Reigning BASS Angler of the Year Mike Iaconelli's had a rough season so far. He came out sprinting with a 2nd at the Amistad Bassmaster Elite Series, but failed to make the Top 50 cut in the next four regular-season events. He didn't send up any fireworks last week at Smith Mt. Lake, but he did improve from 62nd after day 1, to 24th, to his eventual finish at 18th.
That moved him up from 39th to 30th in the Elite Series points, but his World Ranking has been steadily falling, and he's now down to 7th (remember that he started the season ranked 2nd in the world).
About Smith Mt., he said: "I had a good event. It's nice (to have) multiple-day events, because you have a chance to rebound.
"It's tough when you're so competitive," he added, in reference to his season so far. "I'm tough on myself. I want to excel. It's been a tough year for me, but I feel like I'm back on the right track."
> His next event is the Grand Lake Elite Series. He finished 10th there last year.
