Some say a fishing guide’s wife invented Thousand Island salad dressing on the St. Lawrence River, yet others say it was a chef at the iconic Boldt Castle. Team Toyota’s Mike Iaconelli isn’t sure who invented it, but he’s positive the famous salad dressing is awesome on a Reuben sandwich, and the smallmouth are biting as good as ever on the St. Lawrence River.
Ike has a long and treasured history on the ultra-clear river connecting Lake Ontario and the Atlantic, but three memories stand out a bit better than others.
Blood on the back deck
“I remember fishing a Bassmaster Invitational here back in 1995 when I was like 23 years old. I drew Tom Mann Jr., and I was fired up because he was a dude I grew up reading about,” smiles Iaconelli.
“We targeted largemouth, because back then, believe it or not, smallmouth weren’t much of a factor here. Anyhow, we started catching pike and largemouth like crazy on a spinnerbait that rainy day, and at one point a pike cut me. I bled all over the carpet of Tom’s rear deck. About 10 years later I ran into him at a gas station, and he still remembered all the blood.”
Catalyst to a Classic victory
The year was 2002, and Ike was fishing the Opens, and B.A.S.S. sent the top three anglers in the Opens points standings to the Bassmaster Classic.
“I was running down the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, and some dude started waving his hands telling me and my partner to turn around. I went anyway and encountered the biggest waves of my life here. They were legit 8-footers, with an occasional 12-footer. I tore off my trolling motor, and one wave knocked my helmet off,” he clearly remembers.
“I had a spare trolling motor. Caught 17-pounds in 45-minutes, made a top 10, earned enough points to qualify for the 2003 Bassmaster Classic, won that, and my life changed forever,” Ike says humbly, still shaken by the sequence of events.
Becky’s the one
Iaconelli will be the first one to tell you his wife Becky is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. And the 1,000 Islands provided the stage to an epiphany that told him with heartfelt certainty “she was the one.”
“I think it was a tournament here in either 2007 or 2008. Becky was traveling with me, and I had rented a dumpy cabin. It was pretty bad. But she never complained. She stuck with me all week and cheered me along to a top 10. And to this day I can still remember realizing she was the girl I needed to marry. Best decision of my life – right here on the St. Lawrence,” says Ike with heartfelt sincerity.
At this point, the St. Lawrence could only provide one more memory to perfectly punctuate Iaconelli’s iconic career. A Bassmaster Elite Series victory. Don’t bet against him this week. He’s at home here. And he’s got 27 years of great memories to prove it.
