Kevin VanDam’s name is well known in the world of professional bass fishing and he’s among the 108 pros fishing this week in the Busch Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament on Cayuga Lake.

Kevin VanDam holds up a smallmouth bass weighing an estimate 2.5 pounds before releasing it.David Figura l newyorkupstate.com

To date, the 48-year-old, Kalamazoo, Mich. angler has nearly 6 million dollars in career winnings. Last month, he took home the $100,000 winner’s check at the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament in Toledo Bend, La.

“In the world of professional bass fishing, Kevin VanDam is at the pinnacle, arguably the best in the world. KVD (his nickname) has four Bassmaster Classic wins and seven Angler of the Year titles to his name,” according toBassmaster.com.

Pro bass angler Kevin Van Dam competes on 21-foot, Nitro Z-21 boat with a Mercury 250 horsepower Pro XS motor. The craft also features a trolling motor up front. He has two depth finders (on in front on the floor) and one in front of the driver’s seat. Finally, his boat has a pair of hydraulic power poles on the back that enable him to anchor in low water with the push of a button.David Figura l newyorkupstate.com

This morning, David Figura accompanied VanDam in his boat during his final morning of practice fishing and scouting for fish on Cayuga. The tournament kicks off at 6 a.m. tomorrow at Frontenac Park in Union Springs and continues through Sunday. Weigh-ins each day are set for 3 p.m., with the final awards ceremony set for Sunday afternoon –€“ all at Frontenac.

Elite Series rules are extremely strict about the pro anglers seeking information from a local on a waterway where a tournament is being held. Instead, we talked about a wide variety of topics –€“ including his general advice about catching bass in the Finger Lakes and other inland lakes of Upstate New York.