ICAST 2020 coverage - New 2020 fishing tackle #icast2020

ICAST 2020 Hottest Articles

ICAST 2020 Coverage

	TackleTour's Best of ICAST 2020 Award Winners While ICAST has their New Product Showcase Awards our Editors also review and select the products that they found the most exciting this year, and while there are numerous entrants worthy of consideration, these are the products in each category that the Editors at TackleTour recognize as the "Best of ICAST 2020."
	Storm Bolsters Its Rebellious Nature Somewhere within the last decade, probably around the time they debuted their Arashi Squarebill, the brand began to develop a somewhat rebellious streak. Perhaps the brand is growing weary of playing younger sibling to Rapala, or maybe it's just being true to their name. Regardless, we found some interesting new product at ICAST 2020, that made us want to weather through the brand.
	Rapala Keeps Things Lively for 2021 - Launches Rap-V Blade Having recently discovered the BX Big Brat squarebill crank, while browsing TackleWarehouse.com, I was a little anxious to see what Rapala had cooking for this coming year so I wouldn't be late to the game should they bring to market an equaling intriguing product. While the brand's introductions for the coming year felt somewhat conservative, there were a couple of products that caught my eye.
	Old Town Powers Up the Sportsman 106 Kayak with Minn Kota Kayak fishing is absolutely blowing up and watercraft manufacturers are creating new kayaks that are specifically designed for anglers to get to the fish faster, navigate bigger water, and back home safely. This ICAST Old Town introduced the Sportsman 106 motorized kayak powered by Minn Kota which is controlled by a powerboat style throttle for intuitive forward and reverse.
	Simms Outfits Both Men and Women for Inclement Weather This Year - Updates ProDry Rain Suit Each and every year, Simms has a dizzying array of new product to help outfit anglers for the coming seasons and protect them from the elements. This year is no different and we zeroed in on a few key products that we think anglers who like to challenge the elements as well as themselves while in pursuit of their favorite quarry.
	Pradco Brands Makes the Legendary Arbogast Jointed Jitterbug and Heddon Slopenose Baits New Again This ICAST there were two baits from the Pradco portfolio that really caught our attention as they were classic baits that we were nostalgic about made new once again. These are the Arbogast Jointed Jitterbug 2.0 and the Heddon Slopenose.
	Sunline Reformulates Lines and Increases Visibility for 2021 Some fishing line manufacturers specialize or offer better product in one line category versus another. Few, as far as we are concerned, hit the mark with a noteworthy product in each and every category, braid, fluorocarbon, nylon monofilament. Sunline is one of these triple crown line manufacturers so it's always interesting to see what they have cooking at ICAST.
	13 Fishing Refreshes Entire Fate Black Rod Lineup and Unveils New Fate V3 Series 13 Fishing's popular Fate Black is getting a major refresh this season and marks a return to a more traditional stealthy black look and feel versus the bright green styling of the last generation. In addition to the refreshed Fate Black rods the company also launched a brand new line called the Fate V3, which features immediately identifiable white blanks and carbon grips.
	Arundel Tackle Unleashes JDM Legit Design's Wild Side Less frequently than the next super rare, large, and epic moon event, it seems every couple of years at ICAST we're fortunate enough to meet a new rod manufacturer threatening to shake up the status quo. Despite the virtual nature of the event, this year's show was one those affairs. Arundel Tackle out of Chicago, Illinois, is a small, family run business with a special connection to an up and coming tackle company out of Japan.
	13 Fishing's FreeFall Miami Nights Special Edition Hardwater Reel, and an Exclusive Look at Another This ICAST 13 Fishing is introducing a Special Edition hardwater reel to highlight their performance oriented Black Betty FreeFall Series... meet the Miami Nights.
	Keeping Fish Stapled in Place with Spearpoint Hooks New terminal tackle companies must present new designs and create more innovative products to garner attention from anglers. Spearpoint is looking to do exactly that this ICAST with the introduction of their own brand of Performance Hooks.
	Duckett Introduces their Flagship Paradigm CRW Baitcasters Duckett may still be known best for their rods but with each season the brand continues to refine their reel offering. This ICAST the focus from the company in the new product showcase was their new flagship Paradigm CRW casting reels.
	Quantum Keeps It All in the Accurist Family By combining the latest, high performance materials in their possession with the expertise of their angling and engineering staff, Quantum has always strived to make the most reliable, cost conscious fishing gear possible. This year, they refresh one of their core family of products while introducing two new lines.
	Bagley Baits Looks To Stay On Top (water) With the recent acquisition of their company by Northland Tackle, we weren't quite sure what to expect from Bagley Baits at this year's ICAST. From the looks of things, it's business as usual as the balsa bait manufacturer presented us with two topwater balsa baits to keep an eye on for the coming year.
	Molix Continues Their Viva Spirit! Each and every year, Italy based Molix finds a way to bring just enough flare and panache to the ICAST even to keep things light hearted, fresh, and fun. You know, like how fishing is really meant to be experienced. It's no wonder their pro staff consists of names like Mike Iaconelli and Carl Jacumsen. This year's bait introductions continue this viva spirit.
	A Band of Anglers Introduces New Waterbull Jigs and Hyperlastics Swimbaits A Band of Anglers continues to gain momentum with innovative products from legendary angler and lure designer Patrick Sebile. This year the company is introducing a number of new products from their various family of baits ranging from unique jigs to highly durable hybrid style swimbaits.
	Big Bite Bait's New Crop of Creatures including the Best Flipping Bait Ever (BFE)! With each passing year, Big Bite Baits increases their product catalog with soft plastics baits to suit every niche, trend, and fad. The product arm of one of the largest soft plastic OEM shops in the United States, you know they have the resources and expertise to answer the call. This year, we found some cool new baits worth a little closer look.
	13 Fishing Defies Convention with New Hybrid-Style Jabber Jaw, Shadow Spin, and Spin Walker Hardbait If there is one thing that we know about 13 Fishing is that the team likes to push the envelope in design and why should lures be any different? This ICAST 13 Fishing is launching a number of new hardbaits and some of these break the mold in terms of category, starting with the wild Jabber Jaw.
	Savage Gear Launches Realistic Soft Bodied Arsenal Spanning Big Baits to NED I always look forward to checking out the Savage Gear ICAST introductions, and the team seems to pump up the realism of their offerings with each season. This year the company focused on introducing new softbaits that range from swimbaits to salamanders that sport the highly lifelike profiles and patterns that the brand is known for.
	Affordable, Compact, and Now with MGL - The New SLX MGL Debuts While the Curado MGL will likely get the majority of the attention from baitcasting fans this ICAST the reel that will be a hot commodity among value oriented anglers might just be the more cost effective SLX. The big news for the SLX series is the addition of a new MGL version which will come in a smaller 70 sized reel.
	Need More Power - Lew's Introduces Redesigned Super Duty Rods Lew�s Super Duty rods are known for their power and durability and while this series has long been designed for the bass fishing world, with the refresh this ICAST the series now introduces models for several large species, including Muskie, Peacock Bass and Calicos.
	Lunkerhunt's Bait Shifters System Makes Rigging Fast and Easy Lunkerhunt big introduction this ICAST is their new Bait Shifter Series, a system of jigheads and baits that are designed to make rigging and changing baits both quick and easy so you can better match what the fish want in any given application.
	Strike King Targets Both Ends of the Water Column with Hybrid Hunter Hardbait and Rage Ned Craw Strike King is looking to give anglers new baits for successfully targeting fish on both ends of the water column this year with the introduction of the Hybrid Hunter hardbait for shallow water work and the Rage Ned Craw for bottom finesse.
	Daiwa Revamps the Saltiga Series adding Refinement and Power Originally introduced in 2002, the first Saltiga set a new standard for heavy-duty saltwater spinning reels and the company has continued to upgrade and refine the series over its eighteen-year history. For 2020, Daiwa�s Saltiga has been fully re-imagined and redesigned, delivering what the company believes is the best saltwater spinning reel on the market.
	Shimano Unveils A New Smaller Curado Armed with an MGL Spool - Meet the Curado MGL 70 K In the Shimano baitcaster lineup there is one series that is the cornerstone of the company's portfolio, the Curado Series. This ICAST Shimano is unveiling the newest addition to their green reel lineup, the new Curado MGL 70, which is loaded with some of the company's premium features and may very well be the the most refined Curado to date.
	Jackall Rolls out a Hybrid Bladebait Called the Gargle Jackall introduces a new hybrid bait called the Gargle that has elements of both a spinnerbait and buzzbait and is designed to be retrieved near the surface creating fish attracting commotion. In addition to this new hybrid wire bait the company expands their TN line with a new 50 class that is ideal for ice fishing.
	Ready for Topwater Combat - New Evergreen Gizmo and Showerblows rods This ICAST to pair with their new Gizmo topwater baits Evergreen us also introducing a new spinning Combat Stick designed specifically to fish the new baits and other smaller topwater baits. For anglers that prefer casting bigger topwater lures they will also be introducing a new Showerblows Combat Stick that offers a unique combination of action and power.
	Seaguar Introduces the New Gold Standard Seaguar, under its parent company name Kureha, has long been regarded in Japan as the top fluorocarbon line manufacturer in the world. The originators of fluorocarbon fishing lines, they have been working with the material for over 50 years using proprietary extrusion techniques to manufacture different formulations. This year, they further demonstrate that expertise.
	72 Years in the Industry With No Signs of Slowing Down : St. Croix Rods How do you celebrate 72 years in the industry? Well, if you're St. Croix Fishing rods out of Park Falls, Wisconsin, you do it by expanding a series here, refreshing a series there, and taking your flagship freshwater rod line to new heights by raising that flagpole even higher. Here's what St. Croix has cooking for the coming year.
	A Baitcaster Designed Specifically for Skipping and Pitching -Lew's Unveils Pro SP Reel Lew's already has one of the most encompassing reel lineups in the industry but the company is always looking for applications where it can add value. The design team at Lew's worked closely with Pro Angler Andy Montgomery to create a new reel specifically for skipping and pitching techniques. Time to meet the new Team Lew�s Pro SP Skipping and Pitching reel.
	Getting CrossEyed and Stealthy With a GOAT Mixed in to Z-Man's New Product With each passing year, Z-Man Fishing Products gains more and more momentum for their innovative, patented bait designs. Their 10X Tough ElaZtech soft plastics are a mainstay especially among anglers relying upon the Ned Rig and the company's Chatterbait line is honestly, just out of control. Did you know there are eleven (11) variants of their bladed jig? Actually, I'm wrong because for ICAST 2020, Z-Man is introducing two more!
	Lew's Launches new KVD Series Baitcasting and Spinning Reels Lew's wasted no time to introduce their new KVD Series reels and worked with Kevin Van Dam to get the new reels ready in time for an ICAST debut. Built to the Kevin's exacting specifications, the new KVD Series reels are designed to give users the ability to make long casts, have the power to handle the biggest bites, provide durability to last for years, and be priced within reach of mainstream anglers.
	G.Loomis Launches 10 New IMX-Pro Bass Sticks, Including Bladed Jig, Ledge, and Ned Rods This ICAST G.Loomis is focusing on filling out their popular IMX-Pro line with some additional application specific rods targeting both ends of the power spectrum, including new swimbait, bladed jig, crank, ned, and ledge rods.
	Shimano Updates Zodias Rods with Carbon Monocoque Grips First offered in Shimano's flagship Poison Adrena rods, Shimano's hollow Monocoque grip will soon be found on the brand's updated Zodias rods, improving sensitivity and overall performance versus the previous generation.
	Missile Baits Launches NedBall Head, Neko weights, and an Arsenal of New Patterns Having made several introductions at this year's Bassmaster Classic, Missile Baits focus at this year's ICAST Online was to introduce some terminal tackle and a host of new colors in established baits. Normally, new colors don't really excite us, but despite this year's virtual show, John Crews made sure to get product in our hand so we could see these colors up close and personal.
	The Hit Stick and other Key Introductions for 2021 from Berkley Fishing Expecting to get lost in their virtual world of new product at this year's ICAST Online, I was surprised to find a more reserved approach to this year's introductions. Here are a few key introductions for Berkley Fishing in 2021 starting with the Hit Stick jerkbait.
	AFTCO Builds Upon Their Catalog of Outdoor Wear For All Seasons Since they burst onto the freshwater scene in 2017, American Fishing Tackle Company, or AFTCO for short, has been aggressively filling their product catalog with outdoor apparel tailored towards the needs of recreational and professional bass anglers. They've always made a splash at the industry's largest trade show, and this year's change to an online venue did little to slow them down.
	Okuma Goes Completely Psycho on their Latest Bass Sticks It isn't just reels this year for Okuma and the company will be introducing a new line of high-performance bass rods branded the Psycho Stick series. These rods will helm Okuma's bass rod lineup this season, offering anglers styling and performance that stands apart from the rest of the company's freshwater rod offering.
	Abu Garcia Launches Ultralight Zenon Spinning Reel and Refreshes Veritas Rods Following on the heels of the successful introduction of their Zata casting and spinning reels at the Classic, Abu Garcia turns their attention to building a new top level of their product line as well as refreshing and expanding upon the mezzanine with Zenon and a Veritas respectively.
	Shimano Unveils Vanford F Spinning Reel Series with CI4+ Body and MGL Rotor Shimano has a number of launches in their portfolio this ICAST including upgrades Saragosa SW reels, PowerPro Depth-Hunter offshore line, and new Zodias rods, but officially kicked things off pre-show by unveiling the new Vanford F series of spinning reels.
	Daiwa Goes Big on Tatula - Launches New 300 Size for Big Bass Baits It is no secret that Daiwa's Tatula Series has become a top seller for the company, and this ICAST the company doubled down once again on the spider themed line with two new reels. Leading the charge is the first 300 sized Tatula, designed specifically for throwing big bass baits.
	FishLab enters the Big Bait Fray with the 10" Hydra Glide Glidebait For many anglers nothing gets the blood flowing more than sending full sized swimbaits, and with each retrieve the dream of hooking a giant is enough motivation to power each following cast. FishLab is looking to enter the big bait game with a full sized glide bait called the Hydra Glide.
	Okuma Serrano Baitcasters - Designed for the Everyday Angler Okuma continues to solidify their core freshwater offering with reels that are designed to provide plenty of performance for very reasonable prices. This plenty of bang for the buck approach has made reels like the Komodo, Cerros and Citrix reels all popular among bass anglers. This year Okuma introduces the Serrano in a smaller, more compact body design, priced for the everyday fisherman.
	Halo Fishing Introduces Three New Rod Lines, Including the Scott Canterbury Signature Series When Halo Fishing joined the American Baitworks brand the company brought additional resources to strengthen product development, grow the overall lineup, and enable the brand to create rods delivering an even greater value versus price ratio. This ICAST the company is introducing three new lines, all of which are priced within reach of mainstream anglers.
	Going Premium - Daiwa Launches New J-Fluoro Samurai Mainline Daiwa has a number of new reel and rod launches this ICAST but one of the products that the company is most excited about is their J-Fluoro Samurai Fluorocarbon, a new mainline that is designed to be a premium line delivering exceptional sensitivity, strength, handling, and reliability.
	Not Murder Hornets but Evergreen's Gizmo Bait Promises Topwater Mayhem Murder hornets? Why not? It is 2020 after all. Evergreen will introduce US anglers to a deviation from classic topwaters with the new Gizmo insect styled bait this ICAST.
	Plano Breaks the Mold Again with the EDGE Flex Series Storage Boxes With over 65 years of storage experience Plano is still setting the bar when it comes to tackle storage. This year the company is building on their popular EDGE line with an even more customizable addition to the series which is appropriately named the Flex Series.
	Daiwa Launches Kage MQ LT Spinning Reel Series for both Fresh and Saltwater Anglers The new Kage line (pronounced kah-gay) builds on the company's successful monocoque body design which is utilized on many of the company's most popular spinning reels.