There are those who have compared Kevin VanDam's dominance in the fishing game to that of Tiger Woods in golf, but judging from his Classic practice habits, it might be time to call him The Shark.

Two weeks before the Classic and in need of a good fishing warm-up, VanDam followed World's Greatest Fishing Show host Mark Zona to Key West, Fla., to put together a show sight-fishing for sharks. VanDam said he didn't fish much over the winter and thought the trip might be a good way to get back into the game.

It might have backfired. "When we were leaving, I told Mark it's really hard to get fired up thinking about going to Birmingham where it's 40 degrees, looking for a 3-pound spot," VanDam said. "I've been fortunate to do some really great trips. I've gone to South America to fish for peacock bass, Mexico bass, Costa Rica saltwater, Bahamas flats, Florida, caught redfish and things like that. "Give me sight fishing for shark. This is definitely a top-notch trip."

The party before the party

Bo Johnson was nervous. Johnson fished the catch and release Madfin shark tournament on ESPN and knew there was no better shark fishing destination in the country than Key West, but the best angler in the world was coming to town and he wanted to be sure. "There was a cold front that had just blown through," Johnson said. "I knew it was good but things weren't exactly setting up perfectly."

To add to his stress, his friends from Key West, like Madfin partner Bryan Holeman, were telling him the fishing was terrible.