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Fishing on the Edge: He's Not Your Father's Fisherman
With his colorful tattoos and booming hip-hop sound track, Mike Iaconelli has turned the world of big-money competitive bass fishing upside down. In Fishing on the Edge , Iaconelli tells his own story–and it’s a a Philly-born, Jersey-bred Yankee who’s been stealing the spotlight from bass fishing’s traditionally all-Southern anglers, attracting fans and dominating one of the fastest-growing sports in America.
How did Mike Iaconelli, a college-educated kid from New Jersey, come blasting into a sport
dominated by old-school stars like Gary Klein, Kevin VanDam, and Denny Brauer? How did Mike, aka “Ike,” take a secret childhood passion and turn it into a profession, earning million-dollar sponsorships and a storm of media attention, ranging from ESPN’s SportsCenter to profiles in The New York Times and Esquir e? While Mike has attracted both fans and foes on the tour,
his success speaks for itself, especially his victory at the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of competitive fishing.
Forty-four million Americans fish, but no one does it quite like Mike Iaconelli. In Fishing on the Edge , he lets you in on the secrets to his extraordinary success–how he developed his “power” fishing style, how he attacks the water, positions the boat, and perseveres through those days when the bass just aren’t biting. With sidebar tips that can be used by any fisherman–from using spinner baits to picking out the right rod to his no-fail “secret weapons”–this is an intensive, informative, and often raucous journey through the life of a brash young man destined to do for fishing what Tony Hawk did for the X take the sport to a whole new level. At the same time, it’s the compelling first-person story of a man who prepared carefully every step of the way, kept notes on every fish he ever caught, and executed the perfect plan to get to the top.
A tale of passion, competition, and extreme personality, Fishing on the Edge is a book for anyone who loves the sport of fishing, wants to turn a hobby into a career, or is simply fascinated by a man’s unstoppable drive to succeed.
How did Mike Iaconelli, a college-educated kid from New Jersey, come blasting into a sport
dominated by old-school stars like Gary Klein, Kevin VanDam, and Denny Brauer? How did Mike, aka “Ike,” take a secret childhood passion and turn it into a profession, earning million-dollar sponsorships and a storm of media attention, ranging from ESPN’s SportsCenter to profiles in The New York Times and Esquir e? While Mike has attracted both fans and foes on the tour,
his success speaks for itself, especially his victory at the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of competitive fishing.
Forty-four million Americans fish, but no one does it quite like Mike Iaconelli. In Fishing on the Edge , he lets you in on the secrets to his extraordinary success–how he developed his “power” fishing style, how he attacks the water, positions the boat, and perseveres through those days when the bass just aren’t biting. With sidebar tips that can be used by any fisherman–from using spinner baits to picking out the right rod to his no-fail “secret weapons”–this is an intensive, informative, and often raucous journey through the life of a brash young man destined to do for fishing what Tony Hawk did for the X take the sport to a whole new level. At the same time, it’s the compelling first-person story of a man who prepared carefully every step of the way, kept notes on every fish he ever caught, and executed the perfect plan to get to the top.
A tale of passion, competition, and extreme personality, Fishing on the Edge is a book for anyone who loves the sport of fishing, wants to turn a hobby into a career, or is simply fascinated by a man’s unstoppable drive to succeed.
- GenresNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 3, 2017
A fun read...I'm not a fisherman, but I had seen Mike Iaconielli's show City Limits Fishing, and liked his personality...the book is great, equal parts "how to fish" and autobiography. Humble, funny, and endearing.
January 22, 2024
My husband is an avid bass fisherman who’s been following the sport since he was a little kid. Over the past several years, I’ve gotten more into it just being around him and watching tournaments on TV, attending the Bassmaster Opens weigh-ins, etc. I don’t know an awful lot about Ike, or bass fishing in general, just the bare minimum. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Hearing Iaconelli’s story and learning how he got to where he is today was so inspiring. I respect the man a lot more now from reading his book. You don’t have to know much about him or the sport to enjoy this one! I highly recommend reading it.
June 30, 2012
I am not much of a fisherman. As a kid, I fished irregularly at best. For a few years, I lived barely a cast away from an artificial lake liberally stocked with bluegill which me and my buddies proceeded to assassinate at a terrifying pace: sometimes pulling as many as 100 a day out on cheese bait and marshmallows. Despite living near the ocean, I only managed to go out once on a day boat to Catalina and in addition to the many mackerel I pulled in that trip, I managed to land a bonito (which narrowly lost the jackpot to a fair-sized halibut, I might add). I once caught a trout while on vacation in Colorado. This is about the sum total of my fishing experience. As an adult, to say that I am an indifferent fisherman would be generous. I can't even remember the last time I picked up a pole. This is why I was as surprised as anyone recently when, while flipping the channels on my satellite system, I landed on the BASSMASTERS program on ESPN2 and ACTUALLY STAYED THERE AND WATCHED IT.
I watched the program in its entirety and, I must admit, it was not uninteresting. I was a little surprised, to say the least, when I saw these men jumping around like maniacs, dancing on their boats, and otherwise acting goofy and hamming it up for the cameras whenever they caught each fish. Needless to say, one of the loudest was Mike Iaconelli. I remembered that name Several days later, as I perused the new titles shelves of my local library, serendipity intervened and this book, FISHING ON THE EDGE, popped out at me. I added it to my growing stack of books to look at and possibly review this week.
I read FISHING ON THE EDGE in one sitting. Iaconnelli broke down the sport of BASS tournament bass fishing for me--a sport and a league I hardly knew existed a week prior--and he made it interesting enough that I may just check out those ESPN programs again the next time I am flipping through channels. FISHING ON THE EDGE is Mike Iaconelli's auto-biography, but it is also more than that. It is an introduction to tournament bass fishing which includes not a few of the sport's dirty little secrets. Iaconelli pulls no punches when he exposes the sometimes shocking behavior of the other pros on tour, the tournament officials, and even himself from time to time. But, outsider that he is (a New Jersey hip-hop kid in a sport dominated by southern good ole boys), he displays a deep affection and respect for the sport and for the sport's greatest stars.
I also learned quite a bit about fishing itself. Sprinkled throughout FISHING ON THE EDGE, Iaconelli offers generous sidebars which shed light on everything from his theories about tackle, technique, lures, boat positioning, and his favorite fishing locales as well as a guided tour of his several tattoos and his suggestions for how to watch a bass tournament as a spectator. Underlying it all, is the portrait of the man himself: what motivates him and how he came to become a champion bass fisherman. As inspiring as the story is, I have no desire to be a bass fishing pro. Those guys work too hard. However, I may just have to sneak out to the lake one weekend this summer and see if i can land me my first bass. Go Ike! I'll be rooting for you at this year's Classic.
I watched the program in its entirety and, I must admit, it was not uninteresting. I was a little surprised, to say the least, when I saw these men jumping around like maniacs, dancing on their boats, and otherwise acting goofy and hamming it up for the cameras whenever they caught each fish. Needless to say, one of the loudest was Mike Iaconelli. I remembered that name Several days later, as I perused the new titles shelves of my local library, serendipity intervened and this book, FISHING ON THE EDGE, popped out at me. I added it to my growing stack of books to look at and possibly review this week.
I read FISHING ON THE EDGE in one sitting. Iaconnelli broke down the sport of BASS tournament bass fishing for me--a sport and a league I hardly knew existed a week prior--and he made it interesting enough that I may just check out those ESPN programs again the next time I am flipping through channels. FISHING ON THE EDGE is Mike Iaconelli's auto-biography, but it is also more than that. It is an introduction to tournament bass fishing which includes not a few of the sport's dirty little secrets. Iaconelli pulls no punches when he exposes the sometimes shocking behavior of the other pros on tour, the tournament officials, and even himself from time to time. But, outsider that he is (a New Jersey hip-hop kid in a sport dominated by southern good ole boys), he displays a deep affection and respect for the sport and for the sport's greatest stars.
I also learned quite a bit about fishing itself. Sprinkled throughout FISHING ON THE EDGE, Iaconelli offers generous sidebars which shed light on everything from his theories about tackle, technique, lures, boat positioning, and his favorite fishing locales as well as a guided tour of his several tattoos and his suggestions for how to watch a bass tournament as a spectator. Underlying it all, is the portrait of the man himself: what motivates him and how he came to become a champion bass fisherman. As inspiring as the story is, I have no desire to be a bass fishing pro. Those guys work too hard. However, I may just have to sneak out to the lake one weekend this summer and see if i can land me my first bass. Go Ike! I'll be rooting for you at this year's Classic.
April 7, 2013
As an effort to broaden my horizons, I read biographies alphabetically - first someone whose name starts with A, then B... For the letter I, the choices are limited. But the goal of this project is to learn about different people and subject matters, and so I chose fishing champ Mike Iaconelli.
All I can say is, I'm glad it was quick reading. I don't understand how such a poorly written book could have made it past the editing desk. From his frequent use of the word "stoked" to his overabundance of exclamation points, I couldn't help thinking this is one book I'd like to throw overboard.
All I can say is, I'm glad it was quick reading. I don't understand how such a poorly written book could have made it past the editing desk. From his frequent use of the word "stoked" to his overabundance of exclamation points, I couldn't help thinking this is one book I'd like to throw overboard.
March 24, 2011
One of the worst editing jobs ever. You'd think the writers (as Iaconelli wrote this with two others) and editors would, I don't know, maybe take a quick glance at the final copy before putting it on the shelves. Beyond that, though, it was a struggle to finish. While I understand that Iaconelli's voice needed to come through, I felt like some of the language and overall structure could have been cleaned up a tad for clarity.
February 28, 2012
Pretty Amazing book, very fast read, I love that it's his story and then he offers all these great tips throughout the book. It's about pursuing your dream and hitting that wall and then breaking through if you hang on tight enough!! Awesome. It's a great story even if you're not an angler but if you are it packs your head with lots of things to try!
October 10, 2008
This is a really fun and quick book for anyone that is into professional bass fishing. Some of the story line drags, but the background that it gives on some of the most famous anglers and the history of the rise of Ike is great
February 26, 2013
Good fishing is relaxation punctuated by excitement. Iaconelli's book is the other way around. If you want to read about fishing as
it should be, back off the edge and read A River Runs Through It.
it should be, back off the edge and read A River Runs Through It.
Read
February 11, 2013Not a fan. He may be a tad too arrogant. Great fisherman. Someone should have read this book before publishing. Mind you I'm only about a 1/3 done. I might change my mind.
January 14, 2011
Never Give Up !!!!
January 15, 2010
Good book. Teaches about the pro bass fishing world.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews