A quick chat with Bassmaster Elite Series angler Mike Iaconelli

Pitts Grove, N.J. — It’s hard to imagine anyone in professional bass fishing being more intense than Mike Iaconelli.

“Ike” as they call him, is known for his all-out celebrations when he boats a trophy bass, an intensity that boils over into his everyday life and hectic 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. These days, after a stint with Major League Fishing, he’s back on the Bassmaster Elite Series trail. When he’s not fishing or preparing for a tournament, there’s shows, appearances and sponsor duties to follow-up on, not to mention a complete digital outlet that includes videos, articles, photos and even a podcast, all centered around social media accounts and his website: https://mikeiaconelli.com.

If that’s not enough, Ike and his wife, Becky, and their entire family regularly maintain a hands-on approach to their non-profit organization, the Ike Foundation (https://theikefoundation.org), which has a mission statement that reads: “to introduce urban and rural children to the wholesome sport of fishing while instilling in them a love and respect for the outdoors.”

As busy a man as Ike is, he took a few minutes to sit down and talk with Outdoor News about where he’s at in his career and the up-coming fishing season.

ON: You seem to keep pretty busy during the off-season.

What’s you’re off-season plan?

Ike: For me, it’s not really an off-season, it’s like a flipping of the switch to other parts of the business. There is that part in there where you want to return to reality a little bit from a family perspective.

From the business standpoint, there’s a lot going on. It’s Bass University, the Ike Foundation – getting new kids fishing, our podcast (Ike Live). It’s continuing the other business stuff that is not fishing. Sponsor commitments, appearances, working on new products, I do a lot product development for sponsors. I’m doing the work now that will be critical in product launches in 2023, particularly around ICAST. There’s the digital side, the content side. In the professional world, probably the most important thing out there is (digital) content.

Then the family side. It is our chance to return to reality a bit. There’s more home time and I get to see the kid’s soccer games, taking a few trips, spending some time returning to normal.

ON: Looking ahead, what about the upcoming season, and the Bassmaster Classic?

Ike: I was in a rare position fishing the Bassmaster Elites for all those years before I made the move the MLF. I was in a position to fish the Classic every year. I was lucky enough to do it for 20 straight years. This year, coming up in ‘23, I’m not fishing the Classic. I’m coming off a really poor season. Last year was my return to the Elites and it was one of those years where it just didn’t click. But the Classic is an important event and I’ll be there.

ON: What prompted your return to the Bassmaster Elite Series?

Ike: I’d say it was two or three things. One is that I’m nearing the end of the my competitive career. I’m not ending my fishing career, but competitive fishing. I feel like I’m toward the end of it and it felt like the right thing to do, to go back to the league I got my start with. There’s nothing against the other leagues, they’re good leagues and they’re doing good things. But for me it started to not feel right and there were a lot of things I missed about not being over at B.A.S.S. I would say the weigh-ins for sure, the fivefish limit, and the fans – actually having an event in conjunction with the tournament. The festival atmosphere, I missed that.

I just couldn’t see myself stepping away any other place except B.A.S.S.

ON: How about kayak fishing?

What have you seen and where do you see it going?

Ike: That’s big. You always look at windows that open that are ways to get more people fishing. Kayak fishing has really opened the window to fishing participation across the board. Not just bass, but saltwater and that’s a big thing. I like it and I like the fact that it is built more for the common man, the regular person. Kayak fishing, you can be regular dude and you can engage in it. I like that aspect. It’s all access.

I started out shore fishing, and in canoes, johnboats, and kayak fishing has brought me back to that. It’s more up-close and personal with the fish. It’s more back to the basics and why I started fishing in the first place. I love that about it.

ON: Let’s talk about a subject near and dear to your heart: The Ike Foundation. What should people know about it?

Ike: Of all the businesses I’ve been involved in over the years, this one means the most to Becky and I. It’s the most important. At it’s core, the mission is to get more kids fishing. We’ve started to focus more on what that means, on places where kids don’t really get to fish. We’ve started to look at places where it’s not part of their childhood, it’s not something they get into. That ends up being cities, urban centers and places where fishing isn’t a hot thing. So how do we get those kids to experience fishing? It’s honestly been a challenging, hard, project but it’s the most rewarding. We’ve really seen this thing grow. Now we’re running events, and we’re helping groups across the country run kids events, get kids fishing and instruct them on how to run events and get kids excited. And getting them product, and now we’ve got scholarships and a tournament circuit for kids.

So all of these things, the evolution of getting new kids fishing, man it feels good. At the end of the day it’s a non-profit and it’s a lot of hard work but at the end of the year it feels good to say, “maybe we helped a little bit. We got some kids fishing and they’ll hold onto it for a lifetime.”