CAMDEN, N.J. – As their long tournament day neared its end, Becky Iaconelli asked husband Mike for a sheet of paper she had given him earlier.
It had all the names of the prize winners for the First Annual Ike Celebrity Pro-Am Bass Tournament. Ike sheepishly poked about his pockets, saying he gave it to somebody. A bag of Bigs sunflower seeds was pulled out, then a piece of trash.
Known for losing stuff – like his keys just last week – Ike was making Becky sweat, and once again she was left brainstorming on how to fix this issue. Then like a magician with a tada and a laugh, Ike produced the folded up paper. Their eyes lit up, they laughed and embraced. It seemed to signify a happy ending of a trying first attempt at putting together the event – hosting a gaggle of Elites at their house, a fishing tournament, a Family Fun Fest and a silent auction and dinner.
“Success, success, success, success, success,” Ike said. “The moment it hit me? This morning people starting to come in to set up – happy. There was a smile on my face seeing 36, 38 boats blast off. But right before weigh-in, I’m beat down, I stopped signing autographs and grabbed a quick thing of chicken fingers.
“I sit down on a bench and look out and see a sea of kids holding green Flambeau tackle boxes – success. Mission accomplished.”
The Iaconellis’ idea behind the event was to bolster their Ike Foundation, which focuses on getting kids fishing. With Mike competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Becky had the bulk of responsibilities to organize and orchestrate, which picked up over the past few months.
“I’m very relieved that it’s over, but I’m really proud it all went out without any major hitch,” she said. “There’s no huge thing that I think we would change – there’s tiny things I would tweak. I really think we nailed it. I hate to say that. It sounds so pompous.”
“You nailed it, you nailed it,” Ike chimed in. “She’s worked tirelessly for the past six months to make this event a success.”
“I have a team of people and we literally put our lives into this for the last couple months,” Becky said. “I feel we did what we wanted to accomplish.”
Becky did much of the booking of venues and worked with volunteers and organizations, which were glad to offer their services. The Iaconellis had been there for so many others, they simply felt like reciprocating, and when it’s for kids, they usually jump anyway.
“I called up Randy Baran (B.A.S.S. Nation of New Jersey) and said, ‘I don’t know how to run a tournament,’” she said. “They said, ‘Done. We’ll be there.’”
Anthony “GoGo” Gomez and his Great Falls Bassmasters, who teach kids how to cast, was another easy get, among others. Wood Boat and Motor supplied a BassCat boat for the winning team, unheard of in this region, and eXmark provided a mower for the second-place prize.
“Everybody just came out of the woodwork and said we’re doing this,” Becky said. “There were no major hiccups. I think it turned out to be a great day. I’m like, ‘Wow. We did it. We pulled it off.’ That’s the whole point. We just needed everybody to have a great time.”
While Ike headed out for the Bassmaster Elite at Potomac River presented by Econo Lodge, Becky began tying up loose ends. She’s already received emails from people in the community impressed with the event and offering their help next year.
“I am so mentally brain-fried I said let me call you next week,” she said.
Say, is Ike partly responsible for the brain frying? Does he play bother the Beckster often, like he did in feigning he lost the winners’ sheet?
“I don’t know if he always does it on purpose,” she said. “He loses things all the time. He’s the king of losing things. Maybe he likes to see me get really annoyed. He makes me nuts, makes me crazy.”
Yeah, crazy enough to already start looking forward to the second annual Ike Pro-Am.
WINNERS BY KNOCKOUT
Former Elite angler Joe Sancho was a little worried when his teammates for the Ike Pro-Am event showed up. Jim Miller and Dan Miller are mixed martial arts fighters from Sparta Township, N.J.
“They didn’t have reels on their rods,” said Sancho, who took them south to throw stickbaits on the flats. “We caught one and I joked if we catch four more like that, you’re going to have a winning boat.”
They did, topping 11 pounds to beat the second-place effort of local pro Pete Gluszek and teammates Alan Ander and his great nephew Marko Weisner, who came 14 hours by train to compete.
“We came down with the idea of having some fun and fishing, and not really expecting this,” Jim Miller said. “It is weird. This is the first time I’ve owned a bass boat.”
Jim Miller competes in the UFC lightweight division, and his older brother was a welterweight fighter. Sancho just enjoyed having them on board.
“We did tell the other competitors if they did happen to try to move in on us, we were going to strong arm them,” Sancho said. “I got the muscle.”
PLENTY TO THANK
There were around 20 pro anglers or celebrities who donated their day of fishing for the Ike event, and Ike made a point to thank them all publicly when he spoke at the silent auction and dinner at the Camden Children’s Garden. Many of the anglers came by his home to visit and appear on Ike’s webcast.
“Last night at Ike Live, obviously, it was on my mind, but when Becky gave me the mic at the end here, it hit me looking around and seeing all these pros,” Ike said. “You got to remember I’m one of these guys. We have a tournament. We have to be there tomorrow.
“It means a lot to me that kids fishing is at the forefront of your minds. Our goal is to make this an annual event. We’re going to make it bigger and better every year.”
He went on to explain how time is at a premium for these pro anglers.
“I don’t know if you know how busy these guys are,” he said. “Take KVD as an example. Every day, 365 days a year, he has something going on. It’s amazing how busy he is, and he carved time out to help kids fishing. And it’s every one of these guys. Thank you.”
VANDAM LEFT IMPRESSED
Disappointment with another one-fish day on the Delaware River was an understatement, but Kevin VanDam had plenty of positive statements about Ike.
“I wanted to support him. He does a lot for the sport, and he’s always really been focused on kids,” VanDam said. “I’ve seen that since Day 1 at all the tournaments, the weigh-ins.”
VanDam and Ike both have foundations. KVD has held charity events with the Detroit Lions and knows sponsors have to step up to help make the event a financial success.
“So it’s really great to see so many companies that sponsor Ike for the tour get involved and understand how important this is – to be able to get as many kids involved in the sport of fishing,” he said. “That’s his focus, so he can provide equipment and opportunity for kids to fish. It’s very cool to be here and to see the support from everybody.”
KVD said he’s kind of amazed that Iaconelli fashioned his career coming from an area not known for bass angling, but Ike has come full circle by giving back here.
“The other thing – and it’s probably the best thing about an event like this – it raises a ton of awareness,” KVD said. “And not just here in New Jersey or Philadelphia, but everywhere. That’s why I think it was a no-brainer for a lot of the companies that got on board. It’s a great thing for all of us in the sport.”