Getting Reel - Fishing News

Are some Anglers “Over the Top”?

by Don Zaegel on November 6th, 2007

     Remember when Mike Iaconelli hit the seen? How can you not. He was quickly pegged as a wild child for his outrageous and rambunctious on camera outbursts. He would even break-dance on the front of the boat in some cases. This unusual display of behavior was new to the professional fishing scene. Something that was loved my many and hated by most. Fans and followers even adopted a new saying for his yelling and screaming. “Going Ike”, which meant loosing your cool in the face of the camera. The “Happy Gilmore” of pro fishing. Regardless, he quickly gained the attention of not only the fans, but the industry as well. He was able to use his emotions as a selling point. But I sometimes wonder if it is too much.

     While Ike is no dummy(holds a degree in marketing), he can definitely bring a nuisance to what many prefer to be a somber atmosphere; however, his success in helping to bring a new crowd of sponsors and fan has undoubtedly helped the sport grow. Other anglers like Gerald Swindle and Skeet Reese have taken notice.

     It is no longer uncommon for anglers to not only use their fishing skills to gain camera time, but themselves as well. You can hardly go a weekend without seeing some sort of wild and untamed emotional outburst from a pro. While catching and loosing fish at times can be dramatic, it sometimes gets taken over the top. Anglers breaking rods on the deck of a boat, kicking their equipment, yelling and screaming in both a joyful and upset manner, dancing on the boat etc. Sometimes the attitudes gain so much attention that it takes away coverage from the anglers who are actually doing well fishing at that moment in time. Now, I am not saying that I like or dislike any of this attitude, but in some cases I think that it is all uncalled for.

     I once heard Timmy Horton say as he was loading the boat with fish in an unavoidable manner, “Growing up, my baseball coach always used to say, Son, when you hit a home-run, act like you’ve done it before”. The point in him saying that was to acknowledge the fact that he is aware of the emotions that some anglers show while catching them big, but if you were going to sit there and watch him catch those fish, you were going to watch a cool, calm, and collected Horton. I was impressed. I have always said that I would rather receive camera time due to my fishing success, not my personality. On the same note, I will tell you I am not a hypocrite and have had my share of outburst and won’t guarantee that it won’t happen again. There is allot of money on the line in pro bass fishing these days, and that has without a doubt fueled some of this behavior. I would never hold anything over an anglers head for loosing their cool because they lost a fish that would have won them $1 mill or over celebrating for catching that same fish. I will always try and judge an angler for his angling ability and not his personality. 

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POSTED IN: BASS, FLW, Miscellaneous