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Iaconelli – Keeping it Fresh
You may know Mike Iaconelli best for his long list of tournament wins, accolades, and infamous on-the-water antics that includes genuine elation, shouts of disappointment, enthusiastic screams of joy, growls of frustration, or the occasional animal noise.
What fishing fans might be surprised to hear is the Team Toyota pro has been spending a lot time the past few months on small, serene bodies of water fishing out of his Hobie Kayak or jon boat with no one in sight except for his son Vegas or daughter Stella. The New Jersey native still “goes Ike” when one of them catches a fish, but in a way that lights up his soul instead of the SCORETRACKER.
Lately Iaconelli has thoroughly enjoyed watching his children’s passion for fishing grow; while simultaneously reconnecting himself to the genesis of his own fishing pursuits.
For the love of the game
If you follow Iaconelli on social media you’ve seen he and his son, Vegas “the hammer”, spending a lot of time on the water in a small jon boat recently. Like thousands of other Americans, Ike turned to the outdoors when social distancing became the norm for he and his family. He took the time to teach his kids more about the outdoors, while simplifying his own passion for fishing.
“When I developed my love of the sport it was at the grass roots level,” Iaconelli explained. “I’d fish anywhere and any way I could. On the bank with a backpack, out of canoe, kayak, or jon boat; any way I could get on the water intrigued me. It’s been great to reconnect to that style of fishing. It takes away the noise and the business side of this gig… It’s much needed sometimes.”
Make no mistake, Iaconelli is still partial to his Yamaha powered Bass Cat and tournament competition, but he values the nostalgia and connection felt when fun fishing out of a small vessel. There is something special about catching a fish without all the latest, greatest bells and whistles.
“As a professional angler it’s my job to keep up with new technology, new gadgets, and that sort of thing,” Iaconelli said. “But sometimes it is good to re-learn how to fish without all of that crap. It’s just you and the fish. I’ve fished that way my entire life and I’ll never stop.”
Growing the sport
Another reason Ike appreciates this pace of fishing is just how available it is to new anglers. Iaconelli is no stranger to efforts that help grow the sport. Through The Ike Foundation, Iaconelli and his team do a tremendous amount to help get more people involved with fishing, especially youths. Anything that helps remove barriers to first-time anglers is right up Ike’s alley.
“The best thing about kayak fishing is the affordability and accessibility,” Iaconelli said. “Not everyone can afford a $50,000 bass boat, but any kid with a dream can budget for a cheap kayak or old jon boat. It makes getting into the sport so much easier, and helps people fall in love with bass fishing.”
Kayaks or jon boats also have the ability to access smaller more remote fisheries than a traditional bass boat. Iaconelli travels the country with a Hobie Kayak on the roof of his Tundra and lately has found himself taking advantage of its “off-road” capabilities more and more.
“I’ll be honest I’ve been doing a bit of kayak training,” Iaconelli admitted. “I’ve competed out of a bass boat for 20+ years, and I’ve been with Hobie Kayaks for six years… but I’ve never fished a kayak tournament. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m looking forward to changing that this fall.”
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Classic Fans and Carhartt Donate Cash to Keep the TN River Beautiful
Fans who attended the 2020 Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham earlier this year had the chance to help keep Lake Guntersville and other Tennessee River reservoirs clean by making a $10 donation to the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful organization at the Carhartt booth in exchange for a custom Carhartt Classic beanie.
During the 3-day 2020 Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo on March 6 – 8, hard working folks from the Carhartt manufacturing plant were in the Carhartt exhibit booth sewing the B.A.S.S. logo on Carhartt’s famous “A18” acrylic watch cap.
Thanks to loyal and generous fishing fans who purchased the custom beanies, $4,990 was raised to help assure Lake Guntersville and other iconic bass fisheries along the Tennessee River are far less littered with trash for years to come.
Keep the TN River Beautiful organization performs inspiring work. Thus far, they have collected 99,000 pounds of trash from popular Tennessee River bass fisheries such as Guntersville and Pickwick through roughly 30 cleanups annually.
Kathleen Gibi, executive director of the organization recently met Carhartt pro angler Matt Lee at Lake Guntersville, and had this to say about the generous donation fishing fans helped make possible.
“Our goal is to inspire Tennessee River Valley residents to take action for a positive impact on their river, and this donation will help us push even further with our education and river cleanup efforts using our 25-foot work boat,” says a very grateful Gibi. “The team at Carhartt has demonstrated how they can lead with good river stewardship by supporting water conservation.”
While 2020 has been a challenging year with cleanup postponements due to COVID-19, Gibi says she still expects the organization to conduct nearly 30 cleanups this calendar year, and intends to name a future cleanup day in Carhartt’s honor.
The custom Carhartt beanie project is an ongoing annual effort by Carhartt to partner with B.A.S.S. and avid fans at the Classic each year to support conservation agencies and projects in the host state of the Classic each year.
About Carhartt, Inc.
Established in 1889, Carhartt is a global premium workwear brand with a rich heritage of developing rugged products for workers on and off the job. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Carhartt is family-owned and managed by the descendants of the company’s founder, Hamilton Carhartt. For more information, visit www.carhartt.com and follow @Carhartt on Twitter.
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4th for Meyer
Daiwa Pro Cody Meyer had a great week at Lake Chickamauga, Cody finished 4th in the FLW Super Tournament. Take a look the the set ups he relied on.
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Wheeler WINS Big at First FLW Super Tournament!
Jacob Wheeler wins the first ever FLW Super Tournament on Lake Chickamauga. Going into the tournament Jacob wheeler felt he had home field advantage, but the competition was intense. The FLW super Tournament was a mixed bag of the Top Major League Fishing and FLW Pro Circuit Bass anglers. 204 professional bass fishing anglers, all gunning for the top prize and chasing down the big bass Lake Chickamauga is well known for. Hear how Jacob Wheeler found his success on his home lake and captured the title FLW super tournament CHAMPION!
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Wheeler Reclaims Lead at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament at Lake Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. (June 25, 2020) – Major League Fishing (MLF) pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday to reclaim his lead in the $1.3 million Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super-Tournament at Lake Chickamauga. Wheeler now holds a 4-pound, 13-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Jason Reyes of Huffman, Texas, heading into the fourth and final day of competition. The $1.3 million Super Tournament that featured 204 anglers competing from FLW and Major League Fishing (MLF) with a top prize of up to $160,000.
Although Wheeler’s weight on the scale was 27-12, he was credited with 25-12 after being assessed a 2-pound penalty for accidently making a cast with six fish in his livewell. After catching a 10-pound largemouth, Wheeler placed it into his livewell and quickly jumped up to make another cast. The problem was that Wheeler already had a five-bass limit. Wheeler made one cast before realizing his mistake, and did not catch a fish, but the Tennessee pro was assessed a 2-pound penalty and allowed to cull out his smallest fish.
“When you catch one that big, you get a little flustered,” Wheeler joked on the weigh-in stage. “I was so excited to make another cast. As soon as I fired it out there, I was like ‘Gosh, dang it. I’ve got six in my livewell.’ I immediately called (Tournament Director) Daniel Fennel and I knew I was getting a 2-pound penalty. I was so mad at myself for making that error, I used it to motivate myself to go out and catch even more than what I had.”
Other than the penalty, it was a near flawless day for Wheeler on the water Thursday as he caught the largest limit of the tournament. After spending the first two days of the tournament bouncing back and forth between shallow and deep water, Wheeler spent day three mainly offshore.
“It was an awesome day out there on the lake,” Wheeler said. “Yesterday I had 10 to 15 places shallow, but today I spent most of my time deep. I had some stuff in my back pocket that I was sort of saving, and I still have some stuff that I saved shallow where there should be some big ones.
“I’m going out tomorrow with the mindset that I’m going to have to catch a really big bag,” Wheeler said. “It’s so easy here for someone to catch a 10-pounder and put together a 30-pound limit, so I’ve got to catch another 20+ pounds. If I lose, I lose, and I leave it out on the water, but for me, my goal is to keep catching 20.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Friday on Lake Chickamauga are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 72-6
2nd: Jason Reyes of Huffman, Texas, 15 bass, 67-9
3rd: Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, 15 bass, 62-3
4th: Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif., 15 bass, 57-1
5th: Miles Burghoff of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-6
6th: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 55-1
7th: Alex Davis of Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 54-11
8th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 53-2
9th: David Williams of Maiden, N.C., 15 bass, 51-15
10th: Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, 15 bass, 51-14
Finishing in 11th through 30th are:
11th: Dakota Ebare of Denham Springs, La., 15 bass, 51-10, $14,000
12th: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 50-1, $14,000
13th: Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-2, $14,000
14th: Wade Strelic of Alpine, Calif., 15 bass, 48-14, $14,000
15th: Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Ala., 15 bass, 48-9, $14,000
16th: Lendell Martin Jr. of Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 48-3, $14,000
17th: Kerry Milner of Bono, Ark., 15 bass, 48-1, $14,000
18th: Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., 15 bass, 47-11, $14,000
19th: Jesse Wiggins of Logan, Ala., 15 bass, 46-14, $14,000
20th: Fred Roumbanis of London, Ark., 15 bass, 46-10, $14,000
21st: Matt Greenblatt of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., 15 bass, 46-8, $11,000
22nd: Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 46-7, $11,000
23rd: Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 46-6, $11,000
24th: Jason Meninger of Saint Augustine, Fla., 15 bass, 46-3, $11,000
25th: Jonathan Canada of Helena, Ala., 15 bass, 46-1, $11,000
26th: Barry Wilson of Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 45-15, $11,000
27th: Kyle Cortiana of Coweta, Okla., 15 bass, 45-14, $11,000
28th: Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J., 15 bass, 45-9, $11,000
29th: Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-9, $11,000
30th: Terry Scroggins of San Mateo, Fla., 15 bass, 45-5, $11,000
Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 237 bass weighing 678 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by 50 pros Thursday. Of the final 50 pros, 44 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament competition, the full field of 204 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Tuesday and Wednesday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Thursday. Now only the top 10 pros will continue competition on Championship Friday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
FLW anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit championship. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota will be held on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 24-29.
MLF pros competing in the Pro Circuit Super Tournaments will fish for prize money only. No points will be awarded toward any championship or title to MLF competitors. Only the original Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers will compete for the AOY title throughout the remainder of the season. AOY points in the final events will be awarded based on Pro Circuit anglers finishing order. The top-finishing FLW pro will receive “first-place points” regardless of where he finishes in the overall standings, and so on.
The top 10 anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. EDT Friday from Point Park at Dayton Boat Dock, located at 185 Chickamauga Drive, in Dayton. Friday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at Dayton Boat Dock and will begin at 3 p.m. To minimize the spread of COVID-19, attendance is limited to competing anglers and essential staff only. Fans are encouraged to forgo the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and follow the event online through the expanded “FLW Live” broadcasts and weigh-in coverage at FLWFishing.com.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga will premiere at 7 p.m. EDT, Aug. 14 on the Outdoor Channel. Beginning July 3 and running through Dec. 27, FLW will air 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit action on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Episodes have been expanded to two hours long, allowing each show to go in-depth to break down the final rounds of regular-season competition. Each episode will premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water broadcast has been expanded to air on all four days of competition, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by Toyota Series pro Todd Hollowell and MLF’s Marty Stone to break down the extended action Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
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