Inside BASS: Iaconelli’s Not Panicking
CELEBRATION, Fla. – For many Bassmaster Elite Series pros, holding down the 39th spot in the yearlong Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings nearing the midway point of the season would be an acceptable position. After all, that standing puts the angler square in the middle of the race for a coveted invitation to the Bassmaster Classic – the top 37 in the standings advance to the superbowl of bass fishing.
But Michael Iaconelli is anything but satisfied with 39th place. The controversial New Jersey pro who is the reigning Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year is not thrilled with his current Bassmaster Elite Series season.
“I’m having what I call a mediocre season,” the 34-year-old said. “It seems like I’m figuring them out on the second day of every event and that’s too late. You can’t have a bad start.
“So I’m just kind of in the middle of the road. And for me it’s frustrating and disappointing. But I think a lot of guys would be happy be to place in the 30s in the standings. But for me it feels unsatisfying — especially after coming off such a good season.”
Iaconelli started the Elite Series season in the style with which he is more accustomed — a second-place finish on Texas’ Lake Amistad. But since then, his performances have spiraled downward — 54th, 56th, and a pair of 64ths.
“I don’t know what else to do except keep fishing,” he admitted. “You try to learn something from a bad tournament and move on. I’ve got a whole season ahead of me so I can’t get down in the dumps and worry about what happened in the last one. I’ve got to look forward to the next one. I’m not really too worried about it, to be honest with you.”
With six events remaining on the Elite Series circuit, Iaconelli still has ample time to move upwards in the AOY standings. The 2003 Classic champion still thinks he has a shot at retaining the coveted title.
“I think so,” he replied. “What Kevin [VanDam] did last year proved you can come back from a devastating event and do it. Obviously, I’m going to have to have some really high finishes in the next couple of events. But it’s possible. I’ve done stranger things in the past. So I’ve got to keep my head up and keep fishing.”
With his Angler of the Year achievement last year came increase responsibilities and demands on his time. But Iaconelli refuses to fall back on such an excuse.
“I do have more obligations with sponsors and that tends to come after winning a title,” he said. “So that’s there. But I don’t blame it on that. I try never to blame my performance on outside factors. It’s me.
“I’m not catching the breaks this year. And that’s fishing. I’ve been through it before and I’ll go through it again, I’m sure. So I just have to fish through it.”
BASS SCHOLARSHIPS. BASS officials have announced the recipients in the 2006-2007 Costa Del Mar College Scholarship Program.
Daniel Garrett of Columbia, Mo., will receive a $5,000 graduate scholarship while undergraduate recipients of a $4,000 award are Thomas Maglio of Madison, Wi.; Casey Kidder of Topeka, Kansas; and Ryan Anderson of Honey Brook, Pa.
To be eligible to receive the scholarships, applicants seeking a degree in the natural resources field must be a BASS member and a BASS Federation Nation member or their immediate family has to be a Federation Nation member. Recipients must retain a standard grade point average to maintain the scholarship.
“We want to provide the BASS Federation Nations with a unique program only available to those members," said Chris Horton, director of BASS conservation. "These scholarships will help ensure that tomorrow's fisheries managers are actually anglers themselves or are from an angling background.
“Costa Del Mar is the perfect partner to sponsor this scholarship program. They have very similar conservation goals and initiatives that we have at BASS. Together, BASS and Costa Del Mar are helping to prepare resource professionals to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”
WBT CHAT. Fans who wish to pose questions to three-time WBT winner Tammy Richardson can click here and participate in a chat starting Tuesday, May 8 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on www.Bassmaster.com
The Amity, Ark., WBT pro will field questions from fishing fans on a variety of subjects following her win this past weekend at the third WBT event of the 2007 season on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville.
LOWRANCE RETIRES. Darrell Lowrance, founder of Lowrance Electronics, recently announced his retirement after 50 years in the marine business.
Lowrance sold the company to Simrad Yachting in early 2006. Lowrance was then incorporated into the Navico Group, based in Sweden. He plans to remain a member of Navico’s Board of Directors.
GOOD DEED. Bassmaster Elite Series pros Paul Hirosky and Darrin Schwenkbeck took their love of fishing to students at DuBois Middle School in Pennsylvania last Thursday to participate in Project Success, an after-school program for special-needs students.
The pros were the main speakers at the school’s football stadium where 200 to 300 students were bussed from throughout the DuBois school district. The gathering was open to middle- and high-school students as a voluntary after-school event.
WRAP RAP. The winner, according to Bassmaster Elite Series fans, in the second week of the Hottest Rig Running Contest was Virginia’s John Crews with 37.5 percent of the vote. Missouri’s Rick Clunn and 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion Boyd Duckett were second and third, respectively.
Fans can now vote among the select Elite Series pros in Week 3 to pick their favorite boat wraps. The selection of Elite Series angler for this week includes Louisiana’s Greg Hackney and Oklahoma’s Edwin Evers. The creativity of the pros and their primary sponsors will be on display throughout the 11 Elite Series tournaments. And you can see them at www.espnoutdoors.com/hottestrig.
Each week will feature a different group of anglers' boats for fans to vote on. The winning boat from each week will advance to the final round July 6-13. Second place boats from weeks 1-10 will be placed into a Second Chance Qualifier, where these boats will have the chance in week 11 to win a spot in the final round. Voting is limited to one vote per person each week. The winner of the contest will receive $10,000 and will be awarded at the Bassmaster Memorial presented by Evan Williams Bourbon in Syracuse, N.Y.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM BASSMASTER MAGAZINE. Elite Series pro John Crews is an avid reader of Bassmaster Magazine.
“Absolutely. Bassmaster was one of the main reasons I got into tournament fishing,” the Salem, Va., angler said. “A lot of the stuff that I learned from the magazine were the basics and it is stuff that I still use today.”
DID YOU KNOW? Arkansas’ Mike McClelland is the only angler to win more than one Bassmaster Elite Series tournament.
IF I HADN’T BECOME A BASS PRO… Two-time WBT winner Dianna Clark might still serve as a career military person if her love of fishing hadn’t gotten in the way. The 42-year-old Tennessee angler served in the army aviation for 20 years, finishing as a technical inspector on Apache helicopters.
Clark served in the Gulf War, Germany and two stateside locations before retiring near Fort Campbell, Ky.
THEY SAID IT. “As long as I can make a good, solid living, I’m not out for the glory. It’s what I do to support my family. The glory aspect isn’t important. The good Lord blessed me with skills and talent, and He’s got a lot to do with what goes on in this world. As long as He allows me to provide for me and my family, I’m a happy camper.” Elite Series pro Mike McClelland to The Arkansas Democrat Gazette on his current career.
News exclusives, audio and video clips of bass fishing's biggest stars, loads of discounts and more are all part of BASS Insider, an exclusive membership, now available at www.Bassmaster.com.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, staging more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS stages and sanctions bass fishing tournaments for every skill level culminating with the Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 530,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208. To join BASS, call 1-877-BASS-USA or visit www.Bassmaster.com/.
FIRST BASSMASTER MAJOR OF SEASON TO VISIT GREENSBORO
Top Pros Compete for $250,000 First Place Prize in Bassmaster American
CELEBRATION, Fla. — The 51 top-performing anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series will visit a city saturated in BASS history — Greensboro, N.C. — May 17-20 when one of the sport’s biggest paydays will be at stake during the Bassmaster American presented by Advance Auto Parts.
Greensboro has been the site of three (1994, ’95 and ’98) Bassmaster Classics. The prestigious field, which also includes the leading angler in the 2007 Toyota Rookie of the Year standings – Derek Remitz of Madison, Ala., - will be competing for a total purse of more than $600,000.
The tournament is in honor of the late Bryan Kerchal, who created BASS history at the 1994 Bassmaster Classic by becoming the first and only Federation Nation angler to win the super bowl of bass fishing. Tragically, he was killed three months later in a commercial plane crash.
The Bassmaster American features a unique two-lake format with the first two rounds of the event scheduled for High Rock Lake, the tournament waters of three previous Classics, and the final two days held on Lake Townsend.
An impoundment of the Yadkin River nestled between Davidson and Rowan counties near the city of Lexington, High Rock is owned and controlled by the Alcoa Aluminum Co. of America. Its dam was completed in 1927, backing up enough water to create 360 miles of shoreline.
But High Rock will provide a different look from the previous Classics considering they were held during the mid-summer.
“We haven’t had much rain, so the lake won’t be as muddy as it usually is,” said Elite Series pro Guy Eaker of Cherryville, N.C. “That is going to change a lot of things.”
Eaker, who missed out on qualifying for the tournament, looks for jigs and worms on jigheads fished around boat docks to be primary patterns on High Rock. Eaker added that the lake is renowned for its offshore cranking structure as well.
“It’s a lake that produces a lot of fish,” he said. “But you won’t see many 20-pound limits. I think you will see a number of anglers catch around 15 pounds a day. That would be a good number to post.”
The majority of the pros will be completely unfamiliar with Lake Townsend, a factor that will make the final two rounds especially intriguing. At 1,542 acres, it is the largest of Greensboro’s municipal reservoirs. It was built in 1969 for recreation.
“I think that with a lake that few of the pros are familiar with, the anglers that can read water the fastest will do the best there,” Eaker said.
Elite Series veteran Marty Stone, who also missed out on qualifying, has fished Lake Townsend in the past.
“It will produce one or two big fish, but not many limits,” the Linden, N.C., pro predicted. “The guys that catch those one or two big fish will be in a good position to finish high.”
There will be plenty of action for fishing fans off of the water during the Bassmaster American. Like the Classic, the Majors also include an indoor ESPN Outdoors Expo featuring DockDogs, which will be held at the Greensboro Convention Complex Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. and will remain open through the daily weigh-ins.
Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Greensboro Convention Complex starting at 4:30 p.m. CT. Daily tournament launches will begin at 7 a.m. from Abbots Creek for the first two days of competition and will move to the Lake Townsend Marina for the final two days of competition.
Additionally, www.ESPNOutdoors.com will have complete coverage including a live video of the weigh-ins, a real-time leaderboard and analysis.
A complete list of qualifying anglers is below
Bassmaster Majors Sponsors: Sponsors of the Bassmaster Majors include Toyota Tundra, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Costa Del Mar, Ramada Worldwide and Evan Williams Bourbon.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit www.bassmaster.com.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 530,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
2007 Bassmaster Majors
May 17-20 Bassmaster American, High Rock Lake Greensboro, N.C.
July 26-29 Bassmaster Memorial, Oneida Lake Syracuse, N.Y.
Aug. 23-26 Bassmaster Legends, Arkansas River Little Rock, Ark.
2007 MAJORS QUALIFIERS
After Guntersville, AL ending 04-29-2007, Day 3
2007 Classic Champion : Boyd Duckett
2006 Angler of the Year : Michael Iaconelli
2007 Rookie of the Year Leader: Derek Remitz
2006 Bassmaster American - Dave Wolak
Top 47 2006,2007 Angler of the Year Combined Standings
Place Angler Name Total 2 Day Weight
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1. Kevin VanDam 5 524-15
2. Skeet Reese 8 537-00
3. Steve Kennedy 11 520-04
4. Aaron Martens 12 510-04
5. Jared Lintner 21 497-14
6. Kelly Jordon 24 505-11
7. Tommy Biffle 25 494-12
7. Gerald Swindle 25 486-09
9. Dean Rojas 32 517-15
10. Mike McClelland 33 487-12
10. Alton Jones 33 479-01
12. Kevin Wirth 38 505-02
13. Jeff Kriet 39 474-01
14. Ishama Monroe 41 465-12
15. Todd Faircloth 42 470-03
16. Terry Scroggins 44 492-01
17. Jason Quinn 47 507-07
18. John Murray 48 470-02
19. John Crews 50 492-14
20. Edwin Evers 53 490-13
21. Timmy Horton 55 472-07
22. Peter Thliveros 57 463-09
22. Scott Rook 57 454-06
24. Greg Hackney 58 482-11
25. Brent Chapman 59 446-15
26. Jeff Reynolds 60 472-02
27. Gary Klein 65 469-08
27. Stephen Browning 65 446-06
29. Russ Lane 66 483-06
30. Randy Howell 70 422-08
31. Denny Brauer 75 458-08
32. Fred Roumbanis 76 435-02
32. Paul Elias 76 427-15
32. Chris Lane 76 411-11
35. Mark Tucker 78 438-04
36. Greg Gutierrez 80 448-01
37. Takahiro Omori 84 449-00
38. Matt Reed 85 462-12
39. Brian Snowden 90 418-00
40. Shaw Grigsby, Jr 91 419-12
41. Bill Lowen 92 452-11
41. Mark Menendez 92 428-12
43. Lee Bailey 94 432-00
44. Davy Hite 95 445-04
44. Ray Sedgwick 95 420-13
46. Zell Rowland 97 445-01
47. Mike Wurm 98 447-07