ISE Show 2011 – Striking rod and lure gold in Sacramento

Introduction: Kicking off the season the ISE (International Sportsmen's Exposition) is always a good opportunity to check out the new tackle for the coming season. While many of the major manufacturers have already launched their entire post ICAST lineup of products there are always a few custom tackle builders that are on hand to showcase their latest products. This year we walked the aisles and were able to find a few gold nuggets on the show floor.

We return to the California Expo & State Fairgrounds for the 2011 International Sportsmen's Expo in search of new tackle

As usual the pros were on hand, here Kent Brown talks to a packed house of anglers interested in learning more about jigging techniques

Phenix: The team at Phenix always seems to have something special to show us and unlike many rod that manufacturers that continue to play conservative when it comes to new and high end offerings Phenix has been working on two brand new series of rods.

The most exciting rods at the show belonged to Phenix, they had prototypes on hand of new rods they are working on including this high end 450 dollar rod

Phenix had the most interesting rods at the show and to mix things up the company is working on a yet to be named high end series of rods that make use of T-46 blanks. The cosmetics of the rod and blank were not final but when held in hand the rods felt extremely lightweight. The rods will most likely end up using K series guides and will come with Phenix’s popular split grip design. The blanks feature a very interesting graphite pattern and even with a matte finish the highlights are striking.

The new rod features ultra light and sensitive T-46 blanks... and they look sick too

The rods feature the company's popular split grip design

There will be a total of 12 rods in the new series and there will be both casting and spinning models. Rods will retail for 450 dollars and Phenix will make the blanks available for 225 dollars. The prototype rod we checked out looked like it was ready for primetime but the company will be making more refinements before it is officially introduced at this coming ICAST.

For more mainstream anglers the company will also introduce the aggressively priced Assassin series which feature "High-Tel Carbon Construction"

On the opposite end of the spectrum Phenix is also introducing a new mainstream line of rods called the “Assassin” series. These rods also feature enthusiast styling and make use of a rubber wrap over eva grips.

The rods will feature split grip design as well...

...and the prototype had an eva grip wrapped in rubber, the final rod may or may not have this feature

The detailing on the reel clamp is exquisite

The rods will make use of alconite guides and will retail for 149 dollars. The new rods will be technique specific and there will likely be 10 rods in the lineup with both casting and spinning rods. Like the yet to be named higher end prototype rods the Assassin series will be officially introduced at ICAST mid year.

The rod is finished with an attractive aluminum butt-cap bearing the company's logo

Spinning rods with a full grip will also be available

Vince shows us the exciting new line from Phenix and we can hardly wait to fish these new rods