Mike Iaconelli catches them. Better than most. That's a fact, regardless of whether you love or hate his personality. And with his new DVD series, he's spilling the goods on what he's done to get where he is, including winning the Bassmaster Classic (plus other events) and being one of the top-ranked anglers in the world.

Naturally, Iaconelli took a different approach to a "how-to" fishing video. How? It's high-quality, the graphics are first-rate, and the look of it is new, different and engaging. "I had several other opportunities to do videos in the past, but none really tripped my trigger until this one," he says. "I wanted to do something new and innovative, and felt this one hit the mark."

This DVD is supposed to be the first of several. It's called Ike's Rules for Better Bass Fishing, Volume 1: Taking Luck Out of the Equation.

"The point of this video was very simple to me," Ike says. "Since I came through the ranks and joined the trail not knowing much about new water, I wanted to help other anglers trying to do the same thing get knowledge much faster than by trial and error." But weekend anglers who just stay local will benefit from it too.

In this DVD, he spills the beans on how to form a consistent, organized approach to any lake using a step-by-step process. He covers historical research and use of local knowledge; use of multiple map sources; rod, reel, line and lure selection; seasonal bass movements and water temperature variables; and predicting the instincts of bass.

The finer points of electronics use are also discussed in detail, including finding and locating structure and depth changes found on maps, and using the zig-zag approach to dissecting structure. Plus a lot more.

As he says, the video is targeted to people looking to figure out new water, so it will help everyone from the novice to the aspiring pro. At first we thought it was a little "beginnerish," but then we got more out of it the second time around. For example, everyone knows you do research and map study – but specifically how does Iaconelli do it? That was interesting.

Two big surprises:

> This is all about teaching. No attitude, no hip-hop, and just two screams. Really it's just straight-up tips from one of the best fishermen in the world.

> Even though Iaconelli is known as a great marketer, this is one of the most non-commercial vids we've ever seen. It's absolutely not a sponsor-promotion fest, which we thought was great. He shows his sponsors' products, but doesn't barrage you with them. And there's no "this is the greatest [blank] ever" kind of talk.

A few more notes on our impressions:

> Ike is good on camera, which helps a lot. But the DVD also flows very well. There are no dead spots.

> It's hardcore in that he doesn't even get out on the water until halfway through the 43 minutes because it's about how to approach a lake. He doesn't catch a fish until 32 minutes in.

> Props to Ike for the family and conservation messages at the end.

This DVD is just plain talk about finding and locating fish to add enjoyment to the fishing experience. The bottom line is that this might be the best DVD tutorial on this subject we've ever seen.

And as with nearly all instructional media by top pros, we think anyone would be nuts not to shell out a relatively small amount of money to get inside these guys' heads.

For more information and to order, click here to go to www.ikesrules.com.

(One quick note: The download of gear needed for your boat referenced in the DVD is not yet on IkesRules.com.)