Mike Iaconelli left Rapala

[JediAmoeba]

Thought it was interesting that Ike left Rapala/VMC. He's partnered with Berkley for a long time so I guess this is easier to deal with one company.

 

 

[casts_by_fly]

Or they decided to drop him.  While his social media presence is good, his tournament results less so…

[12poundbass]

@casts_by_fly

 

87 top ten finishes

10 wins

Federation championship

Bass Master Classic win

AOY

BASS Kayak championship 

$3.5 million won

 

I’d say he’s done pretty well for himself.

 

[Susky River Rat]

@12poundbass half of fame inductee 

 

I believe he also went through the opens to get back into the elite series. 

[12poundbass]

@Susky River Rat he sure did. He said he wanted to earn it and not use a Legends exemption. 

[MIbassyaker]

It's just business, like everything else.

[Susky River Rat]

@MIbassyaker yes sir. No different than trading a quarterback or firing a GM. That investment company doesn’t give a hoot who ike is or what he’s done. 

[slonezp]

He dropped them...they dropped him...who cares

[MN Fisher]

KVD left (was fired from?) Okuma and linked up with Lews. How's this any different?

 

People/Sponsers change all the time...no biggie.

[Columbia Craw]

Who?

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

@casts_by_fly

 

87 top ten finishes

10 wins

Federation championship

Bass Master Classic win

AOY

BASS Kayak championship 

$3.5 million won

 

I’d say he’s done pretty well for himself.

 

I don’t dispute that in total. He’s been doing it for 25 years and has earned a place. But for the past couple years he’s not been in any contention in the major circuits. 2022 nothing in the top 20. 2021 nothing in the top 20 except kayak and a single open on his ‘home’ waters. I didn’t dig further so I could be wrong and am happy to be proven wrong. But when I watch the two main tours on tv I’m not seeing him.

 

sponsors have to make decisions sometimes based on various business factors. If you’re out of the visibility for long enough, then I can see where allocating resources elsewhere is a better business choice. 

[MIbassyaker]

At this point, Ike could fail to finish in the money for the rest of his life, and his name and endorsement would probably still sell more sponsors' products than all but a few other pros until he disappears from public view.

[PhishLI]

42 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I didn’t dig further so I could be wrong and am happy to be proven wrong.

He top 10'd last year at Seminole.

42 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

sponsors have to make decisions sometimes based on various business factors.

Correct. Rapala just bought 13 Fishing. IKE is with ABU. Perhaps he was given an ultimatum to go with 13 like KVD had to with Lew's over Quantum so as to not lose Strike King. Who knows exactly why? Between IKE Live, Bass U, his TV show, and his YT channel, Ike has one of the highest social media profiles of any current pro which is more important to sponsors than anything else these days, including tournament results.

[12poundbass]

50 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I don’t dispute that in total. He’s been doing it for 25 years and has earned a place. But for the past couple years he’s not been in any contention in the major circuits. 2022 nothing in the top 20. 2021 nothing in the top 20 except kayak and a single open on his ‘home’ waters. I didn’t dig further so I could be wrong and am happy to be proven wrong. But when I watch the two main tours on tv I’m not seeing him.

 

sponsors have to make decisions sometimes based on various business factors. If you’re out of the visibility for long enough, then I can see where allocating resources elsewhere is a better business choice. 

Things are different these days. With social media now you can still be very visible even if you aren’t fishing on Sunday. Even without social media some can still move the needle based on their accomplishments and reputation. Rick Clunn for example. He’s using legends exemptions almost yearly and 6th Sense just picked him up. 

[GreenPig]

Don't care. I like Ike, so I'll keep watching him.

[JediAmoeba]

Ike does a lot for the sport and his Ike Foundation and what they do for kids is fantastic.  Ike has been known to fish in our club on the back of a boat when he can and he's a pretty cool dude.

11 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

KVD left (was fired from?) Okuma and linked up with Lews. How's this any different?

 

People/Sponsers change all the time...no biggie.

Ike is one of the biggest names ever in the sport, I think him leaving a brand is different than most.  

 

[T.J.]

Sounded like he left rapala from a reply in a social media post to partner with someone else to design hard baits. Then yesterday he posted the krej from berkley (a reversed billed jerk bait). 

[Frezzy]

I like IKE.  He pushes his sponsors products real hard, which can be annoying.  Rapala/VMC was the only one of his sponsors products I use.  Berkley, ABU, Molix are all garbage in my opinion. 

[Columbia Craw]

[PhishLI]

On today's IKE Live with Randall Tharp, Mike announced ABU as a new sponsor to IKE Live. A reward for not going with Rapala/13 Fishing and sticking with ABU? Could be.

BTW, good episode. Tharp is pumped about the Opens EQs.

[Steveo-1969]

On 1/13/2024 at 11:00 PM, MN Fisher said:

KVD left (was fired from?) Okuma and linked up with Lews.

KVD’s rod and reel sponsor was Quantum, not Okuma. Scott Martin was sponsored by Okuma before he went to FAVORITE.

[MN Fisher]

@Steveo-1969 - my oops...

[Bankc]

There's an old saying:

"It's called showbusiness, not show friends."

[WRB]

Iaconelli’s temper tantrum, when his livewell failed killing his days catch, throwing the American flag into the water was unforgivable IMO. I understood antics were his stick but the flag incident put a fork in him for me.

Tom  

[Tackleholic]

I believe the flag incident happened as a result of him running aground and wrecking his boat.  Ranger dropped him over that and other boats he had previously wrecked.  Ike and Bass Cat hooked up after that.