cast.
Razor Sharp Mental Focus
“Conditions like this make the mental part of this sport super important,” VanDam said. “You have to accept the weather conditions for what they are, do what you gotta do to stay warm, and believe with razor focus that the next cast is going to produce a bite.”
It’s about a 90-minute drive from his hotel in Tulsa to the boat ramp on Grand, and VanDam says he never even turned on the radio in his 2022 Toyota Tundra. Instead, choosing to spend the 95-mile commute thinking about wind direction, lure selection, and focusing on shorelines that should produce bites on a raw Wednesday morning.
Gotta have a lot of Gloves
A huge part of VanDam’s success in staying warm is packing plenty of thin gloves in his Nitro. He has six pairs in the boat with him on Wednesday. When one pair gets wet, he takes them off, and trades for dry ones.
He also keeps a long-lasting air activated Hot Hands Mossy Oak camo hand warmer fired-up in the pocket of his jacket to grab hold of throughout the day.
What KVD Says Fans Should Watch for on Day 1
“Pay attention to the guys who get on a decent roll in the first couple hours of the day,” said the Team Toyota angler. “In the MLF format, especially in these weather conditions, getting off to a good start will be pretty critical. But I’ll also say the fishing should get better as the air temps warm up a little throughout the day.”
As of 9:30 a.m. Grand Lake time, two hours into REDCREST competition, VanDam’s intense mental focus, handwarmers, and dry gloves had him sitting solidly inside the Top 10.