Iaconelli

[Lee]

Sat morning and I'm watching a fishing show. My wife walks past and says "How's the screamer doing?" It took a second and I realized I hadn't seen Ike on TV this year. Interesting, I did not miss him. Checked my latest issue of Bass Times and he is still fishing BASS tourneys. Maybe he is sandbagging so next year he can get The Comeback title.

[phoenix]

My guess is , that is on purpose. I don't think he is a good model for the image they want to portray. He's an "idiot" in my opinion.

[WacoWildcat]

I wondered the same thing. I do recall seeing him early this year at a tournament in Texas. He was catching some monsters on a swimbait, and banging his head against his windshield. LOL.

[KyBass1]

He`s still around.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/outdoors/ba...?anglerId=5495

http://www.mikeiaconelli.com/

[Col Forbin]

I have to disagree. I don't think Ike is that bad. Yeah, he gets mad from time to time. Once or twice he has lost it and taken it a little too far. He is good at what he does. He has become one of the more recognizable faces in fishing. I have friends that don't fish, that know who Ike is. I see far worse on Sports Center daily. I see NASCAR guys fighting after races, NFL'ers on trial, baseballers on steroids, and basketball brawls. All I have ever seen Ike do is the occasional cussing fit. I have those on occasion, just not on TV. He has a good understanding of fishing, and an even better understanding of marketing himself. Love him or hate, we all want to see what he does next. Plus, who else does the windmill after landing a 5 pounder.

[RC5]

My guess is since he won the angler of the year last year he's spent more time at appearances than practicing. I agree with Col, he's a master of marketing and he's brought something to the sport. He's made it interesting to people who could care less. My girlfriend will watch fishing if Ikes on there otherwise she's somewhere else. He should bounce back next year.

[HoskiFishin]

I have to say, I attended the Bassmaster American at High Rock Lake, and Iaconelli was one of the nicest guys there. Alot of guys like KVD, and Skeet and Swindle seemed out of reach. It was like they just wanted to keep to themselves and take a picture or two and sign an autograph. I stood and talked to Ike for a while and a friend of mine called me, he just happens to be a big fan, and Ike asked me if he could talk to him. I gave him my phone and he talked for a minute or two with my buddy. It takes a real stand up kind of guy to sit there and talk fishing with you and then do something like that to make someones day. So personally, even though he shows a little to much emotion at times, I found that as a person, he is great, and much more approachable then alot of the others. My hats off to Dave Wolak and John Murray also, who I had the pleasure to ride along with. Both were alot of fun and made the whole trip worth while.

[mhall]

My guess is , that is on purpose. I don't think he is a good model for the image they want to portray. He's an "idiot" in my opinion.

Ha HA, we think alike, idiot and a punk.

[DJD]

I have to say, I attended the Bassmaster American at High Rock Lake, and Iaconelli was one of the nicest guys there. Alot of guys like KVD, and Skeet and Swindle seemed out of reach. It was like they just wanted to keep to themselves and take a picture or two and sign an autograph. I stood and talked to Ike for a while and a friend of mine called me, he just happens to be a big fan, and Ike asked me if he could talk to him. I gave him my phone and he talked for a minute or two with my buddy. It takes a real stand up kind of guy to sit there and talk fishing with you and then do something like that to make someones day. So personally, even though he shows a little to much emotion at times, I found that as a person, he is great, and much more approachable then alot of the others. My hats off to Dave Wolak and John Murray also, who I had the pleasure to ride along with. Both were alot of fun and made the whole trip worth while.

While i am not and never had been a fan of his i have grown to appreciate his abilities on and off the water. His skill in fishing is top notch and his business savy has proven to be top notch as well but i'm not into the idolizaton of a "thug wanna be". That image is so old...hopefully he will back off of that some in the near future.

[redneckshadrap]

"but i'm not into the idolizaton of a "thug wanna be""

EXACTLY>>>

Billy

[stevec]

Ike is a great guy ..ESPN loves to show the crazy..bad boy breaking things and cursing...it makes people talk..and watch...its called marketing...its an eb and flow thing with them...they went thru the stage of showing Ike doing crazy stuff..or swindle cussing someone..and now its all feel good stories...no drama......

[RC5]

While i am not and never had been a fan of his i have grown to appreciate his abilities on and off the water. His skill in fishing is top notch and his business savy has proven to be top notch as well but i'm not into the idolizaton of a "thug wanna be". That image is so old...hopefully he will back off of that some in the near future.

"Thug wanna be" I'm not gonna get in a fight here but being from Lex you should know what a "Thug wanna be" looks like I know, I've seen plenty of posers at college and high school... Just wanted to stick my neck out for Ike there. He is a master of marketing I say again he sells his own DVDs and clothing lines while fishing as much as he does that just proves he's smarter than we think Nascar has Jeff Gordon fishing has Ike.