In much the same way Kevin VanDam married his high school sweetheart Sherry, his love affair with Sam Rayburn Reservoir dates back to the first time he ever made a cast on the famed east Texas reservoir as a kid from Kalamazoo, Mich., hell-bent to become the best angler pro bass fishing had ever known.
“I came down here a month before the tournament from Michigan to pre-practice for a B.A.S.S. Invitational in early 1992," he said. "It was the very first time I’d ever seen Rayburn. There was a warming trend, and the water was 4 feet high in the bushes. I caught 50 bass over 4 pounds. So yeah, you could say I definitely fell in love with this place the first time I saw it.
“That incredible pre-practice day in 1992 was followed by a five-bass limit in the tournament that weighed 31 pounds 11 ounces – which at the time was the single biggest five-bass limit in B.A.S.S. history.
“I had a 10-pounder along with a 9-pounder and an 8-pounder in my creel that day that ultimately led to the record. The water was super high, like 12-feet up and going over the spillway, and I caught all those giants on a floating worm and an unweighted lizard."
Seven years later in 1999, even though the largemouth bass virus had a hugely detrimental effect, VanDam dialed-in a deep cranking bite on “Big Sam’s” inside grass line that led to his win here at the Texas Invitational in mid-February of 1999.
He's in the hunt at this week's Bass Pro Tour event, as well, catching 10 fish for 27-10 to land in 3rd place after the initial Group A Qualifying Round. His haul included a fish that weighed 6-02.
So yes, Rayburn is special to KVD. He’s been happily married to Sherry for 28 years, and his love of “Big Sam” is rich with nearly three decades of heartfelt goodness, too.
