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Chris Lane and Takahiro Omori Joins Mike Iaconelli the Pre-Classic edition of Ike Live!
The three Bassmaster Classic champions swap stories and offer predictions for 2015.
Pittsgrove, NJ, February 2, 2015. Bassmaster Classic champions Chris Lane and Takahiro Omori join Mike Iaconelli on Ike Live!, Monday, February 9, at 8:00 pm ET, live-streaming at MikeIaconelli.com. A free-form fan call-in/tweet-in follows at 9:30.
All three men will compete in the 2015 Classic on Lake Hartwell, Geenville, SC, Feb 20 to 22. Each knows the rigors of competition well.
Lane grew up fished family tournaments against his dad, grandfather and brothers, Bobby and Arnie—now pro anglers, too—before hitting the pro circuit in 2000. He won 13 Elite tournaments between 2005 and 2011, and he took the Classic in 2012.
For five years after high school, Omari lived in a tent on Lake Kawaguchi near Mt Fuji, Japan and worked odd jobs to saved money ($2000) to come to the U.S. for the Texas B.A.S.S. invitational. His 15-Year Career Plan called for him to compete at the highest level by 2001. He made that goal, entering the Classic that year and winning it in 2004.
Iaconelli stormed onto the fishing scene with four majors and earned close to a million dollars in earning his first five years of professional fishing. He took the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship in ’98, the Classic in 2003 and the Bass Angler of the Year in 2006, the only angler to win all three. He has qualified for the Classic 16 times.
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About Mike “Ike” Iaconelli
A South Philadelphia native now living in South Jersey, Mike Iaconelli fell in love with fishing at his grandfather’s side in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He began fishing in tournaments after high school, joined the pro-am circuit in 1992 and turned pro in 2000. In 2003, he won the Bassmaster Classic. To date, he has won Bassmaster Elite, Classic, and Open championships, including the Bassmaster Elite on the Delaware River in August 2014, and earned over $2 MM in prize money.
He and wife, Becky, run The Ike Foundation, which provides fishing equipment to youth fishing club to “get kids fishing.” In addition, he and fellow fishing champ, Pete Gluszek, run The Bass University, which offers intense 2-day fishing classes that bring avid amateurs and professional fishermen together.
Faircloth Eligible for More Cash Bonuses in ‘15
Todd Faircloth has won four Bassmaster Elite Series events, and makes a run annually at the Toyota Angler of the Year title. Plus, he’s at the top of the list for catching ‘daily big bass’ during Elite Series competition, and has hauled home nearly $2 Million in prize money.
Yet, Faircloth knew he was missing out on a lot of cash bonuses. A business decision to begin the 2015 season with a LEER-capped Toyota Tundra will remedy that.
“I’ve lost out on quite a bit of money by not being eligible for Toyota Bonus Bucks or LEER “Cover Cash” in previous seasons. And after being in a ¾ ton diesel for so many years, driving a Tundra is like driving a sports car, it’s so smooth, and it tows great too,” said Faircloth. “The other benefit to towing with a Tundra is to provide maximum exposure for my sponsors. It’s a chance to increase my chances to helping out the sponsors that help me.”
Speaking of sponsors, fans will be fast to recognize a sizeable cartoonish gopher on the side of Faircloth’s new Tundra as Orange, Texas-based Gopher Industrial, supplier of just about any tool, hose, or fitting you can imagine, becomes a significant sponsor for Faircloth this year.
“A lot of Gopher’s customer base consists of folks that love the outdoors, and they’re also a sponsor of the Southeast Texas High School Fishing Association, which is how I got to know them, I met them at one of the high school events we were both helping with. Gopher definitely gives a lot back to the community,” said Faircloth.
Adding to Faircloth’s chances for increased income was his decision to buy a LEER truck cap, and enroll in their “Cover Cash” tournament bonus program. “I looked at different brands of truck caps on the internet, and I really liked the way LEER’s caps looked the most, so I bought one from Tejas Truck & RV in Beaumont,” explained Faircloth.
You don’t have be to one of the world’s top pros like Todd to win bonuses from LEER or Toyota; you simply have to be the highest eligible finisher in your qualified event. To learn the specific details of each program, please check out www.LeerCoverCash.com and www.ToyotaTrucksBonusBucks.com, or simply call Kendell or Kristie at (918) 742-6424, and they’ll be happy to make sure you get signed-up for either or both programs.
FLW College Fishing is Headed to Lake Seminole
Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Set For Lake Guntersville
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — Lake Guntersville, site of the 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro, has been selected to host the 2015 Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship.
Top anglers on participating team tournament trails from across the country will have a chance to win a national team title and a berth in the 2016 Bassmaster Classic berth when they compete in the team championship tournament Dec. 9-12, 2015, at Lake Guntersville.
“Lake Guntersville is a rich part of B.A.S.S. history and a great fishery to host our second annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “The Classic on Guntersville last year set several new catch records, and I know the lake will offer up plenty of big bass in this year’s team competition.”
The Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) will host the championship at Lake Guntersville, which is one of the lakes on the Alabama Bass Trail. The daily launches and weigh-ins will be held at Guntersville State Park.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to host this team championship,” said Katy Norton, president of the Marshall County CVB. “We have hosted other bass tournaments in the past but this is a team championship that really highlights tournament trails. To be able to hold this team championship just makes sense for us. It gives us a chance to show off our lake to tournament trails across the country.”
The unique four-day tournament will qualify one angler for the 2016 Bassmaster Classic. The top two-angler team will also be crowned as the national champion of the event.
Teams across the nation qualify for the championship through various independently operated team trails sanctioned by B.A.S.S. (A list of sanctioned trails is available at Bassmaster.com.)
“Toyota has a proud history of supporting competitions for bass anglers of all levels,” said Jim Baudino, Engagement Marketing Manager for Toyota, the title sponsor of the championship. “We’re especially glad to partner with B.A.S.S. to showcase the fast-growing team tournament segment of the sport and provide America’s outstanding grass-roots anglers a top-level national championship event.”
The team portion of the competition, Dec. 9-10, pits the two-angler teams against one another to determine the national team champion. On Dec. 11-12, the six anglers from the Top 3 teams will compete individually in the Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off. The winner of the individual competition earns a bid to fish the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing the following year.
In the inaugural team championship at DeGray Lake in Arkansas last year, teammates Flannagan Fife and Royce Davis from the Fishers of Men circuit clinched the team championship title in their home state and advanced to the Classic Fish-Off. However, North Carolina angler Brandon Gray from the Anglers Choice team trail won the fish-off and qualified for the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, to be held Feb. 20-22 on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C.
“The first Bassmaster Team Championship was a huge success,” said Jon Stewart, Bassmaster Team Championship director. “We were very pleased with the turnout, since 155 of the 173 eligible teams made the trip to DeGray Lake in Arkansas.”
Stewart expects this year’s event will be even larger than the inaugural championship. “Marshall County, Lake Guntersville and the Guntersville State Park Resort are great places to host this event. There is more than enough room on and off the water to support a 250-boat championship event. And at Guntersville, there is always a chance to catch the bass of a lifetime. It should be very exciting fishing that time of year.”
For more information on how a team trail can become sanctioned for the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship, contact Stewart at jstewart@bassmaster.com.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
Aaron Martens joins Enigma
ORLANDO, Fla. — Aaron Martens, known to millions as “The Natural,” has signed with Enigma Fishing and designed a line of bass fishing rods — “Aaron’s Edge” — that are now available to anglers and retailers everywhere.
The two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, three-time WON Bass U.S. Open champion and FLW Tour winner is excited about the partnership and the new rods.
“The opportunity to design my own rods from scratch means a lot to me,” Martens said, “and I’m doing that with the Aaron’s Edge series. Several models are ready and more are in the works. I think they’re the best rods on the market at any price, but they’re also affordable.”
Starting a tackle company in tough economic times and with plenty of fierce competition in the rod category, Enigma sales manager Jesse Tacoronte knows the right people are mission critical. Martens was the only angler he considered for the challenge.
“In launching Enigma, our commitment is to making the best fishing products possible,” Tacoronte said. “When we thought about who we wanted to work with, we realized Aaron was the only person for the job. No one else has his attention to detail and no one else demands as much from his equipment. Enigma may be new, but we’re starting with the best bass angler and the best bass rods you can find anywhere at any price.
“With the Bassmaster Classic just around the corner, we worked around the clock to get these rods designed and built. We believe the Aaron’s Edge rods are going to be the edge he needs to win the Super Bowl of bass fishing.”
There are a dozen casting models in the Aaron’s Edge lineup and three spinning models; every rod in the lineup retails for $169.99 each. More models will be introduced as Martens designs and perfects them.
For more information on the Aaron’s Edge rods from Enigma Fishing, visit enigmafishing.com. And root for Aaron at the Bassmaster Classic. We think he’s going to win!
Stuff you don’t usually read, but should because it’s cool: Enigma Fishing was born in the primordial swamps of Central Florida — part passion, part business and all bass fishing. Enigma believes there are four kinds of fish: bass, baitfish (shad, rainbow trout, etc.), trash fish and the kinds you eat (Mmmmm!). We stand for quality, truth, justice and bass big enough to startle the catatonic. Some will tell you that you can become addicted to bass fishing — that it’s a disease. At Enigma, we know that the poison’s the cure, and we want all the poison we can get. To that end, we are absolutely committed to making the finest bass fishing products you can buy anywhere and at any price. The best fishing tools don’t have to be the most expensive; they just have to be the best. Today we make rods, and we’ll be adding lots more basstastic stuff soon — line, sinkers, lures and more. If you’re not excited, you should be. Enigma’s going to change the way you fish. Just follow the directions on our products:Cast. Catch. Repeat.