VanDam’s Angler of the Year title hopes on life support

Grigsby maintains overall lead in Pro Division; Clayton snares first place in Co-angler Division

Pro Kevin VanDam (left) of Kalamazoo, Mich., talks about his disappointing day on the water with FLW Outdoors host Charlie Evans. VanDam ultimately finished the tournament in 44th place and left open the possibility that he could lose the Angler-of-the-Year title to Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Kevin VanDam.

June 20, 2002 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The wacky world of professional bass fishing just got a little wackier. On a day when a big lake produced big fish stories, none was bigger than the battle for the 2002 FLW Angler-of-the-Year title. Although pundits were in almost universal agreement that Kevin VanDam’s coronation was a foregone conclusion heading into the Lake Champlain tournament, something interesting happened along the way; namely, the pundits forgot to give credit to Jay Yelas.

Heading into the final FLW tournament of the 2002 season, VanDam had a seemingly insurmountable lead of 28 points over Yelas – an extraordinary bass pro in his own right. However, given the reality that VanDam had only one finish worse than 31st place in his entire career on the FLW Tour, it was easy to see why the resident of Kalamazoo, Mich., appeared to be a lock for the title. The fact that VanDam had already won the same title last year only added to the strong suspicion that Yelas had virtually no chance.

However, from start of the Lake Champlain tournament, it was clear that Yelas was not going to give up his quest for the title without a fight. After the first day of competition, VanDam was situated in 30th place while Yelas finished the afternoon in 19th place. But although Yelas had made up some ground, 11 places to be exact, the road to the title was still littered with obstacles for the resident of Tyler, Texas.

Clearly, day two would be crucial if Yelas was to have any hope at all of catching VanDam – the bass-fishing equivalent of the New York Yankees, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Lakers all rolled up into one.

However, when VanDam finally walked up to the scales for the second time in as many days, the 2001 Angler of the Year only managed to weigh in a catch of 13 pounds, 12 ounces, giving him a two-day total of 29 pounds, 9 ounces. VanDam’s weight was good. It was solid. And in a typical FLW tournament, VanDam’s totals would have easily been enough to make the top-20 cut. However, this was not a normal tournament. With 170 limits recorded by the pros in yesterday’s competition – an all-time record on the tour – and 1 pound separating the 13th-place and 36th-place anglers, it was obvious that a few ounces might make all of the difference in the world.

And VanDam, one of the most insightful anglers on the tour, seemed to sense this.

“I didn’t fish as well as I would have liked to today,” he said. “I think I may have left the door open.”

In the true spirit of competition, Yelas ultimately walked right through that door. By turning in a two-day catch of 33 pounds, 15 ounces, Yelas had produced enough weight to make the cut and grab hold of fourth place overall in the Pro Division. As for VanDam, he was forced to watch his name fall in the standing all the way to 44th place – ironically, the worst tournament finish of his career on the FLW Tour.

In the end, the day’s results produced the following fact: If Yelas manages to finish the tournament higher than 16th place – and he’s already assured of finishing no lower than 20th place – he will walk away with one of the most unlikely Angler-of-the-Year titles in FLW history.

“Everybody wrote my chances off, including myself,” said Yelas. “But there isn’t a lake in the country where everyone catches this many fish. Now, I still have a chance to win the title. I’m just going to go out and do my best tomorrow.”

Stay tuned.

Grigsby makes it look easy

Had it not been for the breaking news in the Angler-of-the-Year competition, Chad Grigsby’s performance easily would have been the most compelling story of the tournament. With only two FLW events under his belt, Grigsby turned in another stellar catch to maintain the overall lead in the Pro Division for the second-consecutive day – a remarkable feat for a rookie at such a high level of competition.

However, make no mistake about it, Grigsby believes he is here to stay.

“Am I happy with my performance? Yes,” said Grigsby, who recorded a two-day catch of 35 pounds, 4 ounces. “But I’m not surprised. My goal was to come in here and win this tournament. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I have a lot of confidence in my abilities”

When asked if his performance was even more special given the fact that some of the world’s top anglers had already been eliminated from the tournament, Grigsby said that it was important to keep everything in perspective.

“Kevin VanDam and those guys have already proven that they’re great anglers,” said Grigsby, a resident of Colon, Mich. “I’m the one who still has a lot to prove. I’m nobody right now. But hopefully, I’ll start to turn some heads before this tournament is over.”

Although Grigsby used a clever combination of smallmouth and largemouth bass during today’s competition to advance to the semifinals, he said that won’t be the case in the semifinals.

“I’m not going to waste any time going after smallmouth tomorrow,” he said. “I know where the largemouth bass are. I’ve just got to get them to bite. It’s a pretty simple strategy, really.”

Grigsby also said that 15 pounds should be enough to advance to the finals.

“But I’m shooting for 16 or 17 pounds,” he said. “Starting tomorrow, it’s a 20-boat tournament. You’ve just got to make sure you get the big bites.”

Rojas on a roll

In dominating fashion, Dean Rojas proved once again that he is among the most consistent anglers on the tour. Using a two-day catch of 35 pounds, 1 ounce, Rojas not only locked onto second place heading into the semifinals, but he also assured that he would finish no worse than third place overall in the year-end standings.

“I’m pretty surprised, actually, that I finished this high in the standings today,” said Rojas. “I just wanted to catch 17 pounds and make the cut. But this tournament has been crazy. A few ounces can make such a huge difference. It’s really hard to predict anything right now.”

Rojas, who has used sight-fishing techniques to land the majority of his catch, said he is not going to hold anything back during tomorrow’s competition.

“With a tournament like this, you have to go out there and catch everything you can,” said Rojas, who hopes to land between 17 and 18 pounds tomorrow. “I’m going to go out there and swing for the fences. I’m not going to save any fish because you have to do whatever you can to put yourself in a position to win.”

Although the tournament has been unpredictable to date, Rojas said he likes his chances.

“I feel like I can do very well in this tournament,” said Rojas, a resident of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. “I went scouting today and found some more good spots. I have my fish located, and, as long as I execute properly, I should be alright.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five pro competitors were Scott Martin (third) of Clewiston, Fla., with a total catch of 34 pounds, 10 ounces; Jay Yelas (fourth) of Tyler, Texas, with a catch of 33 pounds, 15 ounces; and Kevin Vida (fifth) of Clare, Mich., with a catch of 33 pounds, 3 ounces.

Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., won $1,250 and the day’s big bass award after landing a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass. Chapman, who turned in a total catch of 33 pounds, 2 ounces, is heading into the semifinals in sixth place.

Clayton claims co-angler lead

Using a total two-day catch of 31 pounds, 5 ounces, Craig Clayton of Rogers, Ark., leapfrogged from 12th place to first, grabbing the top qualifying spot heading into tomorrow’s finals of the Co-angler Division. A five-year veteran of the FLW Tour, Clayton said he still couldn’t believe how amazing the fishing has been at Lake Champlain over the past two days.

“It’s unbelievable. This is the best fishing I’ve ever seen,” said Clayton. “This lake is absolutely phenomenal. I probably caught three limits today, and I had my first limit by 8 a.m. I actually quit fishing by 9 a.m. to give my pro partner a chance to catch some more fish and make the cut. By that time, I already knew I had enough to make it myself.”

Clayton, who targeted smallmouth bass with a Carolina-rigged lizard, said that his pro partners have been crucial to his success.

“I can’t give enough credit to my pro partners,” he said. “They brought me to their fish and really helped me out. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Israel still on track

Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., had hoped to give a boost to her female supporters in today’s competition. As the only woman left in the tournament, it turns out she didn’t disappoint. Bolstered by a total catch of 29 pounds, 3 ounces, Israel grabbed hold of the second qualifying position heading into tomorrow’s co-angler finals and proved once again that women can compete at the highest levels of a professional bass-fishing competition.

“I’m so delighted,” she said. “My first day’s catch was the largest catch I’ve ever had in tournament competition. It’s just been a great week for me.”

However, getting to the finals was hardly smooth sailing for the former Brooklyn, N.Y., native.

“Unlike yesterday, it took me all day to catch my limit,” she said. “I was a nervous wreck. And then we started having boat trouble. Eventually, our battery started to run out and we had to spend the last hour of the day running around the lake trying to recharge our battery so we could keep the fish alive (in the livewell). I’m just glad I made the cut.”

Israel, who has now qualified for the second cut of her FLW career, said she targeted smallmouth bass with tube baits to land all of her catch.

“We were going to go flipping for largemouth bass later in the day – which is not my strength – but my pro partner had so much success fishing for smallmouth bass that we stayed with it all day,” she said. “And that really helped me.”

As for tomorrow?

“I don’t know” she said. “I think my partner is going sight-fishing tomorrow. I could have a tough day.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Joel Etheredge (third) of Springville, Ala., with a catch of 29 pounds, 1 ounce; Terry Chapman (fourth) of Cornelius, N.C., with a catch of 28 pounds, 12 ounces; and David Gee (fifth) of Plymouth, Ind., with a catch of 28 pounds, 6 ounces.

Joe Small of Marion, Ark., took home the day’s big bass award in the Co-angler Division and a check for $750 after landing a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass. Small finished the tournament in 90th place.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7:45 a.m. at Mooney Bay Marina, located at 15 Mooney Bay, Plattsburgh, N.Y.