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Philly Native Son Iaconelli Wins Big At Home
PHILADELPHIA — Michael Iaconelli hopped five feet down off the Bassmaster Elite Series stage, turned and hoisted his 55-pound winner’s trophy, then practically danced with it up through the roaring audience stacked on the concrete steps of the Great Stage of Penn’s Landing.
Moments before, he had told the crowd exactly what he was feeling as he won the Bassmaster Elite on the Delaware River.
“I won today, but not for me. I won for you guys,” said Iaconelli, Philly-born and raised in New Jersey.
Suddenly, “Going Ike” took on a new meaning.
When the fishing goes very right and when the fishing goes horribly wrong, Iaconelli is famous for his, um, unrepressed vocal and physical expression. Now, “Going Ike” also means achieving the win of any pro angler’s dreams.
Sunday, Ike nailed what few anglers have been able to: win a Bassmaster Elite Series event on home water. He topped that by whipping the field by no less than 8 pounds.
His winning total was 47 pounds, 14 ounces — a respectable weight for any midsummer tournament, and, as Iaconelli pointed out, proof that the Delaware River is a fishery worth any bass angler’s time.
Now living in Pittsgrove, N.J., Iaconelli recovered from a start at 21st place to lead for two days running before triumphing on the fourth and final competition day on the Delaware River, where he learned as a kid what bass fishing was all about.
His prize was $100,000 and an instant qualification for the 2015 world championship, the Bassmaster Classic.
“This is a great feeling to know the Classic is sewn up. Having a Classic berth is a very important thing,” said Iaconelli, who would have had an uphill climb to clinch an entry into the world championship through points earned at each event.
Iaconelli won by having spots to hit at low, mid and high tides.
“That was absolutely key. Every day I was able to rotate when the tides changed to those areas,” he said.
His low-tides spots were on what he called “main river hard stuff’: mostly industrial docks on the main river adjacent to large flats.
“When that water got low, there was no water for those fish to live on the flats, so they all get sucked into that ‘hard stuff’ in deeper water,” he said.
His prime midtide spot was a barge at the mouth of Timber Creek, near where he grew up in New Jersey.
“Every incoming tide, that place lights up because current washes through the barge,” he said.
His hottest ace was having spots to go to during high tides. The best were big concrete drains that bring water in and out of tidal ponds. The drains, only accessible to a caster in high water, have iron grates, but the bass slip between the bars in search of the ponds’ forage, Iaconelli said.
“That was key, because often (high tide) is wasted time for a lot of guys,” he said. “The bass live there. A lot of my fish came actually from inside the metal grates. These are unpressured fish; a lot of people don’t know they’re there.”
Iaconelli, the only angler in the event to turn in four five-bass limits, said he caught 80 percent of his bass — all largemouth — on two lures. One was a 1/2-ounce, small-profile finesse jig, a prototype he’s helping design for Missile Jigs, a new expansion of fellow pro John Crews’ Missile Baits. The color was brown-purple.
“On this river, over the years, small-profile baits do a lot better (job),” he said.
He tipped the jig with a high-action Berkley Chigger Chunk in green pumpkin.
His other key bait was a Berkley Havoc Pit Boss in “Okeechobee craw” — green pumpkin and blue metalflake. The setup on the Pit Boss was a 3/8-ounce VMC tungsten weight and a 5/0 VMC flipping hook.
Iaconelli said the other 20 percent of his catch came on a shaky head rig of a Havoc Bottom Hopper in the junebug color on a 3/16-ounce VMC jighead and a white Molix Lover vibration jig.
“I rotated between all of those baits,” he said.
After leading for two days, the final round started out stumping Iaconelli.
“I made a decision to start on the main river to fish those flats in the low water, and never had a bite,” he said.
He made the call to go into the creeks, where he figured the low water would drive the bass to certain accessible targets.
“I dropped my trolling motor, made two casts, and caught a 3 1/2-pounder,” he said. “Really key. I thought that was the precursor (to more action), but an hour later I hadn’t had another bite.”
He returned to the main river. The first dock he pulled up to yielded a 2 1/2-pounder.
“So I said, ‘They’re telling me to stay on the main river.’ I never had another bite on the main river,” he said. “It was that kind of day, when I scrapped (what I was doing) and started again.”
He gambled and went into a creek near a bridge, where the Molix Lover produced his third bite and keeper.
“I looked at my tide sheet, and it said ‘1:48, outgoing tide.’ I switched to my drains and caught two more keepers in my last hours of fishing.”
Iaconelli now has eight Bassmaster wins on his pro resume, which includes another Elite trophy on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville in 2006. He is the only angler in competition history to have claimed three significant titles of the sport: B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (1999), Bassmaster Classic (2003) and Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2006).
The 2012 Classic champion, Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala., finished in second place with 39-14 to Iaconelli’s’ 47-14. Lane landed the largest bass of the day, a 3-14.
Third, fourth and fifth places were taken by Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla. (39-1); Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark. (39-0); and Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla. (36-15).
Elite pros competed for points as well as cash on the Delaware River — a path into the Classic and the only road to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown.
In the points standings, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., uprooted the leader over six consecutive events on the 2014 Elite trail, Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. Davis fell to seventh place. Aaron Martens, the 2013 AOY, became Hackney’s strongest challenger, only one tick behind.
Bonuses that Elite pros earned at the Delaware River event were:
* Toyota Bonus Bucks award of $3,000 to the highest eligible finisher: Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla. (third place).
* Toyota Bonus Bucks award of $2,000 to the second-highest eligible finisher: John Crews of Salem, Va. (11th place).
* Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Bonus of $1,000 to the leader in the Elite Series points race: Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La.
* Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Boyd Duckett for his Day 1 bag of 16-14.
* Carhartt Big Bass bonus of $1,000: Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., for his 4-6 on Day 3.
* Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $1,000 to the highest finisher equipped with a Power-Pole anchoring system: Iaconelli.
* Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for being the Day 2 leader: Iaconelli.
* A.R.E. Truck Caps’ Top Angler Award of $750: Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind.
* Rigid Industries Jackpot: Not awarded. Rigid offers a daily prize of $250 to anglers registered for the program who produce a 25-pound or heavier bag. Unclaimed daily awards roll over into the next tournament day of the season. The jackpot now stands at $1,500.
The hosts of the event were Philadelphia Sports Congress, Visit Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers & Outdoors Program. The local media partners are 6ABC TV and 92.5 XTU radio.
The Delaware River event will be featured on The Bassmasters on ESPN2 on Aug. 24 and 31 from 8 to 9 a.m. ET.
The next stop for the Elite Series is Aug. 21-24 at Cayuga Lake out of Union Springs, N.Y. The event, the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite Series at Cayuga Lake, will be the final full-field event of the season. The Top 50 pros in the points standings after the New York event will qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series AOY Championship, Sept. 18-21 at Bays de Noc in Escanaba, Mich., when the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year will be crowned.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
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, 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 Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.
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Media Contact: Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, dprecht@bassmaster.com or Helen Northcutt, 204-313-0944, hnorthcutt@bassmaster.com.
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Team Toyota’s Mike Iaconelli Brings Home Bassmaster Elite Win
You could say that passion is an overused word for those that love to fish, but Mike Iaconelli proved its legitimacy at the Bassmaster Elite Series event on his beloved Delaware River in his hometown of Philadelphia.
“It’s very emotional for me right now,” said Iaconelli as he accepted the blue Bassmaster Elite Series trophy and a check for $100,000.
“Three things happened here this week,” Iaconelli told thousands of rabid fans from the stage in downtown Philadelphia. “I won on the river where I learned to fish. Secondly, we work really hard as a family, so it means so much to win with Becky and my kids here. And lastly, I didn’t win this for me, I won this for you Philly.”
Iaconelli, an original member of Team Toyota since 2006, dominated with an 8-pound margin of victory over second place.
“I caught bass out of flooded shopping carts, rusty barges, grates, drains, you name it … I caught them off of Philly cover in The Delaware this week,” punctuated Iaconelli.
Iaconelli Banks A 6-Pound-Plus Lead On The Delaware
PHILADELPHIA — This week on the Delaware River, Michael Iaconelli has been the prince of tides. Judging by the mass of fans pulling for him at the Bassmaster Elite Series event out of the City of Brotherly Love, he’s also the fishing prince of Philadelphia.
Saturday in the third of four rounds, Iaconelli not only repeated his Friday lead, he also banked 6 pounds, 9 ounces against his nearest challenger by reading and adjusting to the tides.
Iaconelli’s leading three-day total was 37-0. Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., and Scott Rook of Little Rock, Ark. — both “river rats” who have tapped into their knowledge of current and river habitat to attack the Delaware — are Iaconelli’s lurking challengers.
Lowen took second place Saturday with 30-7. Rook had 29-10.
Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., popped up from 17th place into fourth with a strong 10-11 catch on Saturday, bringing him to 28-3. Likewise for Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla.: He posted 9-0, enough to pull up from ninth place to round out the Top 5 at 28-1.
First-day leader Boyd Duckett dropped to 12th place after producing 1-12 Saturday. With the field pared to the Top 12 for Sunday’s last round, the pro from Guntersville, Ala., was the last man inside the cutline at 25-1.
Born in Philadelphia, and now living in Pittsgrove, N.J., Iaconelli’s first hurdle of Saturday’s competition was making the right call to deal with the morning’s blowout tide — one significantly lower than normal low tide, thanks to the ongoing so-called “super moon.”
“I saw more stuff exposed than I’ve seen in days,” he said. “I couldn’t even get to the area I wanted to get to. The water was a foot, foot and a half lower than normal at low tide.”
It took him about 30 minutes to figure out how to adjust, Iaconelli said.
“Thirty minutes here is a long time,” he said. “But I made a change, (based on) my history here of knowing what to do at blowout tides. Then I got into a morning flurry between 7:30 and 8:30.”
The flurry was seven keeper largemouth bass. He said he knew when to abandon his spot as the tide rose and muddied the water. He then ran north to a known community hole.
“But I never had a bite,” he said.
Knowing he needed to get back to a hot spot at exactly the right time, he headed south. Again, he was spot-on in his timing, and boated several more keepers.
Over the eight hours of competition, he said he landed 11 keeper bites, culling several times to build his 12-13 five-bass limit.
Fishing the Delaware River since he was kid, Iaconelli said he’s learned that adjustments are always necessary on the Delaware, and that his knowledge of the Delaware has been key to his success.
“I feel when I pull up to an area, I feel like I know what it needs to have as far as being a low tide, a midtide or a high tide spot, and what the current is doing,” said Iaconelli, the only angler in competition history to have claimed three significant titles of the sport: B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (1999), Bassmaster Classic (2003) and Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2006). Including the Classic, Iaconelli has had seven Bassmaster wins in his pro career.
Lowen also had to change his game with the tide.
“I’ve been catching most of my fish on the incoming tide. Today I didn’t get it, so I had to relearn the area on the outgoing tide,” he said.
Lowen’s adjustments were subtle. He stuck to the same area that’s produced limits for him three days running, keying on wood cover.
“I had to learn where the ‘new’ spot was on those same pieces of wood,” he said.
Lowen got seven keeper bites, and he capitalized on all but one for a Saturday catch of 8-10.
Rook, like Lowen, has produced three limits of largemouth all three days of the competition. He is working a large creek, running three to four miles of it.
Even at 7-6 behind Iaconelli, Rook wasn’t discouraged.
“Seven or eight pounds may look insurmountable, but actually it’s not,” said Rook, who brought in 8-14 Saturday. “He can have a bad day. I know that quality fish are in the river; I just haven’t got to them yet. Maybe tomorrow.”
The dozen finalists will compete Sunday for a first prize of $100,000 and an instant qualification for the 2015 world championship, the Bassmaster Classic.
Elite pros also are competing for points on the Delaware River — the other path into the Classic and the only road to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown.
After three days on the Delaware, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., had uprooted the points leader over six consecutive events on the 2014 Elite trail, Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. Davis fell to seventh place. Aaron Martens, the 2013 AOY, became Hackney’s strongest challenger, only one tick behind. (Points are awarded only after the conclusion of an event.)
As the Delaware River event leader, Iaconelli has improved his points standings considerably. That, he said, gives him a shot at a Classic berth.
“I’d love to win here,” Iaconelli said, “but my goal coming into this event was a Top 20. A Top 20 here, a Top 20 at Cayuga, I make the Classic.”
Cayuga Lake in New York, set for Aug. 21-24 is the site of the final full-field event of the season.
The largest bass of the day was a 4-6 by Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., who made it into the finals at seventh place. Reese became the top contender for the event’s Carhartt Big Bass award of up to $1,500.
Duckett’s first-day weight of 16-14 continued to lead the Berkley Heavyweight competition for a bonus prize of $500.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett appeared at the event on Saturday to welcome the Bassmaster Elite Series to Philadelphia, a first-time stop for the tour.
“Bassmaster could be anywhere, but they chose the city of Philadelphia,” Corbett said.
The 12 anglers who qualified for Championship Sunday will begin the final round at 6:15 a.m. They’ll take off from the Frankford Arsenal Boat Launch (5701 Tacony St.), then weigh-in at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (211 S. Columbus Blvd.) beginning at 3:15 p.m.
Fans are invited to watch the takeoff and weigh-in. There’s no admission charge to attend.
Other free Bassmaster activities on Sunday at Penn’s Landing include boat rides in new Nitro, Triton and Skeeter rigs powered by Mercury and Yamaha engines. Fans can sign up for the demo rides at the Nitro, Triton and Yamaha booths.
The Bassmaster Elite Expo, which features local exhibits as well as those of Elite Series sponsors, will open Sunday at noon.
The hosts of the event are Philadelphia Sports Congress, Visit Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers & Outdoors Program. The local media partners are 6ABC TV and 92.5 XTU radio.
The Delaware River event will be featured on The Bassmasters on ESPN2 on Aug. 24 and 31 from 8 to 9 a.m. ET.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
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, 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 Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.
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Philadelphia’s Own ‘Ike’ Catches Delaware River Lead
PHILADELPHIA — The crowd began to cheer and chant “Ike, Ike, Ike” even before Philadelphia-born Michael Iaconelli, now also a New Jersey fishing hero, took the stage Friday for the second weigh-in of the Bassmaster Elite on the Delaware River.
It was as if the boisterous Ike fans felt their voices could pull their hometown guy up from 21st place, almost 8 pounds behind first-day leader Boyd Duckett after the initial round Thursday.
But “Ike,” as it turned out, was able to get up all by himself. He turned in 15-1, the biggest sack of bass to meet the scales Friday, and deftly slipped the lead away from Duckett, albeit by only 14 ounces.
Duckett gave Iaconelli’s rocket ride from 21st place a boost by posting 6-7, relegating Duckett to second place. Iaconelli had 24-3 on the board to Duckett’s 23-5.
But Duckett, who’s from Guntersville, Ala., and Iaconelli, now living in Pittsgrove, N.J., have plenty of competition left before either can claim the Elite event’s first prize of $100,000 and an instant 2015 Bassmaster Classic qualification.
Morizo Shimizu of Osaka, Japan, is one prime threat. He produced 10-4 for a two-day total of 22-6. That put him in third place and 1 pound, 13 ounces behind Iaconelli.
And 2-6 behind Iaconelli was Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind. His two-day weight hit 21-13, the result of a rarity so far in the competition: close weights (11-1 and 10-12) over two days of tackling the tough Delaware River system. Lowen climbed from seventh place into fourth place. He had the day’s largest bass, a 4-0 largemouth.
Fifth place was occupied by John Crews of Salem, Va., at 21-11, just 2 ounces behind Lowen.
The field of 106 Elite Series pros was cut to 50 for Saturday’s third round. Only the Top 12 after Saturday will advance to Championship Sunday.
Iaconelli, whose family crossed the Delaware to live in New Jersey when he was 6 years old, cut his fishing teeth on the river. Such a history almost hurt him this week when he chose to make a long run north on Thursday to reach a known and productive community hole.
The payback on the time spent up north was only one bass. More crucial, he almost missed the windows that open to anglers as the tide changes.
“It threw me off 20 to 30 to 40 minutes all day. I felt like I was chasing the tide,” he said.
His correction for Friday’s round was perfect.
“Today, I went right to where I thought was the best spot on that tide, and I caught them,” Iaconelli said. “I knew, as soon as I saw the water coming back up, it was over, and I left. I didn’t get married to it.”
He then ran to another spot, one he knew would produce as the water level rose.
“I stopped, and I caught one. And that’s what happened all day,” he said, explaining how he moved from place to place as the tide and current suggested to him the next best bet, and then the next.
He hooked into 15 keeper largemouth bass within three windows opened by those tidal conditions, he said. One bass he lost before he could get it in the boat. But the other 14 bass were culled to five bass at 15-1, including a 3-12, his largest of Friday.
“With the slow start yesterday, there was a little bit of anxiousness going out today,” Iaconelli said. “I knew today was an important day, (that I needed to) get back on track.”
And his reaction to the crowd of Philly and Jersey supporters?
“That’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “A good feeling.”
Iaconelli is not only a hometown favorite in the Delaware River tournament, he also has an enviable career record. He stands as the only angler in competition history to have won the trifecta of the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (1999), Bassmaster Classic (2003) and Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (2006). Counting the Classic, he has seven Bassmaster tournament wins on his pro resume.
Duckett, the 2007 Classic champ, came back to the dock Friday with three bass, two shy of his limit.
“I lost two fish,” he said. “I actually had three quality, big-fish bites on the same deal I was doing yesterday.”
With only one good-sized bass in the box, Duckett abandoned his “deal” — a big-bass pattern — as the clock ticked.
“With about an hour and a half left, I scrambled up two dinks to go with it (his sole bass),” he said.
Shimizu, who weighed a five-bass limit of 10-4, said he camped in one area and waited for tidal conditions to be just right. He had faith that the bass lived there, he said. It was the same area that worked for him the first day, but the bass came from different spots.
“I’m figuring out the tides,” he said through a translator.
Iaconelli won the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for heading up the field on Day 2.
Brandon Card’s 4-3 of Day 1 held on as the top contender for the event’s Carhartt Big Bass award of up to $1,500.
Duckett’s first-day weight of 16-14 continued to lead the Berkley Heavyweight competition, which carries an award of $500.
The 50 pros who survived Friday’s cut will begin the semifinal round at 6:15 a.m. Saturday. They’ll take off from the Frankford Arsenal Boat Launch (5701 Tacony St.), then weigh-in at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (211 S. Columbus Blvd.) beginning at 3:15 p.m.
Fans are invited to watch the takeoff and weigh-ins. There’s no admission charge to attend.
Other free Bassmaster activities on Saturday and Sunday at Penn’s Landing include boat rides in new Nitro, Triton and Skeeter rigs powered by Mercury and Yamaha engines. Fans can sign up for the demo rides at the Nitro, Triton and Yamaha booths.
The Bassmaster Elite Expo, which features local exhibits as well as those of Elite Series sponsors, will open Saturday at noon, and again at noon on Sunday. Free Expo activities include the screening of the newest Costa GeoBASS film preceding the Saturday weigh-in.
Fans can stay after the Saturday weigh-in for a free RaeLynn and Chase Bryant concert presented by 92.5 XTU radio.
The hosts of the event are Philadelphia Sports Congress, Visit Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers & Outdoors Program. The local media partners are 6ABC TV and 92.5 XTU.
The Delaware River event will be featured on The Bassmasters on ESPN2 on Aug. 24 and 31 from 8 to 9 a.m. ET.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
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, 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 Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.
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McClelland Leaves Delaware River on a Positive Note
PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 8) — The Bassmaster Elite Series tournament at the Delaware River proved to be a challenge for all anglers, including Mike McClelland.
While the Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler was only able to bring in one fish at 1 pound, 3 ounces the first day, he still had reason to be positive. Since the Bassmaster Elite Series started in 2006, McClelland is the only pro angler to have never zeroed in at weigh-in, a feat that proved very difficult this weekend for most.
“The biggest thing I can say about yesterday is I probably overthought the tides a little bit more than I should have,” McClelland said. “There were only a few areas that I felt comfortable getting a few bites in, and I rushed through them trying to make sure I fished every place I wanted to fish at the right tide. I basically tried to follow the tide. I fished way up river first thing when the tide was going out and got low. Once it got high up on that end, I ran as far south as I could run to get to where it started to fall out again.
“It was just a poor decision on my part. I really feel like if I would have stayed in the areas where I knew I had gotten a few bites and fished them throughout that low-tide period, I probably would have caught them a little better.”
With a new strategy in mind for Day 2, McClelland was able to rebound from his first day on the Delaware River to bring in a bag of four fish weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces. With an overall weight for the weekend of 7 pounds, 10 ounces, McClelland jumped tremendously up the Bassmaster leaderboard into the 63rd spot but it wasn’t quite enough to make the final cut.
“Today the strategy was to fish as many places between here and where I thought I could get bites to allow the tide to get right,” McClelland said. “Fortunately, I timed it just about as good as I could have possibly timed it. When I got to this one little stretch where I had three bites in practice, the first throw I made I had a bite and missed it. It was the first bite I had. Then within a 20-minute period I had four more bites within about a 60- to 75-yard stretch.
“Even now I think about what I did. I thought about turning around a couple times and going back through the area. There was still a lot of the same type of stuff in front of me and I thought, ‘Man, I’m just going to keep covering water.’ Hindsight is always 20/20, but I really feel like if I had gone back through that area and had spent 20 to 30 minutes while the tide was right I probably would have gotten that fifth bite today.”
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| Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler Mike McClelland jumped up the leaderboard on Friday with an overall weight of 7 pounds, 10 ounces. |