VanDam and Kids SI...

11/10/2008 7:13:50 AM

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VanDam in SI Kids issue

Four-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam of Michigan is in the current issue of Sports Illustrated Kids in a feature titled “How Hard Could That Be?”

The feature has eight short segments, each with a question about different sports activities including holding for a field goal, driving a race car, curling, being a masot, shooting a free throw, sacrifice bunting, race walking and bass fishing. Each has a photo and VanDam’s is of him, in an unwrapped Nitro Z9 boat, fighting a bass.

The segments pose a question about the sport fans often utter when watching at home or in a stadium or arena. It may look easy from Section 39, Row TT but the participating athletes know better.

Here’s VanDam's segment:

Bass fishing: “Looks easy! They sit in a boat (easy), throw out a line (simple), and either the fish come and bite, or they don’t. It’s more luck than anything else.

Why that argument is fishy: Pro anglers don’t just sit and wait for the fish. They have to figure out where the fish are in large bodies of water – and go after them. “What we do is very aggressive,” says Kevin VanDam, a four-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year. Top bass anglers can cast a line to within inches of their target and drop a lure without making the water ripple (which would scare the bass away). They also have to analyze constantly changing conditions in the environment. Being able to notice little clues in nature can make a big difference. “The sun going behind the clouds can change the positioning of a bass,” says VanDam. “There are a lot of variables, but that’s what makes it fun.”

Kudos to VanDam and to Sports Illustrated Kids for including him and professional fishing in the issue.

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