Not many current Elite anglers have fished multiple Bassmaster Elite Series events on Lake Murray. In fact, only 12 current Elite Series anglers fished the 2011 Bassmaster Elite on Lake Murray and the 2023 Bassmaster Elite on Lake Murray. Of those 12, Michael Iaconelli was a clear standout tying for second in 2011 and finishing 11th in 2023.
But how does an angler from New Jersey grow to have consistency at Lake Murray in two different decades? Ike credits his connection to Lake Murray to the versatility the lake offers. “On a typical lake, there’s two, maybe three predominant patterns going down,” said Ike. “Murray is unique because there’s five or six things that could go down at any time; couple that with how big it fishes and it fits my style really well.”
Lake Murray is loaded with blueback herring making it unique compared to most other fisheries in the country.
While Ike doesn’t have an extensive history with blueback herring, he grew up targeting alewife herring while fishing in New Jersey and the Northeast U.S. These two originally saltwater forage species act similarly, so Iaconelli is comfortable around the bluebacks that inhabit Murray.
Ike estimates there are five or six patterns that could be players in the event, ranging from fishing the blueback herring spawn in the morning, chasing pelagic herring eating fish, sight fishing for spawners, fishing bluegill beds, fishing deep grass or even targeting the cicada hatch.
The special thing about Murray is any of these patterns could be significant players because of the size of the lake and the number of big fish in there.
Iaconelli will spend his practice determining which of these patterns he wants to focus in on during the tournament and which areas of the lake are showing the most potential. Starting with tons of rods out and hopefully narrowing it down to a select few. “I never want to limit myself during practice, so I keep a bunch of rods out,” said Ike.
From then, he will create a plan A, B and C for when the tournament begins and let the current weather conditions dictate how he will target his fish.
It’s tough to compare weights year to year at lakes, but Ike guesses this year’s weights will be comparable to if not better than last year’s weights. “There are so many brute-stock size fish (3 to 5 pounds) in Murray right now, catching 17 pounds won’t do you much good,” says Iaconelli. “It’s going to be a big weight tournament; I’m aiming to catch 19 to 20 pounds per day.”
The number of limits weighed in should be one of, if not the best we see all season, competing with the likes of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River. According to Iaconelli, “With the introduction of forward-facing sonar and just how good these guys are, they can have a tough morning and bounce back by going and looking for fish on their graphs.”
When asked about the winning patterns Ike said the angler that wins will have a couple of patterns going instead of just focusing on one, “To win a four-day event on one pattern, everything has to go perfectly,” said Iaconelli. “With the size and diversity of this lake, the guy that has a couple things going will have the most consistency over four days.”
