April 13, 2008
Zapata, TX - Competition was cut short at the BASS Elite Series' Battle on the Border due to high winds that canceled Day 1 of competition on Lake Amistad. In turn, the entire field of 109 anglers fished through Saturday, skipping Friday's usual 50-man cut. As a result of the persistent high winds, sight fishing eventually gave way to deep jigs, Carolina rigs and swimbaits for most anglers in the Top 12 of the final standings.
Jasper, Texas pro Todd Faircloth won the $100,000 top prize with a three-day total weight of 76-15, edging out second-place finisher, and Elite Series rookie, Clark Reehm by just 12 ounces.
While none of the star-packed Toyota Tundra team anglers made the Top 12 cut, Mike Iaconelli managed to end the tournament tied in 17th place with 41-15 overall.
The week certainly held promise for Ike, but as he explained, Thursday's unplanned day off resulted in an inability to play the game of averages. "I figured the fish out late into the day Friday, and normally, you have another full day to build on what you've learned and carry it to the weekend."
Like Iaconelli, Kevin VanDam admitted that while he can't blame his performance on a lost day, it certainly didn't help his efforts. "I kind of missed the primary bite initially," KVD revealed. "I was able to figure something out late Saturday, but by then it was just too late," he added.
"I really struggled both days," said Van Dam. "While I was finally able to figure something out, I was forced into scrambling around in the last few hours just trying to capitalize on it. That gets you off rhythm and only adds to the problem," concluded the 3-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year.
Iaconelli concurs with VanDam, but adds, "The bottom line is that the shortened week forces you to compress everything, and at these events you cannot fish from the past. So you wind up trying to squeeze everything into the first day of the tournament, and you just can't do that."
