| Fishing on the Edge |  | Authors: Mike Iaconelli, Brian Kamenetzky, Andrew Kamenetzky
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 4184012
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
ISBN: 0440335426
EAN: 9780440335429
ASIN: 0440335426
Publication Date: May 2005
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Product Description
With his colorful tattoos and booming hip-hop sound track, Mike Iaconelli has turned the world of big-money competitive bass fishing upside down. In Fishing on the Edge, Iaconelli tells his own story–and it’s a whopper: a Philly-born, Jersey-bred Yankee who’s been stealing the spotlight from bass fishing’s traditionally all-Southern anglers, attracting fans and dominating one of the fastest-growing sports in America.
How did Mike Iaconelli, a college-educated kid from New Jersey, come blasting into a sport
dominated by old-school stars like Gary Klein, Kevin VanDam, and Denny Brauer? How did Mike, aka “Ike,” take a secret childhood passion and turn it into a profession, earning million-dollar sponsorships and a storm of media attention, ranging from ESPN’s SportsCenter to profiles in The New York Times and Esquire? While Mike has attracted both fans and foes on the tour,
his success speaks for itself, especially his victory at the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of competitive fishing.
Forty-four million Americans fish, but no one does it quite like Mike Iaconelli. In Fishing on the Edge, he lets you in on the secrets to his extraordinary success–how he developed his “power” fishing style, how he attacks the water, positions the boat, and perseveres through those days when the bass just aren’t biting. With sidebar tips that can be used by any fisherman–from using spinner baits to picking out the right rod to his no-fail “secret weapons”–this is an intensive, informative, and often raucous journey through the life of a brash young man destined to do for fishing what Tony Hawk did for the X Games: take the sport to a whole new level. At the same time, it’s the compelling first-person story of a man who prepared carefully every step of the way, kept notes on every fish he ever caught, and executed the perfect plan to get to the top.
A tale of passion, competition, and extreme personality, Fishing on the Edge is a book for anyone who loves the sport of fishing, wants to turn a hobby into a career, or is simply fascinated by a man’s unstoppable drive to succeed.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Not great but not terrible October 4, 2008
It's a quick read, I finished it in a couple of hours. I thought the writing style was poor. It's written in a really familiar voice. Picture reading a long email sent by a friend. He uses the monumentally annoying "you know?" at the end of 50 or more sentences throughout the book. Of course I don't "know" what you're talking about, instead of explaining yourself you just trail off thinking the point is too obvious to bother printing.
There's about 15 sidebars throughout the book, explaining everything from breaking down a lake to what his favorite songs are. There's not much technical fishing knowledge (i.e. lure selection or casting technique) in the book, which honestly is OK since I didn't read it for that. The author favors trying to get the reader to see all the questions that were considered to reach a certain decision and I like that approach. Fishing isn't something you apply a template too, many fisherman can figure out what lures and tackle to use if they just know the important questions to ask themselves. I think it's better to learn the right questions to ask and work out the answers for yourself and apparently the author agrees.
The fishing stories themselves are decent, but often plot lines just fade into pointlessness. The best example I recall was his tale of the 2003 Classic. The author is really worried about spectator traffic on day 2 ruining his prime fishing hole. The worry is explained for several pages and even mentions how he tries to wear a goofy costume so that fans wouldn't be able to identify him at a distance as easily. He's doing all he can to throw them off the trail, he doesn't want them to ruin the fishing spot before he can use it to win the Classic. Well, in short, he never brings it up again. When he arrives at the spot he outlines his day's catch and never mentions how the spectators effect him or the fishing. The previous pages of worry are just forgotten and not resolved or explained.
The main focus of the book is really the hardships of living on the road and the lifestyle of fishing for bass professionally. It won't really help your fishing tremendously and the writing isn't very good. Still, it's not a completely miserable book and the subtle fishing related topics do have some value. I don't think there's any reason to own the book if your library has a copy, there's no lasting knowledge or tidbits to revisit between fishing seasons.
 Great book!! July 3, 2008
I started to read it and couldn't stop. It took me a week to finish it and it was great. Mike takes you to the real ambience of tournament fishing and his tips are very good to improve your fishing techniques. The books also represents a very good example on how his familiy has been a very important part of becoming a chmapion and how this affected his personal life.
Great book overall!
Pablo Magallanes
Guadalajara, Mexico.
July, 2008
Decent but not Spectacular April 28, 2008
Full disclosure...I had only read about the author in Bassmaster magazine or watched him on ESPN, so I had a negative opinion about Mike before I ever picked up his book. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to catching bass. He had many valid points about the world of professional bass fishing. The material about his personal life (e.g., divorce and his sexual conquests) did not really add anything to what he had to say, but all in all it was a pretty good effort. Mike, I don't hate you any more. I just think you are emotionally immature.
Inspiring Book November 23, 2007
Great Read! I reccomend this book for anyone who follows Pro Bass Angling or who fishes. It's fun to read about the mishaps that the Pros have made and continue to make. Great look inside the tour and how intense fishing can really be. There are also some great tips scattered throughout the book. So, read it with a highlighter and forget what the Teachers and Librarians say, dog ear the pages or you'll never find them again.
 Fascinating Look at the Unknown Side of a Sport December 20, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I found this book to be quite informative about the unexpectedly interesting sport of professional bass angling. The book is primarily about his journey from fun fisher to world champion professional angler. As it turns out, this backstage tour of a sport takes you through a lot of hard times, uncertainty, emotions, personal growth, and (of course) gossip. That being said I don't really agree with other reviews that you will learn much about how to fish from this book; he does spend some time talking about specific techniques but usually it is something to do with his "stone jig" which he created and he gets 18 cents for each one you buy.
I ended up with a largely sympathetic impression of Ike and his life journey thus far. I would say that it is true that at times there is a certain bravado that feels more like a marketing ploy than a glimpse of his true personality. But in the end, he is quite clear that he is interested in creating a brand of himself. At times his discussion of any negative emotional episodes and his role in them did seem a bit juvenille. You know? (You'll get that joke when you read the book.)
All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
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