When the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup commences July 30 on the Three Rivers in downtown Pittsburgh, the pretournament favorite will be an angler who doesn’t fish the FLW Tour or the FLW Series – the two most competitive circuits FLW Outdoors offers.
Instead, all eyes will be on a BASS Elite Series pro who qualified for the Cup by fishing the 2008 Stren Series Northern Division. That man is Michael Iaconelli – or Ike, as he is known in the industry. And while Scott Martin was catching giant largemouth bass on the north end of Lake Champlain earlier this month, and Clark Wendlandt and Luke Clausen were engaged in a heated Angler of the Year duel, Ike was quietly prepracticing on the Three Rivers. Before delving into the Cup itself, let’s take a look at how Iaconelli punched his ticket to Pittsburgh.
In the fall of 2007, the affable Iaconelli was in the process of plotting his 2008 tournament schedule.
“I looked at the Stren Series Northern Division, saw a couple tournaments I liked that were close to me, and I signed up,” he said. “I just wanted to fish a couple because I liked how they complemented my BASS schedule.”
Although Iaconelli makes no bones about primarily being a BASS pro, he started his career on the Red Man Tournament Trail, which has since morphed into the Walmart Bass Fishing League – an FLW Outdoors grass-roots circuit. Returning to the Stren Series was almost like a homecoming for him. The 
first Northern Division event of 2008 was on Lake Champlain, a giant body of water Iaconelli calls his favorite, in Plattsburgh, N.Y. He took sixth at that tournament, and a month later he again took sixth, this time at 1000 Islands.
“At 1000 Islands, I found out the Cup was a possibility for Stren Series pros. To be honest, I didn’t even know it was feasible before that. Once I found out, I decided to fish the entire season.”
Iaconelli didn’t just fish the rest of the season; he won the next event on Kerr Lake and then took sixth at the final qualifier on the Potomac River. He finished the year with 785 points, the highest of any pro in the entire Northern Division. But in order to qualify for the Cup, he had to be the highest-finishing Northern Division pro at the Stren Series Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo.
“I had a great run on the Stren Series, but making the Cup was still a long shot, because once you got to Table Rock, you still had to be the best from your division.”
Iaconelli’s 2008 Stren endeavor was more than a great run; it was the single best Stren Series season in company history, regardless of division. In Branson, the lone Cup berth from the Northern Division would come down to him and Dave Lefebre. The Kellogg’s pro led after day one with 13 pounds, 5 ounces, while Iaconelli had 12-7. On day two, Iaconelli only caught four keepers, but they weighed a solid 11-11. Lefebre caught another limit, but they were five skinny bass that weighed 10-2. Lefebre finished the event in 13th place with 23-7, and Iaconelli made the cut with 24-2 and took eighth overall.
Combined with the four qualifying events, Iaconelli made the cutoff at every Stren tournament he fished last year. But he’s not through with Lefebre just yet. Ironically, those two will square off again in Pittsburgh as pretournament favorites. Lefebre, who lives only two hours from the Three Rivers, qualified by finishing the 2009 FLW Tour regular season in seventh place.
“Making the Cup means a lot to me on a lot of different levels,” added Iaconelli. “Usually you don’t get second chances in life. If you go back and watch the television coverage, I had the winning fish stuck twice at the 2005 (Bassmaster) Classic. To get another chance on the Three Rivers is a pretty neat story. I think everything happens for a reason.”
The Runnemede, N.J., native said he’s been meticulously preparing for his first Forrest Wood Cup. Although he qualified for the championship in 2001, that event, scheduled for Lake Champlain, was cancelled due to the tragic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This year, while the FLW Tour pros were competing on Lake Champlain, Iaconelli was already rummaging the Three Rivers. By the time the FLW Tour anglers made it down to Pittsburgh following the top-10 cutoff, he had completed four intense days of practice. In total, he spent seven days on the water. He will resume his on-the-water preparation on Saturday, July 25, once the off-limits rule rescinds.
“This is a big one,” Iaconelli said of the Cup. “This is absolutely as big as the Classic. These championships are the tournaments that make or break your career.”
During prepractice, Iaconelli spent more time looking than fishing.
“I ran a lot of water because I wanted to learn what each pool had to offer in terms of cover, clarity and bait.”
The 2006 BASS Angler of the Year and 2003 Classic champion said the fishing will undoubtedly be difficult, but it’s a challenge to which he looks forward.
“`Tough’ sums it up real well. Those fish are under stress all the time and there are very few backwaters. In Pittsburgh, it’s possible that a 7- or 8-inch smallmouth is 2 years old. If you catch in the neighborhood of 6 to 7 pounds a day, you’ll be in contention. Every fish here is so important. When it finally bites, you’ve got to get it in the boat. It’s a totally different mindset – I think a lot of guys mentally aren’t going to be ready for that.”
Iaconelli said the bite promises to be so tough he isn’t sure if there are any pretournament favorites.
“If I have any advantage, it’s because I love urban waters. The way the rivers set up and how the fish relate, it’s exactly like the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers outside of Philadelphia where I grew up. It’s industrial, it’s tough fishing – those are my roots. Instead of being up against standing timber and grass mats, you’re taking aim at pillars and slabs of concrete. That’s diverse, and that’s something that is good for this sport.”
Ike took fifth at the 2005 Classic on the Three Rivers, but some of the water he fished in downtown Pittsburgh has been placed off limits by tournament officials. He’s somewhat disappointed by that decision, but it will not temper his enthusiasm, which comes from the notion of a major championship being held on an urban fishery. In addition to maintaining a rigid tournament and appearance schedule, Iaconelli is in the midst of taping the second season of “City Limits Fishing,” a popular show he hosts on 
VERSUS. Iaconelli is a non-traditional angler himself so it’s no surprise that his show is non-traditional.
“In two seasons with the show, I’ve been to a lot of cities, and urban fisheries just have a certain feel. You can take something you learned from Philly and apply it to Chicago. There is an art to urban fishing, and I’m confident in that environment. The show concept, in many ways, is similar to this upcoming tournament. We show up at the city launch and put in eight hours of grueling fishing. There are days when you catch them, and there are days when you don’t. What the viewers see is reality.”
Iaconelli expects many of the 77 Forrest Wood Cup qualifiers to struggle. Following his motto of “never give up,” he is singularly focused on getting five keepers into the boat every day. And with each keeper, Iaconelli will undeniably unleash a high-pitched “yeahhh” scream. It’s the scream bass-fishing fans have learned to love and fellow contenders have learned to hate – mainly because they know they’re falling behind.
“This is going to be the most challenging tournament FLW has ever had,” concluded Iaconelli. “This is going to be a total strategy event, where bait, tackle and equipment become even more important. Going into the last day, every ounce is going to count. Eight of the top 10 guys will have a chance to win with one cast, and that’s really neat.”