Pitts Grove, New Jersey – It’s challenging to imagine anyone fishing professionally for bass fishing more intensely than Mike Iaconelli.
“Ike,” as he is called, is known for his lavish celebrations where he swims with a trophy bass, and this intensity is reflected in his daily life and busy schedule.
In 2003, the New Jersey pro became a household name when he won the Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans. Since then, he has never looked back. Currently, after a period spent in Major League Fishing, he returns to the Bassmaster Elite Series trail. When he’s not fishing or preparing for competitions, he has gigs, appearances and sponsorship duties at his disposal, not to mention a complete digital site with videos, articles, photos and even a podcast, all centered around his social media accounts and his website website: https://mikeiaconelli.com.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ike, his wife Becky, and the entire family regularly take a hands-on approach to their nonprofit organization, the Ike Foundation (https://theikefoundation.org), whose mission is: “to introduce children from cities and villages to the healthy sport of fishing, instilling in them love and respect for spending time outdoors.”
Even though Ike is a busy man, he found a few minutes to sit down and talk Outdoor news about where he is in his career and the upcoming fishing season.
ON: It looks like you’re very busy in the off-season.
What’s your off-season plan?
Ike: For me it’s not really an off-season, it’s like a transition to other parts of the business. There’s a part where you want to come back to reality a little bit from a family perspective.
From a business perspective, there is a lot going on. This is Bass University, the Ike Foundation – encouraging novel kids to fish, our podcast (Ike Live). He pursues other business activities that are not fishing. Sponsor involvement, appearances, working on novel products, I work a lot on product development for sponsors. I’m doing work now that will be key to product launches in 2023, especially around ICAST. There is a digital side, a content side. In the professional world, probably the most vital thing is (digital) content.
Then the family side. This is our chance to return a little to reality. I have more time at home and can watch the kids play, go on a few trips and spend some time getting back to normal.
ON: Looking ahead, what about the upcoming season and the Bassmaster Classic?
Ike: I fished Bassmaster Elites on a scarce occasion all these years before I decided to make the switch to MLF. I had the opportunity to fish Classica every year. I was lucky enough to be able to do this for 20 years in a row. This year, i.e. ’23, I will not be fishing for classics. I’m coming off a really bad season. Last year I came back to Elites and it was one of those years where it just didn’t work out. But the Classic is an vital event and I will be there.
ON: What made you return to the Bassmaster Elite series?
Ike: I would say it was two or three things. First of all, I am approaching the end of my competitive career. I’m not finishing my fishing career, but competitive fishing. I feel like I’m getting close to the end and it seemed like the right decision to go back to the league where I started. I have nothing against other leagues, they are good leagues and they do good things. But it started not feeling right and I was missing a lot of things because I didn’t finish with BASS. I would say definitely the weigh-ins, the five-fish limit and the fans – basically organizing an event with a tournament. Festival atmosphere, that’s what I missed.
I just couldn’t see myself leaving anywhere other than BASS
ON: How about kayak fishing?
What did you see and where is it going?
Ike: This is substantial. You’re always looking at the windows that open, which allows more people to fish. Kayak fishing has truly opened the window to participation in fishing around the world. Not just bass, but also saltwater and that’s a substantial deal. I like it and I like the fact that it’s built more for the common man, the common person. Kayak fishing, you can be a normal guy and you can do it. I like this aspect. It’s all access.
I started shore fishing and kayaking, canoeing and canoeing got me back into it. It’s more up close and personal with fish. It’s more of a return to basics and why I started fishing in the first place. That’s what I like about it.
ON: Let’s talk about a topic close to your heart: the Ike Foundation. What should people know about this?
Ike: Of all the businesses I have been involved in over the years, this is the one that means the most to Becky and me. It is the most vital. In fact, the mission is to encourage more children to take up fishing. We started to focus more on what that means, on places where kids don’t really have the opportunity to fish. We started looking at places where it’s not part of their childhood, it’s not something they engage in. As a result, these are cities, urban centers and places where fishing is not fashionable. So how do you get these kids into fishing? Honestly, it was a hard and demanding project, but it was the most rewarding. We’ve really seen this thing take off. We now organize events and support groups across the country organize children’s events, encourage children to fish and instruct them on how to run events and excite children. Getting a product for them and now we have scholarships and tournaments for kids.
So that’s it, the evolution of getting novel kids to fish, that’s nice. At the end of the day, it’s a non-profit and it takes a lot of challenging work, but at the end of the year it’s good to say, “maybe we helped a little.” We have some kids fishing that will continue to fish for the rest of their lives.”
