STURGEON BAY, Wis. — There are some heads spinning like a windmill in the 20- to 30-mile-per-hour gusts that have blown across Lake Michigan the past three days.
One of those spinning heads belonged to Mike Iaconelli, on Monday in particular, as he prepared for the first practice day prior to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship at Sturgeon Bay.
Iaconelli has qualified for 14 consecutive Bassmaster Classics, 16 overall. He won it in 2003. But he sits squarely on the bubble for qualification in the 2016 Classic, in 45th place in Angler of the Year points for the season. Right now, 40th place is the final qualifying spot.
“It was weird,” Iaconelli said. “I felt no pressure leading up to this. Then on the boat ramp before the first day of practice, I was having a panic attack. I had to call Becky (his wife). She was like, ‘Breathe, breathe, you’re having a panic attack.’
“I backed the boat in the water and started settling down. By today, I felt great.”
Just the fact that a veteran like Iaconelli could get in such a mental state is an indication of how much is at stake for the 50 anglers who qualified for this last Elite Series event of the year.
The spotlight is brightest on the 10 anglers who are ranked between 36th and 45th in the AOY standings. They are separated by only 11 points.
Those guys – but others above them and below them, too – are feeling the pressure.
The weather isn’t helping. These next three days of competition – Thursday, Friday and Sunday – are enough to deal with. Throw in a brutal, unrelenting wind on this big body of water, and it’s no wonder some anglers are on the verge of spinning out.
Iaconelli had to calm himself down by putting everything in perspective, saying, “If I don’t make the Classic this year, it’s not the end of the world. I would love to make it. I want to be there every year. But if I don’t, nobody is dying. My sponsors aren’t going to leave me. My fans aren’t going to quit me. It’s OK. It’s alright.”
It’s just a bass fishing tournament, right? Right, fellas? The silence is deafening.
Gerald Swindle is another one of the "bubble boys" this week. He enters the tournament 41st in AOY points. Swindle has qualified for 15 Classics, including the last six.
“I’m taking a different view,” he said. “I don’t have to catch ‘em. Those six or eight guys in front of me better catch ‘em. The pressure is on them. They’re the ones that can fall out.
“I’m going to do what I’m confident in and let the cards fall. It’s weird this week. I haven’t felt the pressure. I’m going to try to win the tournament. There are a lot of guys studying points. I haven’t even looked at them. I’m trying to take a whole different focus and just fish the game.”
Whatever the mental approach of the anglers on the Classic qualifying bubble, the pressure is there.
And bouncing in the waves washing across Sturgeon Bay isn’t helping anyone’s head.