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G-RODS Takes
Graphene International - Preview New Trout and Big Game Rods
This ICAST G-Rods did exactly as their full name implies and is taking
their graphene rods international. The company showed us their new rods designed
for the Canadian market as well as gave us a first look at their upcoming line
of saltwater big game rods.
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Deps - The Not So Silent Anymore Killer
Already well established within Japan, and producer of one of the continuously most sought after swimbaits in the world in the Slide Swimmer, Deps has even more in store for the USDM thanks to Optimum bait company everything from a unique knife bait to an L.O.U.S. type square
bill. Let's take a look.
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Some Things Big, Some Things Small, and a Lot of Squaring Around with Spro
2018 for Spro will be about some things big, some things small, and a lot of squaring around as the lure manufacturer extends some lines and digs a little deep to create new ones. We met up with Mike McClelland and BBZ man himself Bill Siemental to learn about the new baits.
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Sunline Finally Extends P-ION to Other FC Options
Even with a full lineup of top quality lines in their suite of product, Sunline manages to push the envelope each year with a new introduction or two that keeps our Machine and abrasion tester busy. We're about ready to fall behind again as the manufacturer had three new products to show us at ICAST 2017.
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A Closer
Look at Daiwa LT Design, and the New Tatula Spinning Reel
At the show we highlighted the complete redesign of Daiwa's mainstream
spinning reels with their new Light and Tough (LT) spinning reel makeovers.
While the Ballistic LT is the highest end of these new reels it is the Tatula LT
that has many anglers most excited as it bears a stealthy new look and retails
for under 200 dollars. |
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The Future is So Bright at Lucky Craft USA, They're Distributing Sight Master Shades
Lucky Craft had plenty of bait introductions for this year that are actually already available but what surprised us when we entered their booth this year was the news that they've dipped their toes into the distributorship role helping brands from Japan enter the US Market. Takahiro Omori was on hand to show us what's up with the brand.
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Three New Baits from Big Bite Bait Company
Big Bite Baits has been relatively quiet in recent ICAST shows with one introduction here, another there, but this year, they had three new products and one size extension to show us.
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Gear with Grit : Hodgman's New H5 Storm Suit
When it's in the high 90's with 90% humidity outside, like it was in Orlando during ICAST 2017, it's difficult to look at a storm suit let alone think about one. What does help is when we see a new introduction that's well thought out and attractive to wear. Hodgman did just that this year with their new H5 Storm Suit.
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Pflueger Continues to Define Best Value
The brand that helps define performance and affordability refines their workhorse spinning reel to deliver their lightest, smoothest revision to date. But just how did they do it? Let's take a look.
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Cutting Edge -
Cuda's New Tools and Tackle Center
There are a lot of tools on the fishing market, probably as many as there
are reel options, and sorting through all the different options to find the
really good ones can be a bit of a challenge. While there are many tools that
look like they are simply re-branded work tools, Cuda is designing and building
angling specific solutions, and it shows. |
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13
Fishing Enters the Lure Market - Donkey Sauce!
Seriously, Is there anything that 13 Fishing can't
do? It sure doesn't seem like it as the company continues to grow at an amazing
pace. One of the keys to the company's success is the willingness to defy
convention, take chances, and never forget to have fun while doing it.
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This Reel is Home Where the Red and Bonefish Roam
Van Staal is a brand deep with
tradition and among the very top of the list when discussing enthusiast quality
gear. They've zeroed in on one market, and support that market very well - the
saltwater angler. Their fully machined reels are worthy of both the mantle and
the surf but up until now, they've been all about big, heavy duty, reels for
some of the toughest environments.
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New and Blue:
The Douglas LRS Rod Series
Offering both conventional and fly rods, Douglas had a presence on both
the ICAST and IFTD sides (as usual) of the show. While their fly rods will be
covered over on
Demystifly.com, we made sure to stop by and see what they had to offer in
the spinning and casting categories. The crew at Douglas always has something
new to show us, and this year was no different with the introduction of their
LRS rods. |
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Lew's is Absolutely
Crushing It with Combos
A few weeks prior to the show a box arrived at the
office from Lew's, and I'll admit I had a real head scratching moment when I
opened it. Inside the box was a single empty can of Orange Crush, that was
literally smashed and wound with fishing line tied to a hook that was attached
to an invitation teasing the new reel. |
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The MS-1 and More From Majorcraft
I've been
fishing Majorcraft's NANOACE rods for a couple of years now and even did a
full-blown review of their NAC-WJ731M. These rods are solid performers especially at the given price
points, but in my experience they fish lighter than their stated
ratings—especially by U.S. standards. At ICAST this year, Majorcraft unveiled a
new rod lineup that is said to be a bit different in regards to ratings. |
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Doomsday Tackle Company Plans for the Tackle
Apocalypse
We've been fishing a few of the soft plastic baits from Doomsday Tackle for some time now enroute to some eventual reviews. But when we entered their booth at ICAST this year, Will Stewart, owner and COO of Doomsday Tackle Co. had something unexpected to show us - a full line of bass rods!
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Aaron Martens
Puts His Signature on DUO
It didn't take long for Aaron Martens to start putting his mark on DUO,
and this ICAST the company introduced the first of many baits that are
influenced by the Professional Angler. In addition to Aaron's new baits the
company branched out significantly into other bait categories. |
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The Dark Knight - Shimano’s Exsence Spinning Reel
While the Sustain will no doubt find plenty of
homes on the decks of both freshwater and saltwater boats it was another even
more aggressively styled reel, the Exsence, that really caught my attention. The
Exsence looks like something straight out of the batcave, ready to do battle
with anything that comes its way, fresh or salt. |
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Ark Rods Demonstrates They Are Anything But Lost in the Bass Rod Market
There are three existing rod lines within Ark's arsenal and one, soon to be released line announced at ICAST this year. To develop the lengths, powers, and actions within each series the
company leaned upon Elite Series BASS angler Randall Tharp.
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Phenix Updates the MBX Line and
Introduces the Feather Series for Bass
With one of the most complete lineups for freshwater and salt, and one of the most aggressive mission statements in the industry, Phenix always has something special to show us at ICAST. This year they did a little updating of a classic line and then introduced another mid-tier suite of sticks situated right between their budget Maxim and intermediate Recon lines. |
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Lunkerhunt
Prop Frog and Prop Fish Really Churn
There is just something magical about a hollow bodied frog, maybe it is
how realistic they look, perhaps it is just the allure of those explosive
topwater strikes, or may it is just because they are just plain fun to fish. It
seems every year a new topwater bait gets everyone excited and this year in the
soft bait category it was Lunkerhunt. |
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Denali Finding their Stride with Fission and Kovert Inshore
Denali has been on a tear lately with the refinement and extension of their rod offerings. ICAST 2017 was no different. This year, the company introduces a brand new budget series of rods and then extends themselves into another market all together with the introduction of a brand new inshore series.
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Cashion Goes Performance Kayak
Cashion Fishing Rods has been around for several years but we were first made aware of them about two years ago when sharing some time on the water with
FLW pro Mike Neal. The company makes a full line of bass rods and sponsors Neal along with Elite Series pros John Crews and Tracy Adams. When we caught up with Mike Neal at ICAST 2017, he showed us the company's brand new Kayak Bass Casting Rod.
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Okuma Updates the Epixor XT and Coronado
CDX Spinning Reels
The more reel manufacturers we met with this ICAST the more it seemed
like it was a spinning focused year, as many companies introduced redesigns of
their popular spinning reel lineups this ICAST. Okuma rolled out a number of new
reels this year, and most notable were the Epixor XT and Coronado CDX
baitfeeders. |
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St. Croix's X-Project Defines a New Legend
The "X" projects within St.
Croix are where the company has decided to express their inner rebel. This can
be seen in Bass X, Avid X, and now, new for this coming year Legend X. |
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Fitzgerald
Rods Introduces New Titan HD Flip & Pitch Rods and Bryan Thrift Cranking Sticks
Fitzgerald Rods has been quickly earning a reputation for building
quality rods that stand up to the rigors of tournament angling, and most of
their rods are even designed by tournament pros. This year the company
introduced new Titan HD rods for flipping and pitching and a new range of
crankbait specific rods under the Bryan Thrift Series. |
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What the
"Fruck" is That? Savage Gear's New Topwater Bat and "Fruck" 3D Baits
Savage Gear continues to defy convention creating baits
that cause anglers to take pause, scratch their heads, and open their wallets
because they are just that cool. Topwater fanatics want to catch fish on lures
like the 3D Rat and Suicide Duck, and this year Mads and Mike from Team Savage
kicked it up to level 10 with the introduction of baits like the 3D Bat and
3D Hollow Body Fruck. Yes, I had to triple spell check this article |
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Jackall’s New
Reaction Baits – Kaera Frog and Rerange Jerkbaits
One of the greatest joys of summer for bass anglers is the strong
reaction bite, especially topwater frog action. This ICAST Jackall is
introducing two new baits designed for anglers that like to target bass on and
near the surface. |
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Evergreen International's New Duo of Topwater Combatants
Our review of their
RCSC-73HG JackHammer cranking stick to match the new Brett Hite JackHammer bladed jig is already live on our site so we weren't expecting much when we walked into the Evergreen International section of Daiwa USA's booth at this year's ICAST. Little did we know, they had a couple new baits up their sleeves to entice us once again.
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The “Curado” Series
extends to Bass Rods
Curado fans are getting treated to a double dose this year. In addition
to redesigning their mainstream baitcasters Shimano decided it was time to
introduce rods specifically designed to pair with their new reels. Taking the
guesswork out of what reel might pair well with the Curado the company
introduced 16 casting and 5 spinning models to cover the entire range of bass
fishing applications at today’s ICAST event. |
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Quantum Bucks the Trend with their New, Series 3 Performance Tuned Reels
Industry trends are a difficult path to resist - especially when talking about the most hotly
contested segment in the bass fishing industry namely low profile casting reels.
It seems each and every manufacturer is aiming for smaller, lighter, higher
performing thanks in no small part, we're pretty sure, to our readership.
Bucking that trend in a way this year is Quantum with a total, ground up
redesign of their popular Smoke platform. |
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Accurate Introduces New Valiant
BV-600 Sized Lever Drag Reels
Just about all the reel manufactures have their own saltwater big game
reels but when it comes to compact reels designed to take on big fish the first
company that always comes to my mind is Accurate. They have the formula down,
and their Boss reels are the stuff of charter and commercial fishing legend.
This year the team at Accurate introduced a new BV-600 size lever drag reel
under their Valiant Series.
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Daiwa Spins Favorites: New
Ballistic, Tatula, Fuego, Exceler and Saltiga Spinning Reels
It was a big year for spinning reels at the Daiwa camp with updates to
both the Ballistic and Saltiga spinning platforms. Both reels get performance
boosts thanks to use of Daiwa’s latest materials and Magseal which prevents
water and debris intrusion. |
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Daiwa and Yamamoto Baits Team Up
to Introduce Neko-Rig Plastics
Reel manufacturers teaming up with lure brands really seems to be the
trend these days with the likes of Shimano/Jackall, Okuma/Savage Gear, and now
Daiwa/Yamamoto. This year Daiwa announced they were joining forces with Yamamoto
Custom Baits to create exclusive plastic baits designed for the Neko-rig... |
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Abu Garcia Revo Enters Generation #4
Abu Garcia's original line of Revo baitcasters created a stir in the status quo. In what was for the longest time, a two manufacturer race for your attention in a low profile baitcaster, Abu Garcia has made it worthwhile to look elsewhere and helped spawn the rebirth of a few other manufacturers as well. This year, the manufacturer introduces their fourth generation Revo reels bringing together what they've learned from Toro through MGX to really refine the entire lineup.
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In addition to the Conquest
G.Loomis goes PRO, IMX-PRO Reaction
The Conquest introduction was definitely the big rod launch for G.Loomis,
and Shimano, but there was also a lot of buzz at the show surrounding the
introduction of the more “affordable” IMX-PRO reaction rods which join the
company’s ‘Bottom Contact’ rods to expand the IMX-PRO series into G. Loomis’
largest range of rods for all current bass fishing techniques. |
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Green is the New Black – 13 Fishing’s New Fate Rod Series
The new Fate Black Series is not so black after all, and instead features
an unmistakable matte green finish that is sure to grab the attention of anglers
both in tackle shops and on the water. Built from the ground up the new line of
rods is designed to deliver a lot more performance than anglers would expect at
the 100 dollar price point. |
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A Baitcaster with No Ball Bearings – The 13 Fishing Concept Z
Without a doubt the most interesting reel at this
year’s ICAST was the Concept Z. Leave it to the innovative team at 13 Fishing to
disregard the “rules” of what a baitcaster has typically been and introduce what
they are calling “the world’s first high-performance reel with zero ball
bearings.” |
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TackleTour Exclusive: On the
Water with the New G.Loomis Conquest Rod Series
The only way to really experience just what a new
rod has to offer is to use it, and we had the opportunity to not just check out
but actually fish the new Conquest rods in advance of ICAST this year. These new
premium rods combine much of what makes G.Loomis rods so popular among anglers,
including proven actions and design, only this time it is merged with Shimano's
latest blank technology... |
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First Look Inside the New
Shimano Curado K Series Baitcasters
The most important reel in the Shimano baitcasting
lineup, the mainstream workhorse Curado, gets a major update this year and will
be officially introduced at next week's ICAST event in Orlando. Pictures of the
reel have already leaked online but we had the opportunity to not only fish the
reel but bring it back to the lab for a first look inside. |
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