ICAST 2017 Coverage

ICAST 2017 Coverage

Gamakatsu's Eclectic Introductions for 2018

Date:	7/20/17
Location:	Orlando, FL
Admission:	Buyers & Press Only
Manufacturer:	Gamakatsu
Reviewer:	Cal

Introduction: Things were moving fast over at the Gamakatsu booth this year. So much so, we had a difficult time tracking down our traditional inside pros in Aaron Martens and Shin Fukae. Fortunately, Mike McClelland was available to speak with us about his new hook as well as a host of accessory products now flying under the Gamakatsu name.

Introducing Mike McClelland's Hybrid Worm Hook by Gamakatsu.

Hybrid Worm: Stuck between an O'Shaugnessy bend and an EWG, McClelland worked with the techs at Gamakatsu to develop a hybrid worm hook with a more shallow gap, thinner TGW wire, nano-smooth coating and sizes up to 8/0. A soft plastics fiend, McClelland is beyond excited to finally have a hook designed to support exactly how he fishes his creature and soft plastic worm baits.

Shallower than an EWG with a bend similar to an O'Shaughnessy.

With the prototypical Gamakatsu needle point.

Gamakatsu delves into the tackle box market.

Tackle Boxes: Gamakatsu puts their spin on the ubiquitous utility boxes found in every bass tackle aficionado's arsenal with a set of hard plastic boxes mimicking the size of Plano's 3600 and 3700 series boxes. The insides of Gamakatu's boxes have almost infinite division possibilities and they even have one with a slotted foam insert to help you stay organized with your hooks.

This foam insert is for terminal tackle of course.

Check out the placement options on the interior dividers.

Aluminum Pliers: Gamakatsu jumps further into the accessory market with their own branded pair of aircraft aluminum pliers. The pliers are heat treated and CNC machined with jaws made for gripping, crimping, and opening split ring pliers. The tungsten carbide cutters are replaceable and are intended to cut braid and mono easily. These pliers are built to withstand inshore, offshore, and of course, freshwater environments.

New, heavy duty aluminum pliers for Gamakatsu.

The tungsten carbide cutting jaws are easily replaceable.

Stinger Hooks: Soft bodied swimbaits are here to stay - no question. And as the number of these bait options continue to rise, Gamakatsu is now poised with a pre-rigged stinger hook system to respond to the mid to smaller sized swimbait bodies. They feature a treble hook attached to a wire leader ending in a small, coated loop hole at the end of the leader that can be attached to your bait with a small split ring or clipped onto a snap at the end of your line (if you use one).

New stinger hooks.

Short Shank Fly Hook: Saltwater fly anglers have long struggled with finding just the right hook to their mid-sized fly offerings while being able to conceal the hook. Designed by Captain Bruce Chard, Gamakatsu's new short shank SL12S hook is made of Gamakatsu's 1x strong wire and finished with a nickel coating to reduce shine and glare that can clue potential catches onto the artificial bait.

This hook was designed by Captain Bruce Chard out of Florida.

It's a short shank, 1x strong hook for saltwater fly.

Outbarb Circle Hook: Gamakatsu takes a different approach with their new outbarb circle hook. Placement of the barb on the outside of the hook bend enables a stronger hook point and inclusion of a larger barb increasing your chances of keeping a fish hooked.

A different take on the circle octopus hook.

It's a hook with an outbarb.

Weedless Wacky: Last but not least, we have more finesse hook options from Gamakatsu. The new Shin Fukae Weedless Wacky hook is made from Gamakatsu's TGW wire and features their nano-smooth coating that increases hook up ratios. Weedless protection is provided via twin titanium wires.

Shin Fukae has a new weedless wacky hook.

The weedguards are titanium wire.

Thanks to Pro Angler Mike McClelland for showing us what's new at Gamakatsu for 2018.

Conclusion: While there's no over-arching central theme with Gamakatsu, they have a lot of new offerings for 2018 that's sure to get anglers of all sorts interested in their product. Of course, we're most excited about the hooks and tackle boxes designed to help the bass angler, but certainly appreciate the efforts Gamakatsu has put forth in their other terminal tackle designs as well.