Mike Iaconelli came into his 20th Bassmaster Classic as confident, if not more so, as any angler in the 52-man field. At 10 o’clock yesterday, he had a 5-bass limit, but it was light in weight and never got heavier.
Today at 8:30, he was culling with two 4-pounders and a 3 1/2-pounder in his livewell. He’s on both the quality and the quantity that he’d found in practice, which had made him so confident coming in.
“I knew the one thing that could mess me up was current,” Iaconelli said yesterday. “It’s not that they pulled any less water (Friday), it was the fact that the wind direction backed up the current. When that current speed slows, the fish do other stuff. Believe me, I tried to adjust.”
Iaconelli hasn’t had to adjust a thing this morning. There’s no wind, plenty of current and Iaconelli’s bass are right back where they’re supposed to be. He’s bouncing a Rapala DT 6 crankbait off flat rocks in a “choke-point” that’s funneling fish his way. And he’s not holding back.
“I need to be in the mid to low 20s to catch Ott (DeFoe),” Iaconelli said on “Bassmaster LIVE” this morning in the midst of a flurry. “I know what I need to do and it’s a tall order on this lake. I’m not in a position to save something for tomorrow.”
Iaconelli has about 17 pounds so far.