Mike Iaconelli seems to be well on his way to a worldwide bass fishing tour. After touring Italy last year about this time, Ike went to Japan this month mixing business, fishing and sightseeing, and it was all a pleasure.
“It was sick, just a dream trip for me,” Iaconelli said. “I landed in Toyko and for nine days toured the country.”
It was set up with fellow Elite Morizo Shimizu, who had visited Ike in New Jersey last year to film some shows. Ike wasn’t sure he’d get the reciprocal trip until Shimizu asked when he was coming.
“Part of it was coming to fish with Morizo. Part of it was working on ‘Going Ike,’ which we’re expanding next year,” Iaconelli said. “It was an opportunity to film for my show, and also to film for Fishing Vision, which is sort of like a pay-for-view fishing channel.
“Another part of it was to do work for some of my sponsors, Pure Fishing. Berkeley and Abu Garcia have a big Japanese division with a lot of products. Then there’s BassCat – it’s a really popular brand in Japan. The last part was just exploring the country.”
Ike, Shimizu and Seigo Saito, who photographs for B.A.S.S. and served as Ike’s interpreter, worked their way from Toyko west to Shimizu’s hometown, Osaka. Ike had three days free of obligations, so they took in the culture at some historic sites.
“He surprised me and we went to some of the old original temples. We wore traditional kimonos as we toured and walked around that day,” Ike said of the popular Kyoto Kimono Dress-up Experience. “It was Morizo’s first time in a kimono, too. It was unbelievable. A lot of people in traditions garb, getting into original culture.”
Iaconelli was blown away by seeing ancient structures and rock walls more than a thousand years old.
“Morizo was great because I got to see it better than a normal tourist would see it. I got the inside on everything, and Morizo is so fun,” Ike said.
And the fishing? Iaconelli said he thought he knew pressure living in New Jersey, but he said Japan’s bass lakes are as crowded as advertised.
“Fishing was difficult,” Ike said. “It was good but it wasn’t easy. I’ve never seen more people bass fishing on all these lakes we hit. On any given day of the week, it didn’t matter, there were hundreds of boats on the water. A 150 to 200. It’s crazy. Then any place we’d go, there were shore fisherman, and I’d say 80 percent of them were bass fishing.”
Ike said they were readily recognized on the water, especially Shimizu as he holds Kevin VanDam status in Japan. He has a long running fishing show and is known there as The King. Fans were courteous, simply waving, bowing and taking any pictures from afar. They never intruded or approached.
The fishing trips were memorable, especially on Lake Biwa when Ike landed a pair of giants, but he was more enlightened and stoked after his visits to tackle shops.
“Along that way, we stopped at four tackle stores and two marinas and did a little sponsor work and got to really see the tackle,” Ike said. “I got to do a little shopping – the stuff they have over there is crazy, big swimbaits, soft baits even cutting edge terminal tackle.
“The tackle and the techniques I came back with, I’m actually going to talk about this on the next Ike Live and my blog.”
Shimizu went out of his way to let Ike experience everything as an insider, and that included food. Ike didn’t want anything to do with the American eateries in Japan, opting to immerse himself in the local cuisine and that included trying just about anything and everything. Weirdest food?
“A sea urchin,” he said. “That was really good, I had never had that before. Quail eggs. Chicken skin. There was weird stuff. I did eat octopus; takoyaki. Octopus balls, like a little fried ball.”
As a kid in the 1980s, Ike recalls reading Bassmaster Magazine with envy about the Japan trips taken by icons likes of Clunn, Brauer, Cockran, Hibdon and Cook.
“I was like, oh my God, one day,” he said. “In all these years, it never worked out. I had been invited but it just never worked out. After all these years, I finally got to go.”
Last October, Iaconelli and wife Becky spent 10 days touring Italy, so he’s thinking he might have to make an after-season trip an annual worldwide deal, like maybe next year spendingt time with Carl Jocumsen in Australia.
For now, he’s just getting over jetlag and a head cold, then prepping to go after a second Bassmaster Classic title.
“I really tried to enjoy the entire experience in Japan,” he said. “I hope I make it back.”
For images of Ike’s trip to Japan, click here.
CATCH A PERSONAL BEST SMALLIE
Mark Zona was throwing back the hawg smallmouth above (without even weighing it because he didn’t have a scale) when his fishing partner said, no, you need a photo.
Naw, Zona said.
Yes, yes, you do. And he did.
We know it’s that time of year to go try to catch the largest smallie of your life, and that image among many other of huge smallies being caught spawns the question, how do you go about it?
“I’ve listened to experts on everything, from smallmouth in the fall feed up on baitfish, or they feed up on crayfish,” said the Bassmaster TV host. “When I go to a lake, I have bait fish imitation lures, like jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and swimbaits, and I also have crawdads lures, like tubes and jigs.
“And this my opinion on how to catch your biggest – they are in a feeding mode for ANYTHING THAT GOES BY THEM!!!”
With that actual shoutout he added that the magic begins when water temperatures hit anywhere in the 50s. The fish know it’s time to make hay, the lakes are active, and it’s chaos below. So while doing it safely, he said don’t be scared off by windy conditions or to go to the windiest areas of the lake.
Oh, and upsize.
“A lot of time we get too dainty, too finessy,” Zona said. “In the fall when they’ve got the feedbag on, nothing’s too big.”
As proof, Zona was out in 30 mph winds the other day and saw a rare sight. He went into action and saved a large smallmouth from choking on a 9-inch long bluegill.
“Lightbulb. Note to self. You don’t need to be drop shotting a 3-inch worm,” he said. “They eat big, big, big stuff. Throw a big spinnerbait, a big jig. You don’t catch numbers but if you’re going out to catch the biggest one you’ve ever caught, upsize all your baits.
“Give the big smallmouth a little more credit for being a hunter than being a finessy pansy. He’s not, he’s a killer.”
For more details on how to do it, check out Kevin VanDam’s column, “Catch giant smallies now!“
ONLY FIVE MORE FOR HOUSTON
All but five spots of the 52-man field of the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe out of Houston, Texas, have been filled.
As it stands, the top 37 anglers in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year point standings have secured a Classic spot. Ish Monroe is the last man in with Keith Poche next in line. His last chance to get in comes at the Bass Pro Shops Central Open No. 3 in Morgan City, La., Oct. 27-29.
The 2016 Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Championship present by Magellan is set for Nov. 17-19 on Lake Conroe, where three divison winners will receive Classic berths.
The final spot in the Classic goes to the individual champion of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Team Championship, No. 30-Dec. 3 at Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn.
See the Classic qualifier list here.