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Posts: 1040
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Ok, I freely admit living in the north woods of Wisconsin bass fishing isn't exactly my favorite kind of fishing to do anymore, but something I've always taken an extreme interest in is the B.A.S.S.
Kevin Van Dam notched his fourth elite series win and his fourth Elite Series top 12 in a row and is approaching the $3 million dollar mark with just under $50,000 short.
What my question is, could there ever be a KVD that is so dominate in the Walleye world? What makes him stand so far above the others in the bass fishing world?
Edited by TJ DeVoe 6/18/2008 11:05 PM
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Posts: 1991
| Shep |
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Posts: 625
Location: LaCrosse, WI | I just don't think there's any way that a person could dominate the Walleye world the same way. Bass fishing is a totaly different animal. Not that it's super easy, but you tend to have 90% of the water eliminated most of the time.
You're always casting, you're choices from there are bait selection, presentation and location. On the Walleye side, you first have to look over 100% of the water and try to figure out where those fish are. You can't just eliminate that 30' deep hole in the middle of the lake like the bass guys usually can.
Now, you have to decide, do I troll, drift with live bait, pull bouncers, cast jigs, cast cranks, cast spoons, bounce blade baits, cranks or spinners etc... Again, I don't think Bass fishing is easy, but it's just soo hard for one person to cover the hundreds of thousands of acres of water that most of the major Walleye tournaments are on.
Pro Walleye fishing has some of the best sticks in the world, but even the best could never say they had a KVD run for that many years. I also think it's easier to adapt to casting a spinner vs a rubber worm than it is to change over from trolling to live bait rigging for a lot of guys.
KVD is awesome, but I truely think he's a one of a kind and we will never see his Walleye counterpart, unless he wants to make a switch.
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Posts: 319
| That is a great point GNWC |
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| Hey Merc,
I like to add to this that in the walleye world, you can't pick one or two tactics and live them all season like you can in the bass world. KVD has mastered the crankbait and spinnerbait. He can catch fish on one of these two tactics everywhere he goes. He's better at it than anyone out there.
Take nothing away from KVD, he is a machine and the best at the game, but you couldn't do this in the walleye world.
Plus, if you add up his FLW and BASS winnings, he's already way past 3 million in winnings. Just incredible.
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| Nope. Walleye fishing can"t produce a KVD because there is no individualality in the sport. When you see a winner on the stage of a FLW or PWT tournament, the true winners are the team members that helped created the win. Sure they caught and weighed the fish but they also had help, and that takes away from the admiration of the individual in the spotlight. The past great recognizable names in walleye tournament fishing had no choice but join them or be left behind.
When bass tournaments went big time, they created rules that would cast no doubt to the credability of the individual winner and in-turn let the great fishermen shine. They are admired by the spectators.
There will always be sharing of information, but If the rules allow it, walleye fishing will never have a KVD. The best walleye can do is create a likable personality. |
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Posts: 139
| Guest - I take it that You believe that Bass Pros don't share info or network ? C-man |
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Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | I don't ever see it happening. The species, their habbits and their physical personalities keeps the playing fields to broad for any one man to figure out time after time. Many Walleye fishermen can be at the same skill levels knowledge wise, but tournaments will always have to big a percentage of luck involved to keep one player repeatably at the top. |
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| well if you wont say it i will bass fishing is usually much easier then walleye fishing |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Ya....that to.   |
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| C'Man, the Bass guys are very, very strict on sharing of info and as I understand it they are trying to make it even stricter but enforcement has been the issue.
FLW BASS Rules!
During the off-limits period, practice and competition days, pros may not solicit and/or receive fishing information from anyone except confirmed pros and other publicly available information (pros on the waiting list are not considered confirmed). Beginning with practice and extending through competition, pros may not obtain fishing patterns or locations from co-anglers or fishing information from noncompetitors or follow a noncompetitor's boat or participate in the practice of "hole sitting" or the placing of markers by anyone. Anglers eliminated after each round of competition are considered noncompetitors. Pros in the top-10 cut may not solicit or receive fishing information from anyone except other top-10 pros.
During the off-limits period, practice and competition days, co-anglers may not solicit and/or receive fishing information from anyone except confirmed contestants and other publicly available information (anglers on the waiting list are not considered confirmed). Co-anglers who share fishing patterns or locations obtained during practice or competition with pro competitors will be disqualified along with the person utilizing this information. For the FLW Tour, co-anglers in the top-10 cut (Day 3) may not solicit or receive fishing information from anyone except other top-10 contestants.
The purchasing of or bartering for information or the hiring of services will not be permitted after the start of the off-limits. The sharing of tournament winnings in exchange for fishing information is strictly prohibited.
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| read the FLW bass rules....it says talking to other competitors is legal.
I am sure they all have teams in BASS and FLW. You hear about some of them traveling together, giving "hot" baits to each other.....on and on.
As for a "KVD" type in walleye tournaments, yes I think someday...maybe already happening, we will see a super dominate angler that rakes the cash in. |
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Posts: 2300
Location: Berlin | Absolutely no question it can be done. As long as we continue to pass this wonderful sport onto the next generation there is always that possibility. Some people just get it. It comes easy to them. With the right drive and motivation anything is possible.
The problem is tournament walleye fishing needs to become large enough to where the payout is worth investing the time needed for this to happen. My son for example is 9 years old. He is truley a phenom with a jig stick. Has all the potential and drive to make it to the big time without a doubt. The problem I see now is do I really want to steer him in that direction with walleye tournaments being what they are? Not really. Look at golf right now, it is just the opposite. Now granted fishing is not even near the level of golf as fas as skill needed but you get my point. Because of this I say yes it easily can happen. Will it happen?? I doubt it, at least not in the near future. |
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Posts: 64
Location: Winneconne | I think it will happen, I hope to be the one to do it(a guy can dream.....right), I think the biggest holdback to achieving such a goal is what your after at the end...............the money. now granted walleye pros boats in some cases are all decked out with the fancy vinyl wraps of big corporate sponsors and such, that helps them get to where they are, but you watch a televised B.A.S.S. tourney, almost every single boat is wrapped with corporate sponsorship and such that the little guy cant compete with it. take a look at a pro bass guys tackle box and then go look at a pro walleye guys, you tell me where the money goes. Im not denying that both have alot of cash stuck in hardware, but i wonder who spent more. Im just a small time guy yet but at last count had over 400 crankbaits, at an average of $5 a piece, you do the math. One of my good friends is a walleye pro and his crankbait selection makes mine look like a 6year olds tackle box(couple hooks, maybe some split shot, and a fine array of red and white bobbers). now this is just crankbaits, now add in the cost of beads, blades, hooks, splits, bouncers, planer boards, line counters, slip bobbers, etc, etc, and i think the walleye guys have alot more cash invested just to attempt to get to the top. Im not trying to take anything away from bass guys, please dont take it that way, but to get to the top like KVD, alot less money is involved to get there. |
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Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | I dont think the money outlay has anything to do with who could be at that level in the walleye world. The one thing he is , is what I would call second to third generation angler. MEANING= From the time B.A.S.S. started to the time KVD started they were into the late second to early third generation competitor. He won in the mid 90's slowed a bit and is in a resurgence. This is what I would call the mid 4th generation anglers. 70's- 80's- 90's- 2000. Our anglers may just need a bit more time to FLOWER, if you will. Rich is right in the respect that it will be his or my kid that pops out, you allready seen some sons pop out and there will be more and probably one you never heard of. |
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| KVD has excelled in a bass format that places emphisis on individuality. Walleye tounaments focus on the teams to help the winner. For a walleye fisherman to elevate to a KVD level, walleye tournaments need to reconize and reward team members and maybe then a team leader could rise to the top and be recognized at the KVD level.
An example; the last guy that won on the FLW, sure he caught and weighed the fish but did he have help during the tournament? If he did, you take the individuality out of it. If he didn't, the statistics say he won't win consistantly against a team format. If this is not the case, shouldn't we have seen a KVD in walleye fishing by now?
IMO, walleye tournaments need to evolve to be in position to create a superstar. It will never happen, if the fishermen, fishing the tournaments, don't want change.
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