Kevin VanDam has made a pile of money and won a mantle full of trophies targeting bass offshore in the summertime, but this summer the G.O.A.T. urges you to not be so quick to vacate shallow water. Our calendar may read the first week of June, but KVD knows bass don’t always subscribe to our timelines or traditional patterns.
While this is VanDam’s first full year away from tournament competition, the Team Toyota pro has stayed busy spending time with family and filming his show, The VanDam Experience. KVD just wrapped up shooting an episode with NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe in Tennessee where they absolutely throttled big bass no more than a cast off the bank.
VanDam was prepared for an offshore show, but his gut told him to probe the shallows first and like so many times throughout his career… this intuition proved fruitful. Early June is a great time to collide with the first groups of bass migrating offshore, but this year in particular there are several factors keeping fish in eight feet of water or less.
“There are a couple reasons to stay shallow in the summer, but the first reason is it’s simply FUN,” VanDam said. “I started out bass fishing by burning the bank, power fishing visible cover. As much as I love deep cranking, you can’t deny how awesome it is to watch one wake your lure in the shallows before they annihilate it. There’s nothing like it.
“But conditions dictate everything. Whether I am preparing for a tournament or a filming fishing trip, the forecast and water conditions direct my thoughts and game plan.”
Conditions Over Calendar
When KVD mentions water conditions, he’s mainly referring to the water level and water clarity. This year in 2025, we’ve had no shortage of rain throughout the spring. This has led to high water across most of the country with lots of bushes, grass, rocks, willows, and other targets in the water.
More structure in the shallows means more bass, especially because high water levels lead to more color in the water, too. High, dirty water sets the stage for shallow bass, even in the summertime.
“It’s been a prolonged spring with cooler temperatures in the air and water,” VanDam explained. “Couple that with high, off-colored water that most of the country is dealing with and you have the perfect conditions to cover water up shallow with a moving bait. The bluegill spawn is in full force right now in the south and central part of the U.S., so bass have every reason to be hanging out near the bank.”
Bluegill Bed Beatdown
VanDam’s tournament career spanned over 30+ years, and the bass bite around the bluegill spawn is something he tried to capitalize on every single year. This is one pattern that holds merit from coast to coast, south to north. Most all fisheries have a population of panfish and when they spawn, bass will target them for a big meal.
“These days I use my Humminbird Mega 360 or Side Imaging to find batches of bluegill beds on my electronics,” VanDam said. “If you have the units, use them, and they will help you find bluegill beds and the big bass chasing them. If you don’t have high-end electronics, you can find bluegill beds with your eyes.
“Bluegills like to spawn midway back in a pocket, not all the way in the back. They really like the sides of a secondary point and shade trees that sticks over the water are a magnet. You can almost guarantee bluegills will be bedding in front of a big willow tree.”
Once he locates an area with spawning panfish, VanDam employs a three-pronged approach that he’s had success with from Texas to New York and everywhere in between.
“I like to use moving baits like a 3/8-ounce Thunder Cricket tipped with a Blade Minnow or a big squarebill like a Strike King 2.5 or 4.0 to cover water and show bass a bigger meal,” VanDam explained. “95% of the time I use a green pumpkin Thunder Cricket and one of our bluegill patterns for my squarebill. Start on the outer edge of the spawning beds, most of the time that’s where a big bass will be hanging out.”
According to VanDam, a Thunder Cricket and a bigger squarebill make their hay in the perfect depth range to take advantage of bluegill eaters. The baits have the right size profile, they are great for casting to shallow targets and they both have plenty of vibration for dirty water applications.
After he’s power-fished his way through the area, VanDam will make a few casts with a Texas-rigged soft plastic to play clean up and entice a few extra bites. His go-to here is a Strike King Game Hawg with a light 1/-4-ounce weight. He likes a lighter weight on the Game Hawg so the bait falls slower, letting it’s appendages dance as he glides the rig through opportune areas.
Schools out and the temperature is rising, but you don’t have to abandon shallow water to have a fun day of good fishing. Take advantage of this timely bite over the next several weeks while the conditions allow it and follow VanDam’s tips to catch more bass this summer.
