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PowerPro Shines Bright - Moon Shine
Braid Wins Best of Show in Line Category
These days half of the rigs I fish with on any given day come loaded with
braided line. The applications for superline continue to grow, and with many
techniques the strength and handling characteristics simply are unmatched. One
area where PowerPro saw room to further innovate was in the realm of night
fishing, and using their Super8Slick V2 as a foundation they launched Moon Shine
at ICAST |
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Gill Refines Their Outerwear Catalog
Gill, founded in 1975 by British Sailor, Nick Gill, is a leading manufacturer in technical marine apparel. Having set their sights on the bass fishing world roughly a decade ago, the company is responsible for innovations like the Vortex Hood. This year, the company didn't have anything quite as revolutionary, but certainly a few items you might want to add to your radar.
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Two New Products from SIMMS
Designed to Keep You Cool and Dry
While many apparel companies are relying on alternative materials, Simms continues to leverage the power of Gore-Tex in their garment and this year's new G4Z Stockingfoot Wader features a new, proprietary Gore-Tex material in a 4-layer lower, and 3-layer upper construction. |
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Arashi Glides Through The Storm
Have you joined the glide bait craze? Maybe you're hesitant and waiting for a dependable, affordable alternative to the high stakes JDM offerings? If so, at this year's ICAST, Storm introduced a bait that may be the answer to your hesitation. Introducing Storm's Arashi Glide.
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Daiwa Raises the Spinning Bar with
a Trio of New Reels
Daiwa makes some of the most advanced and refined spinning reels on the
market, and yet each ICAST they seem to find a way to make these eggbeaters even
better. This ICAST the company refreshed the premium Certate, and introduced the
world to two brand new lines, the Kage LT and QZ reels. |
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Rapala Rounds Out Sizes to Attract Bigger Bites
Always a company at the forefront of lure design, Rapala was busy extending the versatility of some proven baits at ICAST this year. Where most companies in recent memory go with smaller versions of proven baits to appeal to a wider audience, Rapala went in the opposite direction to attract bigger bites.
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Gamakatsu Expands Their G-Box Series
No matter where you go, you
need a method to carry your baits and no matter what bait you're fishing, but
especially soft plastics, you need terminal tackle to complete setup. Gamakatsu recognizes this need and presented a couple options for both at ICAST this year.
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13 Fishing Boldly
Goes Where no Bait has Gone Before with the Motor Boat and Pathfinder Lures
With the same aggressive design approach to lures as the
company exhibits when it comes to reels and rods 13 Fishing introduced a pair of
potentially game changing hybrid styled lures including the Pathfinder topwater
walking bait and Motorboat plastic buzz style lure at ICAST today. |
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List of ICAST 2019 BEST
OF SHOW Category Winner
Minutes ago the 2019 Best of Show category winners were announced at
ICAST in Orlando. After voting by buyers and industry media the best of show
category winners have been announced and will now compete in another round of
voting for the overall Best of Show, which will be announced tomorrow at 2:00PM
(EDT) |
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Shimano Refreshes Stradic Series and
Introduces New Intenza Casting Rods
While the SLX DC reel is getting the majority of the spotlight at the
Shimano booth the company also rolled out a number of new products that also are
of note including an update to their workhorse Stradic Series of spinning reels
and the introduction on a new casting rod lineup called Intenza. |
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Jackall Introduces iSHAD Finesse Plastics
and Keeburn Blades Baits
Whether you want to catch reaction or finesse fish Jackall has both sides
of the spectrum covered this year with the launch of the iSHAD plastics and
their new circuit body based blade called the Keeburn.
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Lew's New Introductions Are Not to Be Taken Lite-ly
With each passing year at ICAST, Lew's booth seems to be filled with product that is more and more diverse. It's obvious the company wants to be known for more than just fishing reels and this year, they have a few more products that serve as evidence of their broader goals.
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AFTCO Extends Their Catalog of Product
- Submersible Shorts and Leader
Bursting onto the freshwater fishing scene just a few short years ago, AFTCO has done an excellent job outfitting anglers with the apparel they need to shield themselves from the elements. At ICAST this year, the company was busing filling in some needs, extending others, and branching into new realms.
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13 Fishing Integrates Carbon into their
Enthusiast BOSS Reels and FUSE Rods
13 Fishing continues to be one of the most progressive tackle companies,
and is willing to make bold moves when it comes to use of new materials,
approaching tackle design with a fresh set of design philosophies, and pushing
the envelope in sheer fun factor. This year the company has literally fused
carbon into their enthusiast offerings with the Concept BOSS baitcasters and
FUSE Rods. |
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LIVETARGET Unveils Baits with Injected
Core Tech for more Realistic Patterns and Actions
If there is one lure manufacturer that seems to own ICAST it has to be
LIVETARGET. The brand continually delivers hits and wins at the show with their
ultra-realistic match the hatch designs. This year the company focused on their
Injected Core Technology™ (ICT) which strives to deliver the most realistic
patterns with the most desirable actions with a specialized injection process. |
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Z-Man is Ready for Some Football!
Z-Man is a company always prepared for the fishing industries largest trade show. This year was no different as the company extended their investment in two specialized techniques and expanded their offering in another.
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Daiwa Expands Popular
Tatula Series With New Elite and Elite Pitch and Flip Baitcasters
The Daiwa Tatula has gotten good, like really good, and as
good as some previous generation Zillions. Last ICAST Daiwa introduced the
smaller more ergonomic new Tatula profile and the market responded. Today the
Tatula Series is a top seller for Daiwa and this ICAST the company further
expanded the line with the further refined Tatula Elite and Elite Pitch and Flip
models. |
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GLoomis Doubles Down on IMX Pro -
New MBR, SJR, and CR Bass Rods
The IMX-Pro line has been a winner for the company which is known by many
for their high end GLX and NRX lines. Last season the IMX-Pro line went
application specific and brought back many of the actions that G.Loomis Mag Bass
fans loved. This season the company is doubling down, and introducing 17 new
"Classic Action" rods. |
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Shimano's Makes Digital Cast
Braking Affordable with the New SLX DC Baitcaster
The SLX Series has been a winner for Shimano,
helping bolster the brand's appeal in the mainstream segment, offering anglers a
reasonably priced aluminum framed everyday workhorse baitcaster. This ICAST
Shimano pushes the performance to value ratio with the introduction of a new SLX
reel equipped with the company's Digital Cast (DC) braking system. |
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FishLab Enters the Market with a Wide
Range of Baits, Including the Exciting Bio Gill Swimbaits
Sure to be one of the biggest launches this ICAST was not just a new bait
but rather an entire bait brand, meet FishLab Tackle, a new lure brand with the
resources of Okuma behind the company and focused on what they call the "Science
of the Strike." |
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Plano Introduces their most Advanced Boxes
to date - Meet the EDGE Series
When it comes to tackle storage the first name that comes to mind is
Plano. Just like "Kleenex" when anglers refer to their modular tackle boxes,
regardless of the manufacturer, they call them Plano boxes. Just when you
thought it was difficult to further innovate in the category Plano is
introducing their most advanced storage to date, meet the EDGE. |
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St. Croix's Popular Mojo Bass Gets Glass,
and Greener
While the majority of fishing rod manufacturers in the bass fishing space battle to leap frog one another in high-end graphite blank technology and marketing terms, this year St. Croix has taken a different tactic. Leveraging the success over the last couple of years with their Legend Glass series, the manufacturer is now trickling down that tech to a more budget friendly series of sticks for moving baits. |
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Nishine Digs a Little Deeper -
Introduces Nimazu Baby Catfish Bait
Since our introduction to Hiroshi Nishine and Nishine Lure Works at ICAST 2018, we've been in admiration of the care and artistry that goes into each bait. We were anxious to see what he had in store for us this coming year and we were not disappointed.
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ARK Rods Calls on Reinforcements to Invade the Enthusiast Market
Fresh off the successful debut of their Randall Tharp signature series of rods, what could ARK Rods possibly have in store for us in 2019? Priced at $129.99, last year's introduction has already risen to become the company's best selling series and we have several official reviews in the works. With a successful line of affordable rods on the market, for 2019, ARK Rods has turned their attention to the Enthusiast Crowd. |
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Strike King Diversifies Their Product Portfolio
- Meet the Rage Ned Bug
With a catalog full of effective hard baits and soft plastics, what could a company like Strike King possibly do to add to their product offering? How about offer a complete bait system consisting of a soft plastic and the terminal tackle with which to fish that soft plastic? Maybe a fishing line too? Oh and sure, why not add another crankbait while they're at it?
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The Next L.O.U.S. : 6th Sense's Cloud 9 Magnum Squarebill
On my search for the next Lure
Of Unusual Size (L.O.U.S.), I purchased the subject of today's review. While not quite the stature of an unusually sized lure, 6th Sense's Cloud 9 Magnum Squarebill, is a good choice when you're tired of going small.
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One for the Enthusiasts: The Shimano Antares A70 Baitcaster with
MGIII
Every lineup needs a flagship, and in Shimano’s low
profile baitcasters series the one reel to rule them all is the Antares A70, the
smallest and most advanced non-DC equipped Antares the company has introduced.
Designed to usher in a new benchmark in refinement and casting performance, with
the implementation of the new MGII spool design, this reel might just be the
company’s most sophisticated yet. |
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Spice Up Your Fishing with Reaction Innovation's New Beaver Variant
Reaction Innovation's Sweet Beaver is one of the
more iconic soft plastic baits on the market. When it comes to bait profile
recognition and imitation, the Sweet Beaver is right up there with the Yamamoto
Senko and Zoom Brush Hog. Another general indication in how successful a product
has been for a manufacturer in the tackle industry is in the number of variants
that are available
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Is ICAST's Best Freshwater Reel of 2016 Still Relevant?
It has been a few years since
Lew's introduced their Custom Pro SLP casting reel and took home ICAST honors for Best Freshwater Reel
back in 2016. Lew's has since introduced two reels above this former flagship. In a category where a three year old product could mean it's over the hill, does the Custom Pro SLP still hold up today? Let's find out. |
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Another Explosive, if not Diminutive Bait from Missile Baits : The Bomb Shot
Since their inception earlier this decade, Missile Baits has continued to refine and expand their lineup of soft plastic baits. We met up with John Crews, BASS Elite Series angler and founder of the company, late last year for a sneak peak at his latest creation, and today bring to our thoughts on this latest weapon. Introducing Missile Baits's Bomb Shot finesse bait. |
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Cranking It Up With Denali's Russ Lane Cranking Stick
The Attax AC722RL is a seven foot two inch (7'2") stick that
somehow feels more like 6'8" in hand. For some strange reason, I keep thinking
it's shorter than it actually is. Perhaps because it's so light and springy in
action... |
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Old School, Hand Crafted Art with PH Custom Lures's Ploppin' P
The Ploppin' P by PH Custom Lures is a bit of a
rarity in today's fishing tackle world. It's a plug made of wood. In fact all of
the company's plugs are made from wood which explains the premium price points.
The Ploppin' P's raison d'être of course, is that unique, metal tail designed to
gurgle and plop on the surface. |
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Filling out the Arsenal - A Hands on Look at the Newest Megabass
Destroyer Rods
This season, in advance of ICAST, Megabass
introduced five new casting and spinning models designed not only for particular
applications, but also focused on actual baits in the brand’s own lineup. We hit
the water with Kenichi Iiada, Megabass America's Product Manager, to find out
more about the latest additions to the Destroyer collection.
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Another Masterpiece from Roman Made : South
There was a time about a decade and a half or so ago, I would not touch a big bait unless it was designed and made here in the States. Taken a step further, if it wasn't made in California, I had a hard time taking a big bait seriously. Even the baits I had seen from Japan back then did not seem worthy of much attention.
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Feed Your Enthusiast Soul : Conquest 842C MBR
Saving money and being practical with your tackle buying decisions is the responsible thing to do. Afterall, you really can catch the same fish with a $99 fishing rod as you can with an $800 one, right?
If you consider such a purchase a waste, well, then there really is no need to spend that extra coin. However, for those of us who need a little more intrigue and performance, sometimes, nothing feeds your soul as well as that enthusiast piece of tackle. |
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Bow to the King - Fishing for Tarpon in the Florida Keys
For many anglers Tarpon
are a “bucket-list” fish, and are prized not only because of their size and
beauty, but because they are so difficult to land due to their acrobatic leaping
abilities. I’ve been wanting to check the Tarpon box off my personal list for a
long time, and when I got the invite to the Florida Keys to target these
incredible fish I jumped at the opportunity... |
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Okuma Gets Stealthy with
the Cerros Baitcaster
This past year at ICAST was relatively quiet for Okuma, but while surveying their low profile casting reels, I spotted a reel of which I was not familiar. It's an understated little gloss black number that felt good in hand and surprised me a little bit with the price tag of only $104.99, so after the show, I ordered one for a closer look.
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4x4 Cranking with Salmo's New Squarebill Crankbait
Most manufacturers have found ways to create more consistent, cost effective, productive baits with modern day plastic molds, but one manufacturer is taking a different spin on alternate materials. Salmo has a new square bill crank made from a proprietary high density foam. Here's our look at the Salmo Squarebill. |
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What's New Is Old School : Megabass of America's F7-76X Valdivia
Once considered Megabass's
entry level of rods, Destroyer is now viewed upon with an entirely different
perspective - at least in the North American Market. We can thank Levante and
Orochi XX for that shift in perspective, but for me, "Megabass" still starts
here...
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One Super-Sized Topwater Bait Please : Strike King's KVD Mega Dawg
There's no denying big baits are fun to throw. What makes them even more fun is if they are designed to be fished on top of the water. Topwater, big bait strikes are as thrilling as it gets. Strike King recognizes the excitement surrounding the pursuit of big strikes on topwater and have recently mega-sized one of their popular topwater baits...
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Taking Sun Protection to another
Level – Buff CoolNet UV+
Last ICAST Buff introduced a new version of their popular tubular garments, the
new CoolNet UV+ Series, which are designed to be their most technically
advanced, and environmentally friendly, multifunctional headwear to date. |
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Abu Garcia Makes a Case for (MG)Xtreme Value and Performance
What if you want to feed your
enthusiast soul with something better than "budget" but want to stay away from
"extravagant"? The answer there lies in the dollar amount you consider the happy
median. If you have a good amount of flexibility in that definition, Abu Garcia
has a new flagship spinning reel that could very well feed your hunger. Let's take a closer look at the MGXtreme spinning reel by Abu Garcia
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