If you aren’t already aware of it, ICAST is a fishing industry trade show that happens every year. I’m always in a good mood when it comes around as a lot of new tackle gets revealed and I’m always interested in checking out new tackle. In this article I’m going to cover some of the products that stood out to me this year.
Lew’s Casting Reels
Two of the products that caught my eye this year (technically they were introduced to the public a little while ago) are the Lew’s Speed Spool ITB and the Lew’s HyperMag ITB casting reels. Both of these reels feature Lew’s new(ish) ITB break system which is similar to the breaking system that Daiwa has had in their reels for a while now. Both of these things actually look incredible to me and I’m also glad to see they kept the prices for both of these at a reasonable level considering all the stuff that’s happening with the economy at the moment. My only complaint about these reels is that they aren’t offering either of them in the 6.8 gear ratio for the left handed models. I’m usually in my kayak and that ratio has been my favorite by far since it’s just slow enough that you can go backwards in your kayak and troll a lure but still retrieve it back to you at the pace that I like. Daiwa and Shimano also came out with new reels this year, but Lew’s was the first casting reel brand that I fell in love with and these are the ones I’m personally the most interested in. I really hope they consider adding the 6.8 ratios at some point, but will probably pick one of each up at some point anyway.
KastKing AL-TI Casting Reel
The other casting reel that really seems to have caught my eye this year is the AL-Ti from KastKing. I’ve never owned a KastKing reel but they seem to be getting more popular lately, and this one happens to come in a 7.2 ratio and while that’s not as ideal for me as the 6.8 ratio I’d probably still prefer it over a standard 7.5. It also seems to have similar breaking system but the main thing that really got me about this one is it’s an aluminum frame reel and the weight on it is only 5.6oz. For that price that seems like a pretty good deal and I might end up grabbing one at some point.
Shimano Miravel A Spinning Reel
I use Shimano spinning reels exclusively these days and so I like to pretend I know a thing or two about them. My personal reels of choice are the Ultegra for my ‘power fishing’ setups and the Vanford for my finesse setups. Having said that it looks like some of the technology that has been included in Ultegra has made it down to the new Miravel and at this point this reel is looking pretty good in terms of what you are paying and what you are getting. If you aren’t already aware of him there’s a guy named JP DeRose that reviews Shimano products (as well as some others) on YouTube and I personally feel like his reviews are second to none, so if you want to learn more about these reels or any other Shimano products I’d suggest checking his channel out if you haven’t already.
G. Loomis IMX Pro Bass Rods
I’m still a Dobyns guy when it comes to my crankbait rods, but I have to admit the new IMX Pro Bass rods from G. Loomis look incredible. In fact I’m willing to bet the new jerkbait rod gets mentioned as one of the best jerkbait rods on the market over the next year. Megabass and Shimano (namely the Expride) have typically held this position, but something about this one stands out to me…I suppose time will tell if my intuition was on to anything.
Lew’s Team Signature Series Rods
Lew’s also came out with a new Signature series line of rods. I’ve tried a few of their rods in the past and while I don’t own any at the moment these ones also look like they would be worth your consideration. I also really like the look of the spinning rods and the 6’9″ medium fast rod looks really good to me. They also have a ton of options in the casting rod lineup and it should be interesting to see if these gain any momentum over the next year.
New Shimano Poison Adrena Models
I already own a couple of the previous generation Poison Adrena spinning rods and they have both really grown on me. Shimano actually updated the models with this new generation and while some of the new ones also look very nice, I have to admit that I was a bit sad to see some of the models that were available in the previous generation are no longer available. So having said that I’m happy to see they are expanding the line. I’ve personally had my eye on the new spinning rods, and in particular the new 7’4″ Medium Light + Fast model looks really good, but I’ve still got my fingers crossed that they will eventually release another medium heavy spinning rod.
3.25″ Rapala Crush City Freeloader
If you’ve been paying any attention to my site at all you already know I like the larger version of this lure. They just added a 3.25″ version, and I’m personally going to try some out on a drop shot. The colors are awesome and this thing is usually available in most places so if it ends up working out I could see this one making it into my starting lineup.
Rapala Crush City Governor Swimbait
Rapala also introduced a new swimbait called the Governor to their lineup. They seem a little pricey, but I imagine they will turn out to be pretty durable and the one thing that really stands out to me about this one (aside from the fact that the gizzard shad and albino pearl colors look amazing) is the fact that you can actually adjust the weight of this thing on the fly, which means you don’t have to cut the old lure off and tie on a completely new lure.
Geecrack Crackdown Swimbait
Speaking of swimbaits, Geecrack also introduced a new one called the Crackdown. This one also comes in some good looking colors, and while it’s also a little on the expensive site I actually really love the idea of a line through swimbait that lets you decide if you want to use a top hook or a treble hook. I have been using both for a while, and so this saves you in terms of having to buy two different lures. It also includes a system to hold either hook in place so you don’t need to put the hook into your lure to hold it.
Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO HD
Every time Z-Man comes out with a new bladed jig I find myself wondering if we really needed a new one…and it seems like every time my answer ends up being ‘apparently we did’ and it turns out to be a banger. This thing should have won the whole show in my opinion. I realize it’s another bladed jig and the category is a bit saturated at this point but I don’t care. The colors are amazing and the design itself looks like an improvement over their other models. I’ll be picking some up in the chartreuse and white and electric shad colors. The bluegill imitating colors look incredible too.
Gamakatsu Ball Rig Hook
The last item that caught my eye this year was the Gamakatsu Ball Rig Hook. I didn’t see much coverage for this thing and apparently I nerd out on terminal tackle more than some people but I’m actually really excited about this thing. Urchin bates seem to be the latest craze lately and I imagine that has something to do with this hook being released, but I personally really like the design of it and could easily see myself picking it up if I want to throw a wacky rigged drop shot or a nose hooked drop shot, and love the idea of having a separate tie for the line that attaches to the weight. There’s also a weedless version of the hook available, although I personally haven’t noticed much of a difference between weedless hooks like this one vs. the regular version. I’m pretty sure my main drop shot hook will continue to be the G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook, but I do like where they’re going with this one.
There were definitely some other products that were revealed at ICAST this year, but these are the ones that stood out to me. I personally can’t wait to try some of these out and will try to get some reviews up for them when I get a chance to do so.
