August 20, 2008
Syracuse, NY – The Champion's Choice event on Oneida Lake was the final Elite Series tournament of the 2008 season, and was appropriately named as three titles were handed out: the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, and of course, the Champion's Choice tournament winner. Lakeland Park, FL angler Bobby Lane took home the Rookie of the Year honors and Tundra pro Kevin VanDam took home his fourth Angler of the Year title.
Regarding his fourth Angler of the Year title over the course of his storied career, Kevin explained that this year's trophy means more to him than any of the previous three. "I can tell you the competition is much stronger today than it was just a few years ago," he said. "This is the Elite Series. This is the test of the best. I am real proud that I came out on top this year. I don't believe in luck, but you do have to be fortunate out there."
The Bassmaster Elite Series Champion's Choice tournament winner was Dean Rojas, who ended the week with a total weight 65 pounds 2 ounces of largemouth – something that many pros said wasn't possible given Oneida's abundance of smallmouth. For the third straight tournament, Tundra Fishing Team pro Mike Iaconelli made the Top 12, ending the week in third place (his highest finish of the season) with 59 pounds 4 ounces.
Michael Iaconelli milked one area for all it was worth. "I found a great group of fish, developed a pattern to catch them and followed through on it. I wish I had found a better backup area, but I feel like I caught as much as I could from my one spot."
Iaconelli led the event after the second day by weighing the heaviest limit of the tournament at 20 pounds 1 ounce. "You know how some athletes talk about being in the zone," Iaconelli said of his second day performance, "That's what it was like for me Friday. Every cast had a purpose."
Oneida's fishing this week was by no stretch easy when trying to figure out which species of bass (largemouth or smallmouth) to target. "Sticking with the wrong species too long is probably what I did wrong this week." 5th-place finisher and Tundra Fishing team pro Dave Wolak revealed, "You have to fish what this lake gives you and I made some untimely moves."
