John Bacarella

	Home Town:	Clinton Twp, MI
	Contact Info:	john.bacarella@magnaclosures.com john.bacarella@gmail.com
	Website(s):	www.sportsmensdirect.com
	Hobbies:	Ice fishing, archery, custom rod building and inventing cool new toys like the Sonic Ice Hopper Visit us at www.sportsmensdirect.com to see all of the Ice Hopper products and much more.
	Favorite Athlete(s):	Any athlete that's not too arrogant
	Favorite Food(s):	Pizza or spicy chilli
	Favorite Rod/Reel:	My very own Sportsmen's Direct Rods and reels, plus IceTech Razor reels. For open water fishing, daiwa SS series reels and St. Croix or G loomis rods.
	Favorite Bait:	Little Atom Nuggies, Micro-Nuggies, J and S Ice Mite or GoJo, Heavy Metal Epoxy Crystal jigs
	Favorite Type of Fishing:	Ice fishing, but do love river fishing for steelhead too.

Best Fishing Memory as a Child:

Getting my picture on the board of a local tackle shop for catching a #52, six fish limit of walleyes and a bonus muskie while shore fishing from a local pier. I was blessed to grow up in St. Clair Shores MI, in the Nautical Mile area. I spent my entire childhood fishing the area canals, piers and marinas. When I was about 14 I started to venture offshore. But I still love to fish my childhood haunts...now I share them with my son.

Best Fishing Moment:
Watching my 5 yr old son hook and land 2 14" perch from 27 fow using a flasher and all artificial bait. He was also using a rod that I had built for him. The smile on his face was priceless. Finishing in the top ten on both days last year at the NAIFC was pretty cool too!

About Me:

My friends just call me Little John, I'm really not sure why. I don't look that little with all my layers of insulation on. I'm 45 yrs old, married 17 yrs to a saint of a wife and have two wonderful children, Joshua age 9 and Jordan age 5. They are the best. I am a devout Christian and always consider myself a "work in progress". I work for one of the worlds largest automotive suppliers and Rep. for them at a local auto assembly plant. I spend most of my vacation time fishing tournaments.

I patented the Sonic Ice Hopper with former natiomal champion Phil Morse and launched Sportsmen's Direct about 2 yrs ago. I am having a blast designing and manufacturing products for ice fishermen across North America. I am also blessed to be able to help other small US manufacturers establish themselves through our company. It is my goal and dream to be able to some day support my family and further God's kingdom while persuing my passions of hunting and fishing.

I am absolutely insane when it comes to ice fishing. I'm one of those guys that literally gets ill when I can't find any more ice to fish. My wife both prays for and dreads ice. She knows what it means to me, but also knows that I'll be gone too. I'm pretty aggressive (must be that Napoleon complex that us vertically challenged folks get) but not in a negative way. I'm definitely extroverted and would probably drive you nuts with my talking and story telling on a long trip. Maybe that's why I'm on my 4th partner LOL.

I like quality toys like my custom 4x4 Quigley E350 extended van that I drive to all the tournamnets. My fishing is important to me. So I don't skimp. I only use equipment that I know is always up to the task.

If you see me on the ice, I'll always take time to chit chat (unless its tourney day).

Sponsors:
Sportsmen's Direct Inc

Wilcraft - the only ATV designed by ice fishermen and for ice fishermen. Like a bass boat on ice!

Montrose Trailers- custom aluminum trailers

Upcoming Appearences:
Woods-N-Waters Outdoor Fair, Imlay City MI, Sept. 9-11 2011

NAIFC championship in Rhinelander, WI. Dec. 2011

Tournament History:
Qualified for 8 NAIFC Championships including Dec.'11 and have finished in the top 10 twice. i Have also competed on the NEIT and in the Canadian Ice Fishing Championships.