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At its outset, it was a common Upper Midwest tale.
To get some exercise and scratch the angling itch in winter, in the 1960s and 70s Richard VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan would often take his kids ice fishing on a local waterbody.
You can find families doing the same thing every winter weekend in Minnesota and Wisconsin, too.
But for one of the VanDam youngsters those first bluegill catches ignited a passion that launched a career.
Within a few years on the pro fishing circuit, it was clear there was nothing ordinary about Kevin VanDam's talent.
In fact the adjective "extraordinary" falls short. In the realm of bass fishing, not only did the kid from Kalamazoo become known worldwide by his initials, but KVD is widely considered the greatest of all time, or GOAT.
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"It really does all go back to my dad taking me fishing when I was 3 years old," said VanDam, 58, and a resident of Kalamazoo. "I will never be able to thank him and my mom enough for all they did."
VanDam is the all-time money winner in professional bass fishing, having earned more than $7 million over a 33-year tournament career. He captured four Bassmaster Classic titles (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011), seven Toyota Tundra Angler of Year titles (1992, ‘96, ‘99, ‘08, ‘09, '10, '11) and was also the FLW Angler of the Year in 2001.
He predominantly fished the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) Bassmasters tournament series during his career but was also a founding member of Major League Fishing.
Along the way he not only attracted major sponsors, including Bass Pro Shops, Strike King and Lew's Rods, but he became an ambassador for fishing and squashed any notion that northern anglers couldn't dominate on the pro bass tour.
In fact, VanDam said his varied fishing experiences growing up in Michigan helped prepare him well for professional angling, even tournaments on southern U.S. waters.
"We have some of the best fishing anywhere here in Michigan and Wisconsin," VanDam said. "When I was a kid I could ride my bike to 15 different places and be able to catch a dozen different species."
The fishing included lakes, ponds, rivers and reservoirs, from grassy shorelines, deep weed beds, lily pad-filled bays to rocky points.
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"There's really no place where I'd show up (on the pro bass tour) that didn't look somewhat similar to what I experienced somewhere in Michigan," VanDam said.
VanDam started his tournament fishing career when he was 14 by joining one of his brothers at Kal Valley Bass Club events in the Kalamazoo area.
"I never thought of it as a career, I thought of it more of as a competition," VanDam said. "But it took off."
At 18 VanDam fished his first national level tournament. In the early days, his mom and dad would travel with him to tournaments.
At 23 VanDam joined the BASS tournament circuit full-time.
And in 1992 he became the youngest person to win the BASS Angler of the Year title, at age 25. The wins started to add up, eventually reaching 25 on the Bassmasters tournament trail, most of any angler.
The fishing fame attracted crowds, even on the water during competitions. In the 2016 Bassmaster Elite tourament at Toledo Bend Reservoir on the border of Louisiana and Texas, VanDam had as many as 50 boats, mostly of recreational anglers, following him from spot-to-spot, according to a BASS article on the event.
He still won with 96 pounds, 2 ounces, well in front of the other top finishers, Jason Christie (88-1), Rick Clunn (84-14), Chris Lane (83-14), and Aaron Martens (81-12). In fact VanDam led the tournament from the first day through the fourth and last.
And even if he didn't take first in a tourament, he was consistently "in the money," with 16 runner-up finishes and more than 100 top tens.
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VanDam was honored with the first-ever Outdoorsman of the Year ESPY Award by ESPN in 2002. In 2018 he was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
With media attention and sponsorships, KVD became a leading brand in the fishing world.
In 2024 he announced he was stepping away from the tournament circuit and entering the next phase of his career.
"I didn't retire," VanDam said. "I just changed jobs."
He now owns and manages KVD Outdoors, a media company, and hosts the KVD Experience on the Outdoors Channel.
"The word these days is 'influencer," VanDam said. "So I guess that has applied for a long time but now we embrace it and share it through our media channels."
VanDam said there's a lot to share. He said bass fishing is in great shape in the U.S. due to good fisheries management and catch-and-release practices.
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His work also includes occasional appearances at sports shows.
One of his 2026 stops will be March 8 at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show.
"I've got my sights set on coming back to Milwaukee," VanDam said. "It's been a few years and I always feel like there's so much in common between where I live and southern Wisconsin. I'm really looking forward to it."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show runs March 6 to 8 in the Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis. Show hours are noon to 8 p.m. March 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 7 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8. For tickets or more information, visit jssportsshow.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kevin VanDam of Michigan is the winningest pro bass angler in history
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