By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Kevin VanDam says it probably won't be long until he fully grasps the fact that he's no longer a full-time touring professional angler. That time hasn't arrived yet, though, perhaps because 2024 has started similarly to the last 33 years, during which he put together the most dominant career the sport has seen.
"It's kind of been the same thing as always – I just got my new boat for this year and I'm really focused on preparing for REDCREST at this point," he said last week. "I've always kicked off January with shows and in-store appearances, and I just did three cities in three days where I was around a bunch of hardcore bass-fishing fanatics. That's what I like and those are the kind of people I want to be around.
"I've done one thing for so many years and now I'm not going to be doing it. I guess I probably haven't put it in the forefront of my mind yet and maybe that's subliminally intentional. Normally going into a season, I'm prepping for the whole year and thinking about each of the stops and the lakes I'm going to. I couldn't list the schedule (off the top of his head) this year, and that's something that would've been unheard of in the past. There's just a lot of things that I've shifted my focus to."
He announced prior to last season that the 2023 campaign would be his last as a regular competitor. The results weren't stellar by his own lofty standards, but the vast majority of tour pros would've been more than happy with them as he finished no lower than 21st in six of the nine outings and ended up 11th in the Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) race.
He was in good position to win the final event at Saginaw Bay, which many would've viewed as a storybook occurrence, but struggled in the final round and was surpassed by eventual winner and AOY Matt Becker. He'll get two shots this year to add to his record total of 26 career tour-level victories – REDCREST (March 14-17 at Lay Lake in Alabama) and Heavy Hitters (May 18-23 at Florida's Kissimmee Chain).
For the past year, he's insisted that he's not really retiring, but rather transitioning into another type of role in the sport. He'll continue to represent longtime sponsors such as Bass Pro Shops, Strike King and Toyota and will be active in efforts to increase participation in the sport and to conserve the natural resources that are vital to it.
He said that a major announcement regarding his charitable foundation is forthcoming in the next few weeks. The week after REDCREST, he'll be highly visible on the expo floor for all three days at the Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla.
At this point, he said he's still "100-percent good" with his decision to step away from full-time touring status. He knows he'll miss the competition and he'll absolutely miss the interaction with his fellow anglers and others who were mainstays at the tournaments.
"When it's all said and done, the fishing part is cool," said the four-time Classic winner and seven-time Bassmaster AOY. "The hardest part is going to be the people – the anglers and the staff and the media are like a second family and I have relationships with all of them.
"It's been interesting to me to see the fan reactions and the conversations I've had with sponsors and partners about this change. I think the group that's had the hardest time getting it is my fellow competitors. They're dumbfounded that I made this decision and they're shocked and they don't understand it.
"The nature of professional sports is that your time to quit is usually picked for you by the sport," he continued. "I feel lucky that I was able to decide for myself when the time was right."
During his five years on the BPT, he shared road accommodations with his nephew Jonathan, Casey Ashley and Marty Robinson. This year, Robinson's son, Marshall, will fill KVD's slot in that group. The younger Robinson qualified for the circuit via an 8th-place finish on last year's MLF Invitationals points list.
VanDam said he'll be rooting for all of them, plus a lot of other BPT pros and Elite Series competitors.
"First and foremost, I'm a fan of tournament fishing and now I'll get to look at it a little differently," he said. "One thing I do know is that nothing lasts forever.
"I've got a lot of things I want to accomplish in this world and they don't all revolve around tournament fishing. It's time to start the next chapter."
