Mike Iaconelli is a scrapper, a street-smart Jersey boy with a fiercely competitive streak who knows that the prize is sweeter when you’ve taken the hard road to claim it. After fishing B.A.S.S. events since 1992, Ike left the Elite Series in 2019 to join a start-up tournament organization. But now he’s back with B.A.S.S. and get this: Although he was eligible to requalify for the Elites by cruising in with a Legends exemption, Ike took the rocky road and clawed his way to Elite eligibility via the super-tough Northern Opens. You’ve got to love a guy who’s that passionate about competitive bass fishing! Now let’s see if Iaconelli can score some bass tonnage on Lake N, a remote reservoir he’s never set eyes on before. If you’ve struggled with putting a postspawn pattern together, we bet you can relate to what follows.
Date: May 26, 2022
Venue: Lake N, a small reservoir
Water: 74 degrees, stained
Weather: Cloudy with thunderstorms early, then clearing and windy, high of 80 degrees
Pro: Mike Iaconelli, 49, Pittsgrove, N. J. “Ike” is the only Bassmaster pro to have won at every adult tournament level, including a B.A.S.S. Nation championship (1999), the Bassmaster Classic (2003) and even a Kayak Series tournament (2021), as well as earning an Angler of the Year title (2006). He and his wife Becky operate The Ike Foundation, a nonprofit geared toward getting kids involved in the outdoors.
Boat: Bass Cat Cougar FTD with 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard, Lowrance trolling motor and electronics and twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors
◗ 6:51 a.m. It’s 72 degrees and cloudy with thunderstorms in the area as we arrive at Lake N’s launch ramp. Ike prepares an arsenal of his signature Abu Garcia Ike Series rods and reels for battle. “The bass here are probably postspawn, meaning the males could be up shallow guarding fry while the bigger females have moved out to the first break [depth change]. Three proven postspawn approaches I’ll try are power fishing with shallow- and medium-diving crankbaits, topwater and flipping docks and isolated cover. If those fail, I’ve got finesse baits rigged on spinning tackle. My No. 1 goal is to catch a limit. I’ve had a real tough comeback season so far on the Elites, and I need some love from these fish!”
7 HOURS LEFT
◗ 7:10 a.m. We launch the Bass Cat. Ike checks the water: It’s 74 degrees and stained. He immediately lowers his trolling motor and casts a green gizzard shad Rapala DT6 crankbait to a sloping bank. “Having never been here before, I need to cover as much water as possible until I get some feedback from the bass, and crankbaits handle that job well.”
◗ 7:16 a.m. Ike dredges the DT6 across a shallow point and bags a nonkeeper largemouth. “Yo, check it out! This lake really does have bass in it!”
◗ 7:25 a.m. Ike flips a half-ounce green pumpkin Missile Baits jig with a matching Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw trailer to a series of docks. “Everybody thinks a jig mimics a craw, but with the right trailer and color it’ll also mimic a bluegill, which is a key postspawn bass forage.”
◗ 7:28 a.m. Bluegill are pecking the jig as Ike continues flipping docks.
◗ 7:34 a.m. Ike pitches the jig under a moored pontoon boat. “Pontoons are awesome overhead structures! I’ve caught some whales under them.”
◗ 7:43 a.m. Ike moves into a nearby tributary arm and flips another dock. “The bluegill connection can be critical during postspawn. They go on bed just after bass leave their nests, and big largemouth like to munch them before heading out to deep water.”
◗ 7:49 a.m. Ike moves to a chunk rock bank and cranks a white 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer bladed jig with a white Berkley PowerBait PowerStinger trailer.
◗ 7:53 a.m. It’s raining as Ike pauses to rig a green pumpkin Berkley PowerBait The General finesse worm wacky-style on a spinning outfit “to use as a fallback lure if bass short-strike my jig.”
◗ 8 a.m. Ike cranks a green gizzard shad Rapala OG Slim flat-sided crankbait around a dock.
6 HOURS LEFT
◗ 8:10 a.m. Ike dredges a Caribbean shad Rapala DT10 crankbait across a brushy point.
◗ 8:12 a.m. He immediately switches to a deeper-running Rapala DT14, same color. “When cranking, I want the lure to occasionally hit bottom because that’s what triggers a reaction strike.”
◗ 8:16 a.m. Ike moves into a shallow cove and tries a white 3/8-ounce Molix buzzbait with a matching Berkley toad trailer replacing the skirt.
◗ 8:19 a.m. Back to flipping the jig around docks.
◗ 8:22 a.m. It’s stopped raining as Ike moves quickly around the cove, keying on docks while alternating between the buzzbait and jig.
◗ 8:27 a.m. He cranks the flat-side parallel to a seawall. No takers here.
◗ 8:34 a.m. Ike catches a short bass on the buzzbait.
◗ 8:37 a.m. He flips the jig to a big laydown but hauls water. “It’s tough out here today! My weather app shows these rain squalls clearing out in a little while; that should put these fish tighter to cover.”
◗ 8:41 a.m. A bass swirls on the buzzer but doesn’t strike it. Ike drops his Power-Poles and casts The General worm to the fish without success. “This weather has them in a real funk.”
◗ 8:46 a.m. He cranks the flat-side around a gravel boat ramp. “I’m just not feeling it down here. I’m going to run up the lake.”
◗ 8:51 a.m. Ike races uplake to a shallow feeder creek where he tries the bladed jig. The water here is dirty and his trolling motor is kicking up mud. “Sometimes you need a complete ‘change of place’ to get your confidence back. Muddy water doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not cold.”
◗ 9 a.m. Ike is moving out of the feeder creek at a rapid pace while alternating among the JackHammer, jig and buzzer.
5 HOURS LEFT
◗ 9:10 a.m. Iaconelli rigs another The General worm on a quarter-ounce shaky head and pitches it around a dock.
◗ 9:15 a.m. Ike makes a short hop to a main-lake point where he cranks the DT8.
◗ 9:19 a.m. The point transitions to a steep channel bank, where Ike tries the shaky head.
◗ 9:26 a.m. Ike attacks a long stretch of bank littered with laydowns with the jig, shaky head and buzzer.
◗ 9:31 a.m. The skies are slowly clearing as Ike roots the flat crankbait around laydowns. “Hopefully, the bite will improve once the sun comes out.”
◗ 9:34 a.m. Ike pulls another spinning rod from storage and rigs it with a 1/8-ounce VMC Ike Approved wacky jighead. “I rig this lightweight jighead wacky-style and it sinks the finesse worm [another Berkley The General] a little quicker.”
◗ 9:40 a.m. Ike cranks a submerged rockpile with the DT8.
◗ 9:47 a.m. Ike has decided it’s time to make a major adjustment. “The shallow approach hasn’t panned out, so I’m going to check out some offshore spots where hopefully some big bass have set up housekeeping.” He pulls several more rods from storage. “I’ll try deeper lures like Texas-rigged worms, football jigs and big crankbaits. I much prefer fishing shallow, but with the skies clearing, this might be the best approach.”
◗ 9:53 a.m. Iaconelli idles slowly around the upper end of the lake, marking the waypoints of ledges, submerged rocks and logs, ditches and other high-opportunity structures on his electronics.
4 HOURS LEFT
◗ 10:10 a.m. Still idling around looking for offshore gold. “To me this is about as exciting as watching paint dry, but my shallow plan just wasn’t working. I’ve seen a few bottom-oriented fish and some scattered shad schools, but not the big masses of bait and schooled-up bass that are more typical of midsummer.”
◗ 10:16 a.m. Ike finally drops his trolling motor and casts a Rapala DT14 crankbait in the disco shad pattern to a main-lake point.
◗ 10:24 a.m. Ike switches to the DT10 on the point. “I marked some suspended fish on my forward-shooting sonar and the 14 was running below them, which is why I switched to the 10.” He’s cranking with a 6.6:1 reel. “I don’t like those super-fast reels for cranking. They don’t have sufficient winching power to move a big fish out of deep cover on a long length of line.”
◗ 10:27 a.m. Iaconelli hangs a big bass on the DT14! It surges off the point, and as he works it closer to the boat, it jumps and throws the lure! “Crap, that fish was at least 5 pounds! This is how my entire year has been going; I can’t seem to do anything right. You’re supposed to shake it off and keep grinding away, but I’ve been on a bad streak all year and it’s discouraging.”
◗ 10:30 a.m. Back to cranking the point. Iaconelli is upset, but I reluctantly ask him for his take on the day so far. “Are you kidding? It sucks! Losing that fish sums up my entire 2022 season. I’m starting to think I never want to fish again in my entire life! I keep hoping for a break where I can start getting my [stuff] back together, but so far it hasn’t happened. I did finally get a big bite, however, so I’ll keep probing this offshore stuff for a while.”
◗ 10:39 a.m. Ike catches a tiny yellow bass on the DT10. “I saw about 20 of these little guys follow my lure to the boat. They may be the suspended fish I’ve been seeing on my sonar.”
◗ 10:44 a.m. Ike breaks off his DT14 in a deep brushpile. He crawls a brown and purple 3/4-ounce Missile Baits Ike’s Head Banger football jig with a green pumpkin Chigger Craw trailer through the cover.
◗ 10:50 a.m. The wind is blowing 20 mph out of the south as Ike alternately cranks and drags the point.
3 HOURS LEFT
◗ 11:10 a.m. Iaconelli is struggling to muster up enough patience to continue his offshore explorations. “This kind of fishing is so not me, but you got to roll with the conditions you’re dealt.”
◗ 11:16 a.m. Ike runs to a main-lake clay point with scattered submerged brush and cranks the DT14. His second cast here hooks him up with another big fish! “This is a friggin’ giant!” he shouts as the fish surges off the point into deep water. He works it closer, then suddenly the bass rolls on top and comes unbuttoned! Iaconelli angrily slams his rod against the boat’s deck and then sits silently, absorbing the sting of losing the lunker.
◗ 11:17 a.m. Ike is clearly rattled after losing the second big bass he’s hooked today. “I’m stuck in a bad cycle this year and I feel like it’s never going to end! This has probably been the worst run of my tournament career, and frankly, it’s mind-numbing. I’m not doing anything different than I’ve done for 30 years of successful competition, but nothing has been going right. It’s a stretch where I can’t seem to get anything positive going, and it hurts. I should have two big fish in the boat and here it’s almost noon and I’ve got nothing!”
◗ 11:25 a.m. Ike has blown off enough steam to power a locomotive, but he’s back cranking the clay point. He hangs the DT14 in deep brush, breaks off and reties.
◗ 11:48 a.m. Ike has patiently fished all around the clay point without sticking another fish. He moves into a cove adjacent to the point and cranks scattered wood cover. The sky has totally cleared and the wind is howling. “It’s like a completely different day from when we started.”
◗ 11:56 a.m. Ike moves to a main-lake boathouse and tries the football jig.
2 HOURS LEFT
◗ 12:10 p.m. Ike runs halfway down the lake to a long point with scattered rocks and cranks the DT10. No love here.
◗ 12:17 p.m. Lake N is whitecapping as Ike drags the football jig across the point.
◗ 12:22 p.m. Ike tries a 6-inch green pumpkin/chartreuse Berkley PowerBait Power Lizard on a Carolina rig on the point. Nada. “When they won’t hit a lizard, they really aren’t biting!”
◗ 12:27 p.m. Ike moves to another main-lake point and cranks the DT10 and 14.
◗ 12:38 p.m. He tries a 10-inch plum Berkley PowerBait Power Worm on the point; it’s Texas rigged with a 6/0 hook and 3/8-ounce sinker.
◗ 12:50 p.m. Ike makes three casts to the point with the DT10 then announces, “That’s it, I’m heading back to shallow water!”
◗ 12:56 p.m. Ike has run to the back of a large tributary and is pitching the wacky worm around docks. “Screw all that offshore stuff!”
1 HOUR LEFT
◗ 1:10 p.m. Ike is keying intently on docks, alternating among the bladed jig, wacky worm and half-ounce jig.
◗ 1:12 p.m. He pitches the jig to a dock, detects a tap and swings aboard his first keeper of the day, a 1-pound, 7-ounce largemouth. “Finally! A keeper!”
◗ 1:17 p.m. Ike cranks the flat-side around a big boathouse.
◗ 1:29 p.m. Still pounding docks with the jig and his arsenal of crankbaits.
◗ 1:37 p.m. Ike cranks the DT10 parallel to a seawall as the wind howls.
◗ 1:40 p.m. He blasts downlake to a grassy island, where he cranks the DT10.
◗ 1:48 p.m. Ike casts the DT10 to a shallow point on the island and bags his second keeper, 2 pounds, 2 ounces. “Yes! Has the spell finally been broken?”
◗ 2:10 p.m. Time’s up! Iaconelli has had a tough day on Lake N, losing two big fish and boating two keepers weighing a total of 3 pounds, 9 ounces.
THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVE
“Today sucked big time, which is the way my entire 2022 season has gone so far,” Iaconelli told Bassmaster. “I think the bigger fish were transitioning toward deep water but hadn’t set up yet on their summer structures. Failing to land the two big fish I hooked hurt my weight total and, honestly, freaked me out — it’s like I’ve had a black cloud hanging over me all year. How would I fish this lake tomorrow? Ha! Fortunately, I don’t have to because I’m on my way to my next tournament. I just hope I can turn the corner and start fishing like I’m supposed to.”
WHERE AND WHEN MIKE IACONELLI CAUGHT HIS TWO BIGGEST BASS
1) 1 pound, 7 ounces; 1/2-ounce green pumpkin Missile Baits jig with matching Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw trailer; dock; 1:12 p.m.
2) 2 pounds, 2 ounces; Caribbean shad Rapala DT10 crankbait; point of island; 1:48 p.m.
TOTAL: 3 POUNDS, 9 OUNCES
