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Featured
Article: Show Coverage |
New products at the 2007 International Sportsmen's Exhibition, San Mateo, CA
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Date: |
1/14/07 |
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Location: |
San Mateo,
CA |
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Admission: |
Adults: 10 Dollars
Kids 12 and under: Free |
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Reviewer: |
Team
TackleTour |
Introduction:
We have had some abnormally cold weather for this time of year, but that didn't
stop anglers from coming out to the 2007 San Mateo International Sportsmen's
Exposition. This was the first show of the year for consumers to see the latest
tackle firsthand, much of which was first unveiled at ICAST a few months back.
Getting a hands on tour of the latest reels and rods was the highlight of the
show for us, but the ISE does offer quite a bit more, including seminars and
exhibitors representing numerous world class fishing and hunting destinations.
The adventure starts here...
The show floor was packed with
attendees
Quantum:
Quantum introduced a few
saltwater products at ICAST 2006 in which we briefly covered, but during that
time the reels are the first prototypes.
Victor Romano Jr shows us the new
Aruba PT
Here at the International
Sportsmen Exposition – San Mateo, is where we get introduced to the production
models of these reels. One of those reels is the Aruba PTs big game trolling
reel.
The Aruba looks fantastic...inside
and out
Remember, this is
Quantum’s first big game trolling reel and while we were quite impressed with
what we saw in Las Vegas, the final product is even more stunning. The trolling
reel has easy to access controls and feels absolutely solid. At the booth the
Quantum team demonstrated how quickly the entire reel can be taken apart for
maintenance, all without the use of tools. (We timed them at just under 2
minutes for a complete tool free takedown!)
breaking her down in a matter of
seconds
Unlike just about any
other big game reel on the market The Aruba PT trolling reel has the ability to
break all the way down to the intimate guts while on the water. These reels are
now available and price range $489 to $539.
Victor made short work of the
breakdown
One of two oversized drag washers
Completely broken down in under 2
minutes, and without a single tool
BlackDog Bait Company:
While visiting with Victor Romano Jr. in the Quantum Booth, we were told of
their show promotion for this year: with the purchase of any Quantum swimbait
combo, receive a free Black Dog Bait Company Shellcracker Swimbait (valued at
$60).
Also in the Quantum booth was
Black Dog Bait Company
We were put a little at back
by this promotion and it took a little self control for Cal to not pull out his
wallet and plunk down the cash to take advantage of this deal. For those who
have not seen it, the Black Dog Shellcracker is a beautifully constructed and
painted bait.
The beautifully finished
Shellcracker
We were
pleasantly surprised to learn that the founder of Black Dog Bait Company, Grant
Olguin, was in the booth himself and was gracious enough to show us his
wonderfully crafted blue gill bait. We also got a glimpse of a new trout plug
he’s working on. Stay tuned as we bring you more on Black Dog Bait Company in
the coming months.
Black Dog owner, Grant Olguin
shows off a prototype of an upcoming Black Dog bait
Next
Section: A new reel manufacturer...Who is Qualia?
