Getting Reel - Fishing News

Is Skeet the next KVD?

by Don Zaegel on December 28th, 2007

     While some believe that Skeet Reese is as consistent as any angler on tour, others believe that he may just be riding a gust of “win”d and will eventually be let back into the ”general population” with the rest of the anglers. I am somewhere in between both beliefs. 

     Undoubtedly, Kevin VanDam is the best angler of our generation. His sheer consistency always makes him a likely candidate for the Angler of the Year. With 17 Classic appearance’s, 2 of which were victories, 12 1st place finishes, 72 top 10’s, $2,604,458.30 in career earnings, and a 3 time BASS AOY winner, you are going to have to put together one heck of a debate to challenge that. Oh, and by the way that is only his BASS stats. I didn’t even list his FLW accomplishments.

     But just like every Michael Jordan, Cal Ripken Jr., or Emmitt Smith, someone younger or new comes along and noses a shadow in on their spotlight. For KVD is Skeet Resse that guy?

     While Skeet hasn’t been around for quit as long as KVD, he has been around for sometime. He is no rookie and if I had to classify him, I would definitely say he is with out a doubt a veteran of the sport.

     BASS stats Reese back to 1997. That’s about 10 years after KVD. Since then he has had 8 Classic appearances, 3 1st place major victories, 39 top 10’s, $1,264,558.30 in career earnings, and 1 BASS AOY title. If you divided KVD’s stats in half than you would get numbers pretty similar, but then again remember, Reese has only been in it for half the time of KVD. So know we wonder. 

     If we were to graph this thing out, what would we see? You would see a KVD that is so consistent it’s scary and pretty much has been since the early 90’s. You’d also see a Skeet Reese that year after year is becoming more and more consistent. KVD is a big shadow or shoe to fill and their is no plan for him to go anywhere anytime soon I’m sure, but just like in Racing, Earnhardt Sr. had to deal with Jeff Gordon, and now Gordon has to deal with Jimmy Johnson.

     It will be interesting to see how the next couple of years turn out, and without those next couple of years, I will not be able to make a determination. I can surely say that Reese is undoubtedly one of the best today, but now that he is on top or has hit the ceiling, he will have to show himself as an AOY obstacle from here on out for the next couple of years before I can say he is a KVD.  

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POSTED IN: BASS, BASS Elite Series, Miscellaneous