By Louie Stout
Kevin VanDam
Tuesday kicks off a special day for Michiana’s wintertime armchair anglers.
That’s when you get to see back-to-back episodes of the new Kevin (KVD) VanDam “VanDam Experience” and Mark Zona’s “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show” (ZAFS) on the Outdoor Channel.
Both TV hosts are from southwest Michigan, with KVD from Kalamazoo and Zona from the Sturgis area.
You can bet there will be several shows from both anglers that will be aired over the coming weeks that were filmed on waters of interest to Michiana bass anglers.
Zona’s show, which has reigned as the highest rated freshwater TV show for the past few years, kicks things off at 12:30 p.m.
VanDam, who retired from pro tournament fishing after an illustrious career, will debut his “VanDam Experience” immediately afterwards at 1 p.m.
Both shows will be repeated throughout the week with new episodes coming for the next 13 weeks. Zona will air each Tuesday, Friday at 5 p.m. and again Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
You also can find Zona’s show on the World Fishing Network (WFN) Monday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
VanDam’s show will air each Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m., prior to Zona’s airing.
VanDam says his show will center on teaching bass fishing in real fishing conditions from Texas to Florida and include some smallmouth shows from the north.
“My show isn’t about going out and catching a lot of five pounders, although there are some big ones caught during the filming,” he explains. “It’s about how to put together the puzzle of finding and catching fish. It’s a science, yet one that is far from exact. I’ll showcase techniques, lures and a style that I have been successful with throughout my tournament career.”
Interestingly, KVD’s first show was filmed with Zona on Lake St. Clair. He also will do shows with country music star Luke Bryan.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be Kevin’s first guest,” says Zona. “I expect his show to teach viewers what he’s kept behind the curtain over the years. He’s one of the best instructors and teachers in bass fishing; that’s what I want to see from him and I think we will.”
Mark Zona
Zona’s first show will have your heart pumpin’ with some frog action in Minnesota. He’ll do several shows alone this year, including the first one. He’ll also be doing shows with Michiana’s Neil Vande Biezen and Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Seth Feider.
The second show, which includes Feider, offers a trip to St. Clair a week after ice-out.
“There was snow in the parking lots, no boats and water temperature was 38 degrees,” Zona says. “We caught 150 bass.”
Both VanDam and Zona say they will try to balance their programing with the use of today’s technological equipment and some good ol’ fashioned old-school fishing.
“My focus will be to stay ahead of the bites and lakes that haven’t been exposed,” says Zona. “That’s hard because there aren’t a lot of secrets, but we’ve found a few.”
VanDam says the transition from competitive fishing and TV has provided similar challenges. He’s producing the show on his own.
“There’s still a lot of pressure,” he says. “When I leave to go film with a crew, the meter is running and we’re dependent on Mother Nature. We try to schedule to be at the best lakes at the best time, but oftentimes you’re dealing with changing and adverse conditions. I actually love that part of it.”