2013 BassMaster Classic on Grand Lake, OK

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

Hey Everyone,
I just found out this evening that I'm going to be the "camera boat" for Kevin VanDam in the 2013 BassMaster Classic on Grand Lake, OK starting tomorrow, Saturday and finishing up on Sunday.
It'll be cool following him around the lake for the next 3 days and watching him "do his thing"!!!!! :thumbsup:
I'll be in my "brand new" 1987 Allison XTB21 Bassboat.

[petehubbell]

Congrats! That will be cool! I wouldn't bet against KVD. Good chance you'll be following the winner.

[Da Bull]

Maybe you`ll get to see him karati chop a fish. LOL! I know it`s not the same VanDam but couldn`t help myself.

DB

[Ted Stryker]

KVD is a powerhouse of a bass fisherman, no doubt... Lots of good one's out there, but I'd say that day in and day out he's probably the strongest...

I worked the BassMaster boat show facility last year on electrical maintenance, and got to see everything in the bass world for 16 hours a day x 5... Hated to not see any Allison display, but there was a Bullet Boat booth and I cruised by those several times a day lusting like a high school boy at cheerleading practice... Oh man, the sight of new gel coat and the smell of new glass work is euphoric..

Congrats on the opportunity Tim, you'll be doing something that a truck load of aspiring anglers would pay thousands of $$ to watch for the real world education of it all..

[Corona Mike]

Don't Blink Tim!!! As Fast As K.V.D. Fishes You WILL Miss Something! Now That Would Be A Good Job!

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

Article about my Experiences at the
BassMaster Classic on Grand Lake 2013

Thursday evening meeting, I met my cameraman, Owen, and was told we'd be with Kevin VanDam for all three
days of the tournament..... Cool !!!!!!

Day One – Friday

Left the shop early Friday morning ....... trailer lights worked fine ...... then noticed that I lost trailer running lights as well as brake lights on truck & trailer ..... blew a brake fuse ..... stopped at two places but was unable to get it fixed.

So, this ended up making me later than I had planned! Once I got the boat in the water, I called my cameraman, Owen. He was going to ride in Kevin's boat, so I tried to locate them. The Pro's started pulling out so I took off after, what I thought was Kevin's boat ........ Man, it was a ROUGH ride!!!! A few miles down the lake, I hit a big roller & became slightly airborn ..... came down with a HARD landing, slamming me down into the seat and jarring my lower back ...... I slowed down for the rest of the ride. When I got to Shangri-La area, I decided to call Owen. I looked back and noticed one of my seats was missing, water bottles rolling around the floor & no ice chest!!! Looks like I hit harder than I thought? I noticed a couple of calls from the ramp ...... apparently, I was suppose to take the BASS official, Shawn, in my boat since Owen was in Kevin's boat .... problem was, nobody thought to tell me about that? So, back to the ramp I go ......... I meet Shawn, the guy that will have a HUGE impact on me later in the day, and again, off we go down the lake to find Kevin.

Since I'd lost one of my seats, I had to operate the trolling motor pedal with my hands while sitting on the front deck, with a sore back!!!!

During the morning, being very cold, ice formed on the front deck around the trolling motor. I started having problems with the trolling motor not wanting to release when I needed to pull it up to move with Kevin. There were so many people following Kevin around that when he decided to move to another area, it was a "mad" rush by the spectators ...... rough ride with a bad back !!!!!! Around noon, I told Shawn I was tired of getting "beat up" with the rough rides & next time Kevin starts to pull up his trolling motor, be ready, cause I'm starting the big engine & then pulling my trolling motor up ..... we were going to be boat number two, right behind Kevin!!!!

Kevin started to make his move ....... I started the big engine .... jumped up to pull the trolling motor up and of course, it wouldn't budge !!!!! I got a good grip of the rope with both hands and moved my left foot for better leverage ......... As I planted my foot on the slick surface, I also gave a hard pull with both hands ........ foot slipped and through me off balance at the same time the trolling motor released and pulling back hard on the slack rope now sent me flying out and around the front deck of the boat into 39.4 degree water!!!!!!!!! Man it was cold !!!!!! I went out over the front right but ended up on the front left in the water with Shawn reaching down to haul me back into the boat ..... problem was, my boots had already filled with water and all my winter clothes were saturated and extremely heavy!!!!! NO WAY I was coming over the front side of the boat ...... We headed to the back of the boat and Shawn pulled me up like a beached whale!!!!!! I was already exhausted ..... only in the water about 10 – 15 seconds!!!! Not sure if I would have been able to get back in the boat by myself?

Even soaking wet, my clothes kept me warm enough the next three hours to finish out the day. My feet did get VERY cold !!!!! and of course, my back was really hurting from the twisting motion while sailing off the front deck!!!!!

Water killed my cell phone ..... Shawn volunteered his phone so we could communicate with Owen, the camera man and also the other runner boats that would meet us throughout the day picking up film

By the time I made it home that night, I was slumped over and barely able to walk!!!! Got my back brace out and a big bottle of pain medicine. Also dug out an old cell phone for the next day.

Day Two – Saturday

Got up really early with a very bad back!!!!! Headed up to Grove to start the day. I had plenty of time to meet with Kevin, Owen, and the BASS Official, Dana, who would be spending a lot of time with me that day. I told Dana about the previous days events and asked him if he minded whether I went swimming later in the day? Haha!!!!

The day went pretty smoothly except for my back pain, constant problems with my old cell phone and one problem with the boat engine....... I was getting better at being number two boat, right behind Kevin, whenever he decided to move, except one time when boats pulled up on both sides of me and then one guy cut in front of us so he could be in the smoother water behind Kevin ...... I had to slow down as the water became rougher, which actually was a good thing. I kind of new where Kevin was probably going so I wasn't too concerned with keeping him in sight...... I looked down at my guages and noticed water pressure was at 5 psi and temperature was slowy rising ....... I backed off the throttle and the hot horn went off as we came off plane ........ revved the engine too cool it down but only 5 psi water pressure!!!!! We tilted the engine up and Dana said he saw a candy wrapper float away!!!! I said, "NO WAY"!!!!! Started the engine up ..... 15 psi and motor never got above 125 degrees ........ Now tell me ...... What's the odds of sucking up a CANDY wrapper into your engine intake in the middle of Grand Lake ??????? And, if I'd been close to full throttle, instead of cruising speed, I'm sure I would have blown the motor before I ever realized what was going on!!!!!!!

Finished up the day and hobbled back home, exhausted and hunched over!!!!!

Day Three – Sunday

Again, Got up early with a sore back and headed back to Grove. Visited with Kevin, Owen, and the new BASS Official, Josh, who would be spending a large part of the day with me. Had a good day watching and following Kevin around the lake. I had a good idea of where he was headed whenever he'd take off and didn't have too many issues with my boat or the rough water..... It was a good day!!!!!! I guess I finally started to get the hang of it?

Thought's about Kevin VanDam .......
What a tremendous fisherman! He's a fishing machine and I had a great time meeting him and watching him fish for three days. He is amazing ........ how he thoroughly fishes an area before he moves to another location. He'll let that place rest for an hour or so and then go back and catch more fish there!!!! Once I fish an area, it's rare that I'd ever go back to that same area in the same day. Again, Great individual and of course, a Great Fisherman!!!

I want to publicly thank my cameraman, Owen and the three officials, Shawn, Dana, and Josh for an enjoyable three days on the lake. It was a pleasure meeting them and having them in my boat.

The town of Grove did a tremendous job building the facilities at Wolf Creek and helping promote this Classic event and of course, BassMaster did a great job with everything from the volunteers at the ramp to all the events at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Overall, considering everthing that happened, I still had a good time and it was a great experience.

[dnelson964]

Tim....That was a great story and Hilarious as well ! LOL....Sorry not laughing at you, just at how those crazy things happened to you. I hope you'll be healed up and back in good shape soon!

Thanks for the cliff notes one an exciting time ! :D

[steve@scp]

wow.. Tim, sounds like you had a great time despite all the "issues" .

great report, and a great read.. and yes sir.. i laughed at ya a few times. ;)

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

Yeah, I'm sure several people enjoyed it ......
I expected to look around at the other boats and see them holding up signs like they do in the Olympics ..... 10.0 ..... 9.5 ......9.5 .... etc. :eek:

[Corona Mike]

Heard It Was A "Bit Cold" But, You Still Got To Watch The Best There Is Out There! What Boat Were You In? Needed One Of The New BIG!!! Allisons!

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

Heard It Was A "Bit Cold" But, You Still Got To Watch The Best There Is Out There! What Boat Were You In? Needed One Of The New BIG!!! Allisons!

Hey Mike ....... Yes, it was very cold... especially when we made a run ..... I used one of my full-face shield helmets on the longer runs.
I used the XTB21/ProMax 225 ..... Man, what a GREAT boat!!!!! I love that boat & plan on keeping it the rest of my life.

[JOEALLY]

Very cool

[RiceKiller]

I saw you on tv the day one covrage and i wondered why you was laying on the front deck and it was nice to see anthor XTB on TV good job Tim and what prop are you running on that XTB I have the same boat and motor

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

I saw you on tv the day one covrage and i wondered why you was laying on the front deck and it was nice to see anthor XTB on TV good job Tim and what prop are you running on that XTB I have the same boat and motor

My back was killing me ...... I lost my extra seat .... so had to try & get comfortable lying on the front deck running the trolling motor with my hands!
I had one of our 14 1/2 x 28 Triton props on the boat.... It handles extremely well and runs pretty good whether I'm running lite or loaded.

[RiceKiller]

whats one of those props cost

[Hoss Marine Propellers]

whats one of those props cost

S&F discount price is $783 + $30 std shipping in lower 48 states. (regular price is $870 + $30 shipping)