Story
and photos by Dan O'Sullivan
In 2009, while serving as Field Editor for Bass West USA Magazine, I had a
conversation with Byron Velvick about his learning
curve with swimbaits over the years.
Known as the man who put swimbaits on the map nationally with his record
setting win at Clear Lake, Velvick experienced a
steep learning curve with the lures and eventually came to a conclusion that
they had their place.
The information is good for all of us looking to employ a big bait into our
tournament or everyday fishing outings. It wasn't long after this article ran
that Velvick brought his experience with swimbaits to
the forefront and applied it in victory at Clear Lake again. This time during
Elite Series competition against the best anglers in the world.
So, here it is, Byron Velvick - Putting Swimbaits in
their Place
For many people, April 15 is a day to be on alert, as their taxes are due. On
April 15, 2000, the fishing community was on point for an entirely different
reason.
Byron Velvick claimed the California BASS
Invitational at Clear Lake with 83 pounds, 5 ounces, a weight that still holds
the three day weight record in BASS competition. His astonishing dominance of
that event, and the way in which he did it was a shot across the bow for bass
anglers the world over; swimbaits had arrived on the national tournament radar
screen.
What many did not know at the time, is that Velvick,
and a few other western anglers, like Dave Rush and Russ Meyer, had been
employing a large saltwater bait called the Worm King Dinosaur in tournaments.
To most, outside of southern California, the bait was largely a triggering
mechanism for big spawning females who wouldn’t respond to traditional bed
fishing offerings.
For Velvick, the bait had broader appeal. His
experience on southern California waterways proved to him that swimbaits were
more than just for spawning fish, they also worked when retrieved through the
water column on a steady retrieve. His nearly 28 pounds per day performance at
Clear Lake proved their effectiveness to the world.
“I had been able to keep the whole thing quiet for several years, basically by
lying through my teeth,” Velvick said. “I’d catch a
fish in a draw tournament on a swimbait and act like it was a total surprise,
and sometimes even tell them it was my first fish on them, but Clear Lake
exposed them to everyone.”
Even with the win and the record, he would have rather had it remained secret,
but the presence of national media made sure that wouldn’t happen. “When Steve
Price (Bassmaster Senior Writer) was on the water taking pictures of me
throwing that original Basstrix the final day, I knew the secret was out,” Velvick remembered.
That fateful day would become a turning point for the then 35-year-old pro.
Until that day, he had been one of the most successful anglers following the
western circuits. “The prize boat I won that day was like my 14th boat won in
competition,” said Velvick. “I’d also won a Rolex
watch and a truck in my career, but that Clear Lake tournament changed my
focus; I knew I could make a big splash across the country on swimbaits.”
So, with the help of Bruce Porter at Basstrix, Jerry Rago, Mickey Ellis at 3:16
Lure Company and Ken Huddleston, Velvick loaded up on
swimbaits and set out to prove to the world that big swimbaits were effective
everywhere. “I was intent on proving that they would catch fish everywhere,” he
said. “I was determined to do for swimbaits what Dee Thomas and his protégé
Dave Gliebe did for flipping; I was going to be the
Godfather of swimbaits.”
What resulted were several years of frustration for the successful western
based pro. He had grown accustomed to cashing checks with regularity, and
winning his fair share of events, but was finding himself finishing out of the
paycheck line more often than in. “I had so many close calls in those days,” he
said. “I’d have tremendous schools of fish attacking my swimbait in practice,
then have the weather change on me. Or, I would have them located, then realize
as the tournament started that I was sharing water with other guys, and the big
results never came.”
One other thing that Velvick realized in hindsight
was that the lack of landing nets in BASS competition was another factor. “I’ve
learned that swimbaits and landing nets are almost like peanut butter and
jelly,” he said. “I’ve lost more giant swimbait fish in Bassmaster tour level
events at the side of the boat than I’d care to remember.
He said that there were many days during competition that he would throw the
big bait, hook up big fish, only to have them leap a few feet away from the
boat and come unbuttoned. “Out west, and in the Opens, nets are allowed, but on
the BASS Elite level, they are not, that was a factor I didn’t recognize early
on,” he said. “There is a lot of weight being tossed around in a swimbait, and
if they (big bass) can throw a lipless crankbait so easily, then swimbaits have
a higher percentage of opportunity to become dislodged.”
Velvick is quick to point out that he is not one to
make excuses, that he chose his path, and that the chances for tremendous reward
was there on the next cast. He also realized that with the chance for glory,
came risk of humiliation. “I wasn’t used to finishing in the bottom of the
field,” said the two-time U.S. Open Champion. “I was finding myself in the 90’s
and 100’s in the standings more than I would like, and I needed to re-think my
strategy.”
He began to look at his approach, and what he realized, was that the scenario
of being the Dee Thomas of swimbaits had a hurdle to overcome. “What Dee did
with flipping was find an entirely new group of fish that weren’t being
targeted,” Velvick said. “That was the beauty of
Flippin’, Dee was fishing in areas that most people either weren’t thinking of,
or didn’t have the right equipment to challenge him in; swimbait fishing is a
little bit different.”
While Thomas and his pupils had water largely to themselves, Velvick was still in competition with everyone else.
“Swimbaits are still used in the same areas that anglers throw crankbaits, jigs
and Carolina rigs,” he revealed. “So, while I was using baits that would give
me an advantage for the biggest bite in an area, those fish were still being
pressured by everyone else, and being caught on other types of presentations, I
was setting myself up for difficulty.”
The paradigm shift began to occur when in the same period, three of his friends
challenged him to look at the angler he had been in the past. “My lifelong
friends Steve Oliver, Ish Monroe and an outdoor writer friend of mine from the
west all said basically the same things,” Velvick
remembered. “They all told me that I needed to look at the statistics of my
career, and the trophies on the wall of my home. What that created was a
reminder that they believed in me; it was time to make a change.
His primary approach was to start analyzing how he had fished in the past. The
result was that he began to remember he was a much more versatile angler than
he had allowed himself to be known for. “I had become the sightfishing
and swimbait guy,” he said. “I still like being known that way, but I had to
realize that I needed to go back to my old methods.”
Velvick reported winning his first U.S. Open on
topwater chuggers and walking baits, he remembered
cashing many checks on spoons in the deep clear waters of the west. “I’ve
always done it all,” he said. “If I had to throw a Carolina rig, or a Texas
rigged worm, I did it; I knew how to compete, and it was time to do it. I
needed to show that I was an ‘overall angler,’ that I could dropshot, throw a
crankbait and be in the thick of things.”
So, beginning with the Elite Series Wildcard Qualifier in November of 2007, he
began to approach things differently. “I went to Florida to practice on
Okeechobee without the thought of shoving a swimbait down their throats,” he
said. “I found two productive patterns, throwing lipless crankbaits and fishing
big Berkley Power Worms on Texas rigs and Gambler shaky heads; I ran with those
patterns.”
Sticking to his newly restored weaponry, Velvick
grabbed the lead on the first day of the event, and never looked back. He won
the event in wire to wire fashion; his second BASS victory. “It was an instant
reminder, instant positive feedback, and it gave me a lot of confidence,” he
said. “I was back in the groove, re-qualified for the Elite Series, and ready
to go after things in my new way.”
His new approach has served him well. Since beating the odds at Okeechobee in
the fall of 2008, and re-qualifying for the Elite Series, he has fished in 24
BASS events, and cashed checks in 13 of them. He earned more than $165,000 and
tallied four Elite 12 finishes, including three in a row during the 2009
season. He also challenged for a slot in the 2009 postseason, which would have
given him a chance at the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year title. He rose to
15th in the standings at one point, eventually finishing the year in 21st
place.
More importantly, he qualified for his first Bassmaster Classic in 2009, and
thanks to a very strong year against the best anglers in the business, will
make his second trip to the Classic stage when it returns to Lay Lake in
February of 2009. All of this success is credited to his shift in approaches.
“I really began to look at what I have invested in this sport,” he said. “Like
my competitors, I spend a lot of money and time chasing the tour around the
country, and I owed it to myself to give success a chance. There are certainly
times when swimbaits; or just going for broke in general, are the only way to
compete, but they are fewer in nature. The Elite Series requires having a mind
on getting as many points on the ledger as possible, and if I am always
swinging for the fences, I can’t stay focused on the larger goal of being the
best tournament angler I can be.”
Velvick often looks back on the votes of confidence
from his friends, and leans on the sage advice of his colleague Rick Clunn,
whom he calls a mentor. “Rick has always challenged me to look at how I am
approaching things,” he said. “Eventually, he helped me to see when I should
lean on swimbaits, and when I should leave them in the storage of my Triton. He
wouldn’t tell me when I should or shouldn’t throw them, but he challenged me to
look at it more closely.”
With the support of his friends, the advice of his mentor, and a remembrance of
his past success, he has turned the corner of swimbait junkie, to a tournament
angler with a love for the big bait, when it is appropriate. “I had to
recognize that being ready to live by the swimbait sword meant being ready to
die by it as well,” said the two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier. “I feel
like I am fishing at my best again. I have a young body, and a mind that has
gained years of experience, and I want to keep competing in the way that I am.”
“My career has always been one of determination and fortitude, as Clunn has
reminded me, this journey I am on has brought me a lot. I’ve been able to do
what I love for a living; it has provided me opportunity to be on Outdoor
television with my stints on Basscenter, and now my
Going Coastal show as well. It’s working, and I plan on staying on this path.”
Read
more like this at AdvancedAngler.com
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