By Michael Iaconelli
As told to Sam Jemielity

It was one of 2003's strangest sports highlights. After Michael Iaconelli won the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic, he broke into a rather bizarre breakdance on the weigh-in podium. A fisherman flexing his funk is not something most sports fans are used to seeing. But who could blame him? Iaconelli had just reeled in the sport's biggest title and increased his bank account by about $200,000.

"That was the moment I had been working for my whole career, and really my whole life," the 31-year-old Iaconelli told Playboy.com. "The 15-second fight between me and that last bass lasted an eternity in my mind. The moment I had my grip on that fish and I knew it was mine, that was when it all came out."

The ebullient angler took up fishing as a toddler, but Iaconelli didn't start fishing competitively until after high school. After winning the Federation National Tournament in 1999, the New Jersey resident turned pro and won the second professional tournament he fished.

The 2003 Classic was Iaconelli's fourth go-round in the granddaddy of bass fishing competitions. Along with the prize money and notoriety he was also booked on Leno. "I want to expose the sport to a new group of people who might not normally view fishing as exciting," Iaconelli explains. With summer about to set in and anglers across America stocking up on bait and tackle, we asked Iaconelli to share some wisdom only a true bassmaster would know.

Always cast to cover. Bass love to hang near cover like stumps, logs, vegetation, rocks, old shopping carts, anything. They hang around these areas to hide and ambush their prey. So always try to cast your lure near cover.

Carry an assortment of lures to cover all of the zones in the water column. Use surface plugs for the surface, use crankbaits and spinnerbaits for the midzone, and use plastic worms and jigs to fish on the bottom. Bass will use different zones at different times.

Use spinning gear to cast smaller and lighter lures that weigh a quarter ounce or less. Use baitcasting gear to cast larger and heavier lures that weigh a quarter ounce or more.

Always use polarized sunglasses to help you see the subtle clues found both on and underneath the water surface. Watch for surface activity like fish jumping. Look beneath the water to search for cruising fish and to find underwater cover to cast to.

When you're fishing in very clear water and you're around limited cover, use lighter line like 8- to 12-pound test. When fishing in stained or muddy water or if fishing around a lot of cover, fish with heavier line, like 14- to 20-pound test.

Besides the line, the most important link between you and catching that trophy bass are the hooks! When using plastic worms, use 2/0 hooks on four-inch worms, use 3/0 hooks on six-inch and seven-inch worms and use a 4/0 hook on eight-inch to 10-inch worms. Always keep your hook razor sharp!

Fishing, just like other sports, takes practice. Keep plugging away and you will eventually have success.