It's no surprise that the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champ and 2006 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year was voted into Toyota Trucks All-Star Week. Few anglers have a better relationship with their fans than Michael Iaconelli. He consistently leads the league in waiting in the parking lot until the last autograph has been signed and the last hand shaken.
We know he's popular. He's also a serious wake-up call for the other 11 anglers in All-Star Week because he can absolutely win, as he's proven in previous postseason competitions on Lake Jordan and the Alabama River.
Ike's got game, whether he needs finesse to find quality spots on Jordan or power to pluck good largemouths from the river. Expect him to be a big factor and glide easily into the quarterfinals. Once there, his talents are is more than solid enough to win it all.
Iaconelli is one of just four anglers to earn more than a million dollars with B.A.S.S., weigh in more than 100 pounds in a tournament and win both a Classic and AOY (the others are Mark Davis, Skeet Reese and Kevin VanDam).
His 12-13 largemouth from Lake Amistad in 2009 was one of the five biggest ever brought to the scales in a B.A.S.S. event. For 46 competition days over nearly two full seasons, Iaconelli brought a limit to the scales — the third longest limit streak in B.A.S.S. history. His career bassing average of 4.8308 is the fourth best in Elite history.
And since part of the Alabama River runs through the city of Montgomery, Ike should be right at home fishing with the skyline as the background. After all, that's the premise for his popular fishing television program, City Limits.
| Name: | Michael Iaconelli |
| Nicknames: | Ike |
| Hometown: | Pittsgrove, N.J. |
| Age: | 39 |
| 2011 AOY rank: | 18th (voted in by fans) |
| B.A.S.S. events: | 160 |
| B.A.S.S. earnings: | $1,810,688.00 |
| B.A.S.S. wins: | 6 |
| Classic appearances: | 12 |
| Classic wins | 1 (2003) |
| AOY titles: | 1 (2006) |
| Strengths: | Power fishing; finesse fishing; fan favorite |
| Weaknesses: | No indoor voice |