Michael Iaconelli described the core of his fishing strategy as keeping an open mind. It’s a good thing.
Up to 17 fishing outfits were on his front deck each morning of the tournament thus far. Under normal conditions most pros use half that amount. This is anything but a normal tournament.
Each outfit has a specific application for a given spot. Some are variations of the same lure. Iaconelli is moving so much that retying lures consumes to much time and is unpractical.
Iaconelli has taken keeping an open mind to extremes this week.
“Most times you want to have a great practice but here that could have led you in a direction that has already happened,” he explained. “What I found today is happening right now.”
Today keeping an open mind paid off with a huge limit weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces.
“I wished the day had never ended,” said the self-proclaimed junk fishing junkie.
No kidding. Iaconelli cycled through keepers at each of his final 10 stops of the day. Until then he’d never fished at any of them before. That is strong because Iaconelli has five previous B.A.S.S. events here that include a second place at the 2005 Elite Series event.