Mike Iaconelli's "Fishin on the Edge" Thoughts?

[JCrzy4Bass]

Anyone had a chance to read this book?

I never honestly heard of him until a few weeks back on tv, but I thought he had a very new school feel to him and introduced bass fishing to a younger teenage and adult audience.  While the older guys, vets, and seasoned pros reign supreme, i think it's cool how the new age people are getting into the sport as well.

I thought he did a great job explaining how to really concentrate on the water and make the most of every cast.  He provided a lot of in depth analysis on how to read current, wind, water color, temperature, shade, baitfish, etc.  He also provided a good look into how to pay attention to depthfinders instead of using them primarily to locate fish.  He really opened up his personal life to explain the advantages of being a pro bass angler, but also about the personal life hardships that go along with it.

He seems like a great guy to relate to as a younger generation angler.  I like his confidence level and he really makes me feel like I need to boost my self esteem out there, think out of the box, pay more attention to detail and just let go.

I think it was a great read (read it in a day), whether you like him or not, I think that this book will open up a lot of windows to any angler out there and really make you think about where, and how you'd like to fit fishing into your life, or mold it into your career.  

I will be following him a lot more now after reading this just because I think he's a guy who knows where he wants to be, hes a run and gun kinda guy like I am, and he makes the sport fun for himself, and the audience.  And... most importantly he's all about building up the sport to the next level!

[BassHunter69]

ive read his book which i checked out of my local liberary.

he's done a fantastic job in explaining many differnt things in bass fishing. i loved what he wrote about his panic box lol .

i now have my own panic box so when i get this look   im all set to go

[JCrzy4Bass]

I'm thinking of making one of my own.  Gamakatsu Hooks, Senko Worms and Creature Baits, Original Floating Rapala Lures, and White and Red Mini-Strike King Spinner Baits.  All my go to weapons when all else fails.

[BassHunter69]

my panic box includes what mike said he put in his plus i added a tennessee red eyed shad,a few creature baits, as well as a few jigs which i know produce very well.

[fishingfourfun]

I just finished it and it was a nice read.  It really opened my eyes to what a professional angler's life  is all about.  I still think it doesn't get any better that fishing for a living!

[BassHunter69]

speaking of a good read i just got Bass madness by Ken schultz. i'll let you know my thoughts on it when i read it.

[Sam]

May I suggest you consider purchasing his DVDs. They are excellent.

I enjoyed his book and thought his insight on getting companies outside of the fishing industry to sponsor the pros is ahead of his time.

Sorry to read about his marriage breakup but he has two nice little girls from the marriage and he seems to be a good father to them.

I hope Ike can make up some ground on the Angler of the Year standings as he has fallen way down in the standings.

Follow Ike.  He is a fun guy and he know how to fish.

[Lane]

I read Ike's book, "Fishing On The Edge".  I really enjoyed the book! I recently met him in

person. One on one, he has the best manners of any man his age! I guess his grandfather, "Pops",

raised him to be respectful and polite to his elders. I was also impressed with his intelligence!

He is very different in person than he is on camera.

[jaskoh]

I finished this book a few months ago.  I found it very interesting and entertaining.  I do feel there are a lot better books out there if your looking to learn more about bass fishing.  Since then Ive read 5 other books.  Def an easy read and I looked forward to it.  If your looking for a fun read I give it my thumbs up.  

[JCrzy4Bass]

What other books have you read since?  Any by pros?  If so who are the authors and what are the titles?  I'm interested in learning more about different pros and their strategies now as well as their life on tour.  Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks man.

[jaskoh]

Well if your serious about learning you need to pick up Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Bass in my opinion. (I am sure there are a few people on here that will think differently)

It won't talk about any fishing strategy at all. But what it will do is let you understand what a bass is and why they do what they do. This way you can read other books and make an educated decision on if what your reading from the pros or any other auther is just a sales gimmick or not.

[JCrzy4Bass]

I'm actually very interested in reading a book like that.  I read all over the place that reading a book like that is highly beneficial.

One thread I read over a long time ago said there are two types of bass fishermen.  

One starts off by buying a really nice rod, reel, some expensive lures and a dvd about techniques and goes out to start fishing.

The other buys a decent rod and reel combo, some less expensive lures, small little tackle box and a book ABOUT bass and their behaviors and instincts.  It goes on to say that the second of the two NORMALLY would end up being the more successful fisherman.

I do not mean to open up a can of worms here and start a debate, but I feel as that is true basing that off the fact that I went out and spent a lot of money to get started and didn't see great results.  But now as I've been learning about structure, depth, bass instincts and such the past couple of months on here and in magazines (Bassin') I feel a lot more confident and knowledgeable.

So I think I'd love that book and I'll definately look into it.  Thanks dude.

[jaskoh]

no problem!

[BASS fisherman]

A couple other great reads about bass, what they do and why would be "Advanced Bass Fishing" by John Weiss, and "Largemouth Bass"  in the In-fisherman line of books.  I recommend them both very highly.  

[Live.2.Fish]

Great Book!  It gives you a really good behind the sceens look at what it takes to become a pro bass angler.

[FIN-S-R]

If you can stand it, try looking up research articles from symposiums and scientific journals. Let me first tell you that the reading in these things is dry dry dry....not what you would call entertaining, but they contain largely or semi uninterpreted data..observations, that you can evaluate for yourself. Lots of this stuff can be found through a google search, but you might have to go to a library to actually get your hands on it. IMHO this is the best way to improve your skills as an angler because you'll be able to understand the concept containing all the little pieces in any scenario on the water. I have found that is it less important to have the hottest new baits, or best equipment than it is to be able to find fish and then decipher their current "mood" and possible angles to approach the situation from. It then will start to become clear what is going on when a fish is caught from a certain spot using a certain technique, and building a pattern from only a few bites becomes possible. This is conceptual learning , and it will make you much more versitile than merely being a memorize and regurgitate learner which is what you get from most magazines and videos. Not that the information contained in those mags and videos isnt helpful or good info, because that type of info can give you new ideas in approaches to different situations.

[Lane]

Since I am a scientist, I am going to weigh in on the book, "Knowing Bass, The Scientific Approach

to Catching More Fish". It was authored by Dr. Keith Jones, who is the director of fish research

at the Berkley Fish Research Center, (Pure Fishing). The book was definately written to sell Berkley

products. NONE of the scientific information has been peer reviewed by the scientific community,

which includes peers in the scientific fields of: zoology, fishery biology, bacteriology, virology,

parasitology and ichthyology. He has pieced together bits of information from TRUE scientific organizations such as the American Fisheries Society and the Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries.

This is very much frowned upon by members of the scientific community, INCLUDING MYSELF!

Of course my area of expertise is in microbiology, which deals with disease and issues that cause

disease. Chapter 7, Pain And Stress was particularly disturbing to me, since it deals with areas that

are in my realm of expertise. He has published VERY misleading and out and out FALSE information!

I will point a FEW of them out to this forum.

On page 259, Table,7-2. He gives readers a, "Livewell Salt Recipe Suggested for Stress Relief".

Components of this recipe were used PRIOR to hauling fish, and NOT DURING ACTUAL HAULING

SITUATIONS. He recommended that readers use Magnesium sulfate, which is Epsom's Salt. This

compound is used to PURGE FECAL MATTER FROM THE FISH, it is a laxative! I can assure you that

you do not want to use a laxative compound in the LIVEWELL! Calcium Chloride a chloride of LIME,

and used VERY carefully to disinfect PONDS! DO NOT USE THIS IN YOUR LIVEWELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sodium Bicorbonate is baking soda. I could only assume that he is recommending this to increase the

PH or alkalize the water. Do not adjust the PH of your livewell, without testing the PH!

On page 257 he states, "Bacteriocides such as nitrofurazone reduce the chances of infection by killing

bacteria. THIS ANTIBOTIC IS BANNED IN BAITFISH, GAMEFISH! We have NEVER USED IT!!!!!!!!

This sentence is on the same page where he REPRINTED CLAIMS on our products WITHOUT OUR

PERMISSION! That is a separate issue that is under legal investigation!

On page 260, he recommends the use of, "Oil of Clove" as a fish calmer. The use of oil of clove is

NOT ALLOWED, because the raw compound contains a NTP listed carcinogen, Methyleugenol! There

are components of Oil of Clove that are INAD's, but with the recent toxic problems in products coming

from China, the NTP has had to suspend it's review until early next year. Any compound has

the potential to be toxic if it is not formulated or used in the proper amounts. This area is best left up

to the FDA Center's for Veterinary Medicine, state, federal agencies and experts such as ourselves

that deal with INAD or any human or animal drug! We hold but state and FDA permits. Berkely and

Pure Fishing DO NOT! They are not subject or regulated by the FDA, although that may soon change.

I do not CLAIM to be an expert on the other sections of the book, but I did notice that a large amount

of published figures were taken from other research and or scientific societies, and was NOT RESEARCH conducted on HATCHERY fish in the Berkley Laboratory. This book was written and printed

to promote a product, and contains false and misleading information.

[roadwarrior]

Thank you Lane.

[jaskoh]

"He has pieced together bits of information from TRUE scientific organizations such as the American Fisheries Society and the Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries.

This is very much frowned upon by members of the scientific community, INCLUDING MYSELF!"

This might be true but do these organizations make these articles readily available to the public? I understand everything is probably available to the public but what I mean is I personally don't even know where to start looking for articles like this (I wish I did). I understand why people in the scientific field look down upon this and I also know that he was interpreting the studies in his own way. But if I do not have access to these studies how can I not appreciate such a book that at least gave me a glimpse at this information.

And yes Berkley does push their products a little in this book. Exspecially with the scents. But I found the chapter dealing with the Vision to be the most usefull in the book. It has been 6 months since I read it and I know I did not retain everything. But there isn't one book that I have read so far that they do not push some type of product. This is including Mike's book.

Lane, if your colleagues and yourself produced a book similar to the one being discussed I would be the first in line to buy it.    

[Lane]

jaskoh,

The American Fisheries Society has an online bookstore. They have several books on largemouth

and smallmouth bass.

Here are the links,

www.afsbooks.org/indes.html

www.fisheries.org/afs/

If I do decide to write a scientific book, it will be peer reviewed for accuracy and content.

Meanwhile, we do plan to submit research to the American Fisheries Society for peer reviewed

publication in their Journals.

Fin-S-R has already hit upon this point. Some of the information is dry and may be hard to understand

for the lay person, but you can gain alot of information from reading these publications and journals.

Tony used to be a member of the American Fisheries Society, and we were recently approached by

some of their members to join the organization once again. We have already sent in our dues.

[Guest avid]

Ok every body

Le'ts take a deep breath and refocus.

While the scientific debate is fascinating, this post is asking for thoughts regarding Ike's book.

I bought and read the book when it was first released.

I can't say I loved it.  but it does give a pretty good portrayal of the commitment and dedication - not to mention expense of being a touring fishing pro.

I like him.   His story is very poignant, very "real"

Plus how could I not like a skinny Italian kid from Joisey who rose to the top of a game dominated by dixie.

[Lane]

Iconelli's book gives reader's a look into professional tournament fishing, and is a GREAT

biolography of his life!

Here are some recommended books that deal with the fish science, they can definately help

anglers gain knowledge into not only the bass, but some of their prey. All are available on

the AFS website.

Bluegills: Biology and Behavior by Stephen Spotte (Bluegills are a favored prey item for bass)

First International Smallmouth Bass Symposium by D.C Jackson ( EXCELLENT READING!!!!!!) Good

section on crawfish.

Black Bass: Ecology, Conservation and Management. An official publication of AFS.

[MendotaBassMaster]

I really enjoyed Ike's book. Once I started it I could not put it down. I really enjoyed how he instilled the confidence level in. I mean how many people do you know that need a boat(like myself) say I am going to go out and win this tournament and this boat and then go out and do it. That is pure and simple determination some luck and some darn good fishing. Never give up is a classic saying. He has done this on more than once.

I also read Shaw Grigsby's book Bass Master. I liked it as well but not as much as Ike's.

[burleytog]

It was a good read.

[BassHunter69]

well the current book im reading is bass madness by ken schultz