[COLOR=var(--primary-text)]Open Letter to Kevin VanDam
Kevin,
Was I surprised by your announcement early this year that you were retiring? YES, only because you are still fishing at a very high level. NO, because I know firsthand the mental and physical wear this sport can put on you. It is not just the competition. Even though the long days, the extreme temperatures, the rough water, the time away from family and the intense pressure to perform at super human level every day you are on the water can put on you. The off the water responsibilities for me are a balancing act that you and Sherry are infinitely more evolved at than I ever was. I am so impressed by that aspect of your life. You embody every quality it takes to be a professional angler. The hardest thing for me was maintaining the motivation that is necessary to perform at that highest level, you have excelled at it. You have achieved every goal one could dream about as a young angler, and more. You have become a Zen archer with no known targets left.
I remember when this skinny young angler from Michigan showed up in 1990. It did not take you long to win the 1991 Georgia event. Tommy Martin and Larry Nixon embraced and spoke very highly of you. I was listening and you had my attention. There was even an event in those early years where you were paired with Roland Martin. He was the King at that time (as you remember in the early years pros were paired with other pros). I would have loved to have observed you that day. Both of you so intensely competitive. You caught that 7 pounder behind him that day and I could see what a huge boost this was to your confidence. The path your career took after that is a thing of legend. I don’t know if someone had written down what you would do in the next few decades that anyone would have believed it. Pure magic, and I know how that feels.
I know it is only human nature for sports fans to compare great athletes and their accomplishments. I am often asked to do the same. I do not know if it’s possible to do fairly and accurately. There is so many different styles, formats, and eras. All I know is that my hat is off to you. When you started your pro career most southern anglers said that no northern angler would ever do that well. We southern boys could fish every day of the year. Those northern boys had to fish through the ice half the year. Boy did you prove that theory wrong.
One thing I often say to my fellow competitors, “We are all products of those that came before us and those we battled against in our careers.” I was a product of Elroy Kruger and Tommy Martin’s intense work ethic. Bill Dance and Roland Martin’s mental attitude and approach, are what I tried to emulate. Bobby Murray winning the first BASS MASTERS CLASSIC at Lake Mead gave me the courage to try. I know that you learned how important it was to make 2000 random cast a day from Tommy Martin and Jimmy Houston. You learned pattern fishing from those you competed against and became the best at converting random cast into high probability random cast. That being said, you are also one, if not the most naturally talented and instinctual angler I have ever had the pleasure of fishing against. The example you are showed multiple generations of young anglers is a lesson of intense hard work and to always give back. You have changed our sport forever.
Gary Klein and I had a conversation over 30 years ago and came to the conclusion that the best anglers were not here yet. You were one of the first to validate that statement for us. Now we get to watch all the young high school and college anglers that you inspired continue to evolve this sport I love so much. Kevin, will I miss you? NO. Not on the water. But I do look forward to seeing what your creative mind does with the rest of your life. Thanks for what you have given the sport. You made me a better angler. “Never accept that all your greatest moments are in the past”. Rick Clunn
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Originally Posted by TheBarBack
2014 Phoenix 721XP, 250 SHO, Bobs Action Jack, Dual Blades, 112 Ultrex, 2019 Lariat FX4 F150 Supercrew 4x4