PHILADELPHIA For just the second time in the history of the Bass Anglers Sportsmen's Society Elite Series a tournament is being contested in Pennsylvania waters.

From Thursday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 10, the world's best professional bass anglers will be competing in the Bassmaster Elite on the Delaware River out of Philadelphia. In 2005 BASS held an Elite event on the Three Rivers out of Pittsburgh, and nine of the top 10 finishers in that championship including champion Kevin VanDam will fish the upcoming event.This is the seventh stop in this year's Elite Series and will set the stage for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award on water that BASS has never visited before.For one angler, however, this stop on the Elite tour may provide a home-water advantage. That angler is Mike Iaconelli, who was born in 1972 in South Philadelphia and whose resume includes winning a BASS Nation Championship, a Bassmaster Classic, a Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award, catching 100 pounds in a BASS event and earning more than $1 million in BASS prize money.Iaconelli grew up living with his mother, his uncle and his grandparents, and as a youngster was introduced to fishing on summer trips to the Pocono Mountain. On these trips, he was first introduced to other types of fishing other than bass fishing, and his first experiences were with trout and panfish.At the age of 12, Iaconelli caught his first largemouth bass during his family's annual summer trek to the Pocono Mountains. He used a 9S Floating Rapala lure to catch the bass, which he says was the moment that sparked his interest in bass fishing, and his love for bass fishing continued on into high school.After high school, Iaconelli founded the bass fishing club, "Top Rod Bassmasters," which became his first venture into competitive bass fishing with interclub tournaments amongst its members. In 1992, after three years of fishing in "Top Rod Bassmasters," he made the transition to the pro-am circuit.Iaconelli's first tournament on the pro-am circuit was the North Carolina Top 100 event held on Lake Norman in Mecklenburg County. In this tournament, he first drew widely known fisherman Tommy Biffle and in the following days of the North Carolina Top 100 drew well-known fishermen David Fritts and Gary Klein.In 1994, Iaconelli once again fished the North Carolina Top 100 on Lake Norman and at this tournament won his first bass boat, a new Ranger 374. Having that boat allowed him to compete in the Red Man and BASS Federation trails. In 1997 he fished a BASS Invitational Tournament on Buggs Island, also known as Kerr Lake and on the first day was paired with the four-time Bassmaster Classic champion VanDam.One of Iaconelli's earliest federation tournament victories came on New Jersey's Lake Hopatcong, breaking the lake and one-day federation record of just more than 18 pounds with an official weight for that tournament of 19.58 pounds.In 1999, Iaconelli qualified for the Bassmaster Federation Nationals on the Red River and won the event in qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic held on the Louisiana Delta in New Orleans. A Classic rookie, he caught a three-day total of 39 pounds, 12 ounces to finish in sixth place, earning sponsorships from Dick's Sporting Good and Daiwa.In September of the same year, Iaconelli collected his first victory in the professional ranks by winning the Bassmaster Vermont Top 150 on Lake Champlain with more than 61 pounds of bass to earn a $100,000 check. In 2000, he moved to the professional ranks and won the Classic held on Lake Michigan out of Chicago with a three-day weight total of 20.01.Iaconelli won the 2003 Bassmaster Classic and a $200,000 purse with a three-day total of 37.14, and the fish that put him over the top was captured on camera. That moment is often shown on ESPN, and as he boats the winning fish exclaims, "Never give up! Never give up, man!"In 2005, Iaconelli recorded five top-ten finishes on the Bassmaster and Elite 50 Tours, placing fifth in the Classic on the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. Although he finished fifth, his weight was just 1.10 behind Classic champion VanDam.Iaconelli recorded top-20 finishes in seven of the eight Elite Series events in 2006, but is perhaps most remembered for his placing 51st in the Classic after being disqualified when a livewell malfunction caused him to be penalized for having two dead fish. He went on to win the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year award, but was named one of the 10 most hated athletes by "GQ" magazine.Since then Iaconelli's popularity has rebounded, but one thing that never changed is his desire to win. That desire and experience on the Delaware River could make him the angler to beat.For a schedule of events on the Delaware River Bassmaster Elite Series event access the BASS website at

www.bassmaster.com.