BassFan Q&A (cont.)
Ike Hopes More Fishing Will Fuel Performance

Photo: BassFan Mike Iaconelli plans to fish more next year – from the tour level on down to the Opens and maybe Strens.

BassFan: You've talked many times about fishing the moment, and what a huge role that played in your Angler of the Year (AOY) title. Did you see some of that in Skeet Reese this year?

Iaconelli: Absolutely. And again, that's not just in fishing – it's in all sports. You can sit back and watch other athletes, and the same thing happens during the course of the year.

It's awesome. It's great to watch. As much as I wanted to be there competing, it was great to see that happening. It happened to me before, and it happened to Skeet. I think anybody who's ever won an AOY title – they had to be in that zone. Whether it's Denny (Brauer), Guido (Hibdon), (Rick) Clunn, and some of the guys in the last couple of years – I think the same thing applies. They get into that roll.

Skeet was on the positive side this year, while I was kind of on the negative side. It seemed like failure was breeding failure on my side. But I've been fishing with Skeet for a long time, and I'm happy for him. He deserves it. And I don't know if I could ever say that more about an AOY (winner) than this year.

So where does Kevin VanDam fit into that? He's pretty much on a roll all the time.

If you say that 90% of all athletes are going to have their ups and downs, he's the other 10%, and an abnormality in the sport. I don't think he's ever had a bad year.

What are you doing with your off-season? Are you stepping away a little bit, or are you out there getting some reps?

Actually, I'm approaching this off-season a little differently than last year. Last year, obviously with winning AOY, I got to do very little fishing between the end of the season and the (Bassmaster) Classic.

This year, I'm really doing the reverse. I'm trying to stay a lot more active in fishing. Traditionally, I try to book 20-plus shows a year in January and February. This year, I'm backing off the show schedule and cherry-picking some events. I'll be fishing the (Bassmaster) Southern Opens, some FLW Series, and maybe even cherry-picking some Stren events. And I'm fishing the PAA and Toyota event at Lake Fork.

I'm changing gears. I want to fish more.

Your schedule next year would have shrunk, with three fewer BASS events due to the cancellation of the Majors. Do you hope that fishing more will help your performance?

I think one big positive, coming off this bad year, is it opened my eyes a little bit. When you fish, you can kind of lose track of why you do it, then you remember. This year, with all the failure, it gets you mentally down a little bit.

What I took away is now I can look back at the positive things, and that's the fishing itself.

Back in 2003, I was getting ready to quit the sport, and I won the Classic. That made me remember. And last year, all that bad stuff happened at the Classic (His day-1 weight was DQd.–Ed.), then I rebounded (and won AOY).

That's why I'm passionate about this sport. It's the fishing. I get to do every day what I loved as a kid. It's my hobby. I fish. This year helped me remember that, and I can't forget about it.

If I have a bad event, and a long 4-day drive home, at the end of the day, I got to fish a little bit. So I'll really try to get back to more of the fishing this year.

And there should be some good fishing next year. What do you think of the Elite Series schedule?

I think it's great. I love it. I love the BASS schedule. And again, I'm going to be able to cherry-pick some events that are mixed in with the schedule this year.

I also like the fact that the BASS season ends a little earlier this year. I'm excited, stoked about the whole schedule.

About the Majors cancellation and new boat policy. You were one angler who tended to do real well in those smaller fields. What's your opinion of the decision?

I think in the grand scheme of things, everything kind of happens for a reason. I thought the Majors were great, and were a direction for the sport I think we'll eventually see again.

At the same time, a derby's a derby, and a tournament's a tournament. I love to fish, and I'm getting back now to why I do this – back to my passion. So the name of a tournament, or field size, doesn't bother me. I'm fishing tournaments back home on the Delaware River right now.

Photo: BassFan Ike noted that The Game is no longer a functional company, but he does plenty of branding and licensing on his own.

And our value as pros basically comes two ways. It comes in the days and free days we give our sponsors, to help them sell and promote. It also comes through logo options. When you open up that huge window that was closed before, it gives us back a lot of that logo value. It's awesome that BASS did that for us.

After the Classic, you lost your Ranger deal, then signed with Bass Cat. During that time, and immediately afterward, a lot of people wondered how you'd be accepted by the Bass Cat owners – what's called the 'Bass Cat Family.' How have things gone over in the Bass Cat camp?

It's been awesome. They've been a great company to work with so far. I think anytime there's a transition in yourself and your career, there's (some uncertainty). I was with a certain boat company for my entire career. When the change happened and I left, it was like going to a new job. It was almost like I was taking a new job position – a little of that feeling.

I have to tell you, and I'm not even talking about the boat, because the boat's amazing, but outside of that, it's one of the best experiences I've ever had.

It was last year that Bass Cat had its owners tournament. And I got to go out for that. That was awesome. It was in a gymnasium, in a little old high school, and it was packed with Bass Cat owners from all over the country.

Rick (Pierce) let me get up, and spend some minutes on the mic, and to feel that welcome was great. I have to tell you, never in the bass industry have I worked with better people. It's not like calling your boss when you need something. It's like calling your friends. That's an honest description.

And I feel like, in the end, I'm with a company I was meant to be with. And I believe I'll be in a Bass Cat for the rest of my life.

And in a Toyota for the rest of your life?

I think so. That's the same thing, in that the relationship's been great. But remember this (Team Toyota deal) goes back to before Toyota even got contractually involved with BASS. This is going all the way back to the E50s – the one at Wissota (in 2005).

I had a guy come up to me at that event. I thought he was just a fan. It seemed like every night he'd come up to me and chat about the sport. And we'd talk about the vehicle for a little bit. Way back then I had no idea, but he was a guy from Toyota. He was coming out and prospecting – helping Toyota in prepping for the sport.

At the Pittsburg Classic, I wore a Toyota cap. It was off-the-cuff. They didn't even sponsor me. But it's turned into a great relationship for me.

I think the biggest thing about Toyota is they have a serious commitment to the sport of fishing. We've seen other companies come into fishing for other reasons – maybe more shelf space, or other things. But Toyota really has a connection to the sport. They've got a great new truck that's a great fit, but more than that, they're showing a commitment to the sport, and growing the sport.

Almost 2 years ago, you announced that you and several other pros had formed a company to license and promote your individual brands. It was called The Game. What ever happened? Is that still going?

The biggest issue about that was, we had four or five guys who were all real smart, intelligent guys who had great platforms behind them and personalities. We all had similar ideas, and had some different ideas, but the thing was, at the end of the day, we were still tournament fishermen.

The biggest reason that fell apart was it's too hard to manage something like that, because we still had to fish. So it never materialized. But I will tell you, everybody's kind of gone off on their own and been successful in branding and licensing and merchandising products.

And that's, for me, still a really big part of what I'm doing in fishing. And that's going to grow – everything from clothing with the Ike brand and Bass Hole, which is a line of clothing I'm selling on MikeIaconelli.com, to a whole line of DVD stuff that I'm working on now that should be out by late summer. And I'm licensing some rods and reels – a Mike Iaconelli signature series with Daiwa.

All that stuff for me is materializing, and to be honest, that's never really been done before in fishing, or it's never been done the right way. So I'm still real excited.

To finish – your thoughts on the upcoming Classic. Have you scouted Hartwell yet, and is this one you can win?

The thing about the Classic that I've figured out over the last 3 or 4 years of fishing it is, I don't think you can think too much about it. You almost have to enter into the tournament with more of an open mind than trying to have it figured out before you get there.

Once I found out I'd made the Classic, I did stop there right on the way home (from Florida). I stayed there for 3 or 4 days – just driving around and just getting a feel for the lake. I think it's important to get the feel, but at the same time, when you get there, you have to fish the moment.

I like my chances. And I like the fact that (Hartwell's) the kind of lake where you can catch them power-fishing, which I love to do, or if it gets tough or real cold, then you can catch them finessing.

So I feel no matter what the weather does, it's a tournament where I can do well. So I'm excited.

– End of part 2 (of 2) –