GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Mike Iaconelli hardly ever needs extra motivation the night before a tournament. But he had a bad feeling going into Day 1 of the Diet Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville.
Becky Iaconelli saw what had to be done, and she did it – with a swift verbal kick to her husband's ego. After having "an amazing day" and grabbing the lead with a five-bass limit weighing 28 pounds, 2 ounces, Iaconelli tipped his cap to Becky's motivational technique.
"After practice yesterday, I had a quick 10 minutes to get a shower and go to the (angler's) meeting," he said. "I looked at Becky and said, 'I'm worried.' I knew what I'd worked on in practice Monday and Tuesday was going away.
"Her response was, 'Put on your (bleeping) pants and be a man.' She honestly said that."
So the 40-year-old Pittsgrove, N.J., resident did just that. Becky's words jump-started Mike's brain, in a sense. He recognized on Wednesday that his extraordinary Monday practice, when the water surface temperature was around 60 degrees, meant nothing by Wednesday, when he found water temps in the 65- to 67-degree range.
It's spawning time for Lake Guntersville's unparalleled bass population, and the fish that aren't already in shallow spawning areas are moving rapidly to get there.
"That's a huge (temperature) difference," Iaconelli said. "So I kind of knew going out today that those fish I found on the first day of practice were going to go away. I checked two of my best spots. They did indeed go away."
That confirmed what Iaconelli suspected would happen. And he spent considerable time after the angler's meeting Wednesday night trying to anticipate where the fish he'd found on Monday would be Thursday en route to their spawning area. He studied a paper map of Lake Guntersville before going to bed.
"I tried to visualize where they went in the area I'm fishing," Iaconelli said. "They didn't go deeper. Everybody wants to spawn right now. Everybody. I tried to visualize the route they would take.
"That was the key today. Every fish I caught was from a place I didn't fish in practice."
Iaconelli said he's not sight-fishing. It's there as a backup plan. He marked about 30 spawning beds in practice.
"But it's not my strength," he said. "The would be like Kevin (VanDam) throwing a finesse worm. I (sight-fish) when I have to, but I'm terrible at it. I'm the worst sight-fisherman out here, honestly."
That weakness may prove to be a strength Friday, when thunderstorms early and steady rain all day are forecast. Both of Iaconelli's closest competitors – Kelly Jordon with 26-1 and Bernie Schultz with 25-8 – caught their fish off spawning beds that were easily seen in Thursday's sunshine.
While spawning beds will be difficult to fish if the forecast holds, Iaconelli isn't planning on catching bass in the same places and with the same techniques he used on Day 1. Change is the name of the game in this rapid spawning push.
It wasn't just the area where the fish were that changed. It was the techniques and baits needed to catch them that changed, too.
"In practice, I caught fish on two or three techniques," Iaconelli said. "They didn't work today. I caught my fish today on two different baits that I didn't use in practice whatsoever. With the storm coming, it's liable to change again."
By demonstrating Thursday that he could anticipate where the bass were going, he's got an advantage that many others in the 113-angler field don't have going into Day 2. But that doesn't mean he'll be as successful on Friday as he was Thursday. It's still a guessing game.
Iaconelli simply has the ability to make an educated guess now.
No matter what happens, it won't take away from the spectacular day he enjoyed Thursday. Iaconelli compared it to the feeling he had en route to victory at the Delaware River last season in his hometown of Philadelphia.
"That was the last time I had a magic, magic day," Iaconelli said. "Not with big fish (there), but when your mind is operating, and you're making the right decisions. You're mind starts doing weird stuff. You believe everything you're doing is right. And sometimes it works."
Iaconelli now has another advantage, too. If his mind isn't operating and he's not making the right decisions, apparently his spouse has the ability to fix that.