Bass First
Published July 2, 2008

	Grillmaster Kevin VanDam

The Bassmaster Elite Series pros are looking forward to some down time in July.  We caught up with current Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points leader Kevin VanDam to gather his perspectives for a little fun in the summer sun.

Your favorite way to spend time with family once school is out for summer?  Take a trip to Traverse City to catch the Smallies and hit the beach there.  There's a lot of good restaurants there too.  We have a blast.

Your favorite thing to cook and eat from the backyard grill?  That's easy.  I'm the "grill master".  I get a whole tenderloin and cut it into 2-pound steaks.  Okay, maybe not 2-pounders --- but close.  They're big steaks.  We do it right.

What will you be doing for the 4th of July?  Most likely, we'll be at Mark Zona's house, not far from our house, down at Lake Templene, Michigan.

If you could only have one lure to fish with all summer long, across the USA, what would it be?  A Sexy Shad colored Strike King Series 5 crankbait.  It runs as deep as 12 feet, and shad become the primary summer forage for bass most everywhere in the country.

If you were picking a theme song for this summer, what would it be?  I don't have one.  I haven't listened to the radio in a while.  I jumped in my Tundra after the Kentucky Lake event and drove eight hours home, and I never even turned on the radio because I talked on my cell phone the whole time.   

If you were to share a summer beach house with four other Elite Series pros, who would they be?  There's a lot of good dudes on tour, but I would start with Davy Hite, because he's got a cool beach house at Myrtle Beach. Then I'd invite Scott Rook, Terry Scroggins and Kelly Jordan to join us.

If you could only pick one sporting event to attend anywhere in the world this summer, what would it be?  A Detroit Tigers baseball game with my family.



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