Drew Benton, this is Kevin VanDam.
Kevin, this is Drew.
Shake hands, and come out fishing.
Through seven events, Elite Series anglers Benton and VanDam have yet to be properly introduced, despite a final 12 together at Cayuga. That will change in the Classic Bracket on the Niagara River.
They are pitted against each other in the first round of the head-to-head, bracket-style event July 19-22 in Buffalo, N.Y. The top eight finishers from Cayuga advanced to fish for cash and an automatic berth into the 2017 Bassmaster Classic. Each of the competitors know one another pretty well, except for the rookie.
“To be honest, I haven’t actually met him yet,” Benton said of KVD. “Slowly but surely, I’ve met the majority of the Elites. I just really haven’t fished around KVD this year, haven’t been around him … just hasn’t happened yet.
“It’s kind of been a whirlwind. I haven’t had the chance to meet him leading up to this event … so maybe I’ll meet him.”
Count on it, Drew. They’ll actually meet and talk things over at a B.A.S.S. news conference at ICAST this Wednesday. They’ll head north right after and get one day of practice on July 18 before facing off in Bracket A’s Match 1. After two days of fishing three hours each, one will eliminate the other.
“It’s kind of come full circle for me to be able to go head to head with someone like that, kind of gauge where I’m at,” Benton said. “I get to face off with KVD, who I have extreme respect for. I respect the way he goes about business, and he’s the best to ever hold a rod and fish our sport.
“I’ve got a tall task. It’s kind of like bull riding. For somebody to get a good score, they’ve got to draw a good bull. I’ve definitely got a good draw. We’ll see how this all plays out.”
Benton, 28, said he didn’t really grow up a big KVD fan but appreciates anglers who are versatile, something he strives toward. He likes anglers who fish the moment in whatever method works.
“I like to be super versatile, so really guys who can catch them all different ways, a guy who does what it takes to get it done that particular week on that particular lake,” he said. “And KVD is obviously one of them.”
Neither Benton nor KVD know exactly what it will take on Niagara, as both said the fishery is basically a mystery to them. Even so, Benton said he feels at somewhat of a disadvantage.
“Never been there,” Benton said. “It’s an interesting deal. I don’t really have a lot of background fishing smallmouth. I’m going to use it as a learning experience. We’re guaranteed to get paid.”
Drew Benton shows off a nice smallmouth during his eight-place finish at Cayuga. Marshal Wade DeSantis photo
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
While it’s a nice purse for a no-entry fee event, the Classic Bracket is not all about the money. First place for surviving four days of bracket fishing is $10,000 and the automatic Classic berth.
All but Koby Krieger are well inside the cut to qualify for the Classic via Toyota Angler of the Year points, so he stands as having the most to win. Krieger has said the Bracket is the best thing ever, especially since he’s among the favorites on that fishery. But never count out KVD on northern waters, especially when he’s on a tear.
“I like to win anything that I do, whether I’m playing bag toss or checkers,” said VanDam, who’s coming off his second victory this year at Cayuga. “I’ve done pretty good in that format before. I know I got a 1 in 8 chance. I’m looking forward to it.”
On Days 1 and 2, top-seeded VanDam faces No. 8 seed Benton and No. 4 seed Jacob Powroznik goes against No. 5 Krieger in the morning matches. Those anglers will go to their best spots with first cast set for 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 19. They will fish for three hours, each with a cameraman for Bassmaster LIVE.
After a 2-hour break, No. 2 seed Jordan Lee fishes against No. 7 Dean Rojas and 3 seed Brett Hite faces No. 6 Keith Combs from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, July 20, the matches flipflop times, and the four eliminated receive $5,000 each as parting prizes.
The winners advance to Thursday’s semifinals and, with weights zeroed, fish from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The losers leave with $6,000. The final two fish Friday from the same time, the runner-up receiving $8,000.
“I’ve never been there,” VanDam said. “I think it’s going to be a really good event. It’s a good time of year to be there. It’s a neat format. Something we’ve never done.”
The bass will be weighed with scales in the boat and immediately released. The weights will be entered into BASSTrakk, which for the first time will be official. The angler with the heaviest five fish wins.
There will be a camera in each competitor’s boat and LIVE will webcast every minute of fishing. Bassmaster.com has the feed Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and viewers can go to WatchESPN or use the ESPN app on devices to see Wednesday’s action.
“It’s very interesting. You win or go home,” VanDam said. “The coverage is going to make that very exciting. It should be great for the fans, for sure.”
KVD heads to Niagara on the heels of victory at Cayuga. James Overstreet photo
DREW DRAWING WELL FOR ROOKIE TITLE
Benton, 28, of Panama City, Fla., is enjoying his first season on the Elites Series, which began with a bang in a fourth-place finish at St. Johns. He’s made six of seven cuts and stands 13th in the AOY standings, one place behind KVD. He holds a healthy 90-point lead over Adrian Avena for Rookie of the Year.
“Oh man, I’m pleased with it so far. The schedule has really worked out for me well,” Benton said. “I got to start down in Florida. That was a sight fishing event and I feel real comfortable doing that, being from Florida. Rolled into South Carolina and fished a tidal fishery, which I’m comfortable with, being from Florida.”
Benton was 44th there then finished 27th at Bull Shoals/Norfork (which fishes nothing like Florida) after he found a few fish still on beds. Lake Wheeler was his hiccup, but he rebounded at Toledo Bend by fishing offshore to take 27th and at Texoma he finished inside the cut at 46th by flipping bushes.
“At Cayuga, I found a few on beds, kind of jump fished, sight fished my way to eighth there,” he said of his second top 12. “It’s been a good year.”
Benton, who qualified to the Elites through the 2015 Southern Opens, has now earned a check in 13 of his 20 B.A.S.S. events. His rookie season has by far surpassed the goals he set.
“Realistically, I just wanted to make the Classic,” he said. “If I did, it would have meant I made enough money cuts to make a decent living. The Classic is the pinnacle of our sport. Ever since I was a little kid that was the one event that I always wanted to fish. If I make it, I’ll chalk the year up as a success.”
There’s no points on the line at Niagara, but if Benton defeats VanDam, he’ll clinch topping $100,000 in Bassmaster earnings. That’s a far cry from KVD’S Six Million Dollar Man status, but still a feather in the cap.
“I haven’t even looked how much water we have to fish,” Benton said. “We get one day to practice. I’m going to try to just develop some kind of way to catch fish, No. 1, and possibly get quality.”
A big concern for all is the short period of fishing time. The Classic Bracket competitors get three hours one day in the morning and three in the afternoon the other day. Benton pointed out that an angler might finally figure out a pattern for the day and then the period is over.
“It’s definitely going to be something that I’m not used to. Definitely a challenge, and if I can go out there and just put something together, I can be pretty satisfied with that,” he said. “If I can figure out what stage they’re in and figure out a way to get them to bite, I’d be pretty satisfied.”
HARDY FILLING SCHEDULE
If Wil Hardy II hadn’t planned on fishing the final two Northern Opens, he certainly is now. After winning last week’s Open on Lake Oneida, tournament emcee Chris Bowes asked the 26-year-old Harlem, Ga., pro if he’d miss events on the James River and Lake Champlain, which would nullify his Classic qualification.
“No way. My schedule is clear,” Hardy said. “It’s surreal. It has barely even sunk in. Going into the Classic is something I’ve dreamed about since I was … younger.”
CLASSIC BUBBLING AT 38TH
The bubble to make the 2017 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe out of Houston remained at 38th on the AOY points standings. John Crews is currently the last man in, while Gary Klein in 39th is first out.
Unless Krieger wins the Classic Bracket, that’s likely to change to 39th since the other seven are well inside the cut. Hardy and Skylar Hamilton are penciled in for berths, while places for Classic champ Edwin Evers and BASSfest champ Greg Hackney are down in pen. So are Southern Open winners Wesley Strader and Jesse Wiggins.
There are two more Northern Opens and Central Opens that carry Classic spots, and with that the potential for several more Elites to double qualify, which would raise the number of Elites going to the Classic via AOY points.
That dust won’t completely settle until after two more regular season Elite events — on the Potomac and Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis. — and the AOY Championship on Mille Lacs Lake, Sept. 15-18. Other spots yet to be determined are the College Classic champ, the Team Classic champ and three B.A.S.S. Nation Division champs.
The B.A.S.S. National Championship is on Lake Conroe, Nov. 17-19, and the Toyota Bonus Buck Team Championship is Nov. 30-Dec. 3 on Kentucky Lake. The 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic will be held March 24-26.