Mike Iaconelli's Classic Note Book
(as told to "On The Water's" Keith Nighswonger)
Angler-Mike Iaconelli Home Town-Woodbury Heights, N.J. Classic-Fourth
Pre-Practice-ProBassAnglers.com caught up with Mike Iaconelli at this year's ICAST show in Las Vegas. Mike had just returned from Pre-Practice and unlike many other of the 61 contestants in the Classic, Mike was very upbeat about his chances. He fished South, about 180 miles round trip from the classic launch ramp. His concern about the Classic was whether or not he could find his area from the launch site, having launched in his Pre-practice area each day. "The fish are there now, they will be there in a month, I just hope I can find the area from the launch site."
Wednesday-Bassmaster Classic Official Practice Day-"I am still very excited about my chances. I am relieved that I was able to make the long run from New Orleans and I found my area! I am fishing a very unique area in the South of Venice. Once I get to my area, I run a very shallow and narrow canal that is hardly wide enough for the boat to fit down. That little canal runs about a mile and a half or two miles long and just when you are starting to think its going nowhere, it opens up into a good size lake full of resident fish. By resident fish, I mean that these fish go through their entire life cycle in this area, there really isn't any place for them to migrate to, they live here all of the time. This is a big deal because most of these Louisiana Delta fish are migrant fish, which means they travel. This accounts for why so many guys returned to their Pre-practice areas on our one day of pre-fish only to find that their fish had moved. My fish didn't move, they have nowhere to go!"
I don't like to stick fish in prefish, so I shook off the bites I got today, but the fish are there."
"This is going to be one of those deals where nobody plays it conservative. Most likely guys will come in with their head up or down, I don't see a lot of in between weights. It is a Delta, tidal water tournament, to win you need to get out your flippin stick and put that bait in front of their nose."
"I have some other deals that I might show them, but generally this is going to be a flipping tournament, I really don't see another technique prevailing. There really is no mystery as to where the better fish will be during the tournament hours: Buried deep in shallow cover, where you will have to go in and get them."
Friday-Day Number One-
15.06! “Wow! What a day! I guess you never know it is going to happen until it does. I had the most amazing day. I made the long run to Venice and started catching them right away. The great thing about my spot is that I am fishing all by my self, and it is a spot that is very different from the rest of the Venice area.”
“There are some big ones in the area I am fishing. Today I caught about thirty keepers. There are a lot of fish in my area-they are not going anywhere and I should be able to get them again tomorrow.”
“It has been my philosophy in past Bass Master Classics that you don’t save fish for the next day, that is why I caught so many keepers, this spot is full of fish, and there is nobody else fishing here. I suppose I could be second guessed, I was culling ounces, but I am really sure the fish will be here the next two days.”
“I made the run with everybody else, I was number 20 out, some of those fish bit, and others did not. Today my big fish was a 4..1 I caught a good break today, I began catching good fish right away and I had about 11-12 pounds early. I was fishing a Mann's Swim Worm which I would cast out with a 1/8 oz Tungsten weight and swim slowly back to the boat. Some fish would only boil on the bait, but I would follow up on those fish with a Mann's Super-Finesse fish, and they would usually bite. The fortunate break was that I caught a pretty good limit early. At that point I went looking for bigger fish with a Mann's Stone Jig in a custom color that Mann's had created for me. I was able to cull out 4 of my fish."
"When I was here in Pre Practice I noticed some of the bigger fish had bluegil in their mouths when I caught them. The jig was an olive color with a bright orange belly. "
“Oh yeah, I’m in second place, 1.04 behind Mark Menendez.”
Stone Jig
Day Two...11.10 Today, I had a boat problem on the way down to South Venice. A switch in the engine malfunctioned and it cost me about 45 minutes. It made for a stressful day and I never went to the jig because I felt I needed to concentrate on getting bites. I'm sure that getting to my spot late accounts for the lower weight today."
"I have taken the lead! I have 27.00 lbs and lead Gary Klein by 2.11 pounds. I caught my fish today using my 1-2 punch of swimming the worm and following up with the Super Finesse."
Day Three...I have won! "Not much I can say. I caught about 9.5 pounds and the fishing really slowed down. I had to little 12 1/2 inch rats I needed to get rid of, and the fish stopped biting. With about seven minutes before I had to leave, a fish boiled on the Swimming Worm. I picked up the Super Finesse and fired it at the rings where the fish had boiled and it bit almost immediately! It was a good fish, and it seemed like the longest 15 seconds in my life. When I lipped that 3 1/2 pounder into the boat I was fired up and relieved. I knew that fish would put me over the top!"
ProBassAnglers.com wishes to thank Mike Iaconelli for letting us bother him each day after he was done fishing. As the tournament went on, his time was more and more in demand. Mike handled the attention with class and dignity and ProBassAnglers.com knows that he will make a fitting Classic Champion.