ICAST 2009 Sneak Peak

Mid July is one of the most exciting times of the year for me. Being in the fishing tackle industry is a real pleasure for me, as like most of you, shopping for fishing tackle is a true passion of mine. Its almost as much fun for me to search for that perfect new bait as it is to actually be out on the water fishing, at least a very close second. Thats why I look forward to the biggest industry trade show of the year, ICAST. Each July, manufacturers both big and small gather to put forth their best, most innovative ideas in hopes to have created that hot new bait that just everyone has to have! This is one of the big perks of being in this industry and I want to share that with you, Castaway's loyal customers. I appreciate everything you all do, whether you just occasionally visit the store or site, or if you are in every week buying something else you just can't do without, each and everyone of you are important to me. I will come to this blog at the end of each day at ICAST and let you know what I saw, what I think will be a big hit next year and even what I think might not be worth your time. This blog is not here to sell product or promote a manufacturer just because they throw some money or discounts our way. Its here to help educate and give you an inside look at the fishing tackle industry. Please check it out daily starting the night of July 15th for updates.

If you have any additional comments, questions or feedback, please feel free to leave your comments on this blog by clicking the comments link or email me at: corey@castawayfishingsupply.com.

Here is a little sneak peak of some of the products that have already started advertising and sending us emails before the show. I'll be checking these and many others out in person starting Wednesday July 15th, 2009, so check back often!

Pure Fishing- If you don't know that name, you probably know these....Berkley, Stren, Spiderwire, Penn, Shakespeare, Pflueger, Mitchell, Abu Garcia, Johnson...lets see...I think that covers it. Those are the brands that make up PURE FISHING. With all those brands, there is no doubt that the Pure Fishing booth at ICAST will have some pretty neat new products on display. Their booth is flat out huge and will probably take a good 3 hours for me to explore. I did get a sneak peak at some of their new products already announced, and you may have already started to see a few ads on these as well....

• Berkley- Transoptic Line- A co-polymer version of Berkley Vanish-Hi Vis above water, low vis in water. (see photo)


• Berkley- Tools- Berkley has greatly expanded their tools and accesories offering. They will offer just about any type of tools, scale, weigh in equipment and accessory there is in reference to fishing. One noticable change is the dropping of the blue and green Xtool pliers which have been rolled into Berkley and will be in their colors, black and red.


• Abu Garcia- Vendetta and Vengeance Rods- Not alot of specifics as I have just seen these in print but they look pretty slick. Will be priced at $79.99 for the Vendetta and $49.99 for the Vengeance. (see photo)


• Abu Garcia- Revo Series Upgrades- I got a little nervous when my rep was going over new product and have a couple of revo boxes with them. The REVO series has been the most well received low profile baitcasters in the last several years, at least by our customers. So I was hoping they didn't go and mess with a good thing. From what I can tell, the made some minor improvements, but overall, its the same reel. The changed the handle from a straight bar to a swept handle and made some cosmetic changes, to spice up their look with some red accents. Other than that, same ol' REVO, which is a good thing.


• PENN- Some new spinning reels from PENN for the saltwater crowd. One is a very high deep jigging reel (Torque), not my cup of tea, another is a more moderately priced spinning reel (Conquer) which will have a fold down casing (EAS-Easy Access System) to allow for easy cleaning. Sounds like a great idea for the weekend saltwater angler that doesn't have time of knowledge enough to be taking apart his reels after every trip. (see photo)

PRADCO- Another large conglomorate, PRADCO is Bomber, Rebel, Cotton Cordell, Heddon, Booyah, YUM, Silver Thread, Arbogast and XCalibur.

• Heddon-New Rattlin Spook and One Knocker Spooks from Heddon, adding some new options in the classic top water bait. (see photo)


• Yum- Money Hound is a soft plastic, weedless version of the Zara Spook, interesting concept, we'll have to see how it works... (see photo)

Eagle Claw/Wright & McGill- Eagle Claw is not a name that most of us in the bass fishing world usually flock to. But, we may have to start paying more attention. They have two big name bass elite pros signed up, Gerald Swindle and Skeet Reese, in an attempt to reinvent themselves in the bass fishing market. LazerTrokar hooks and W&G Skeet Reese Rods are two products I am anxious to learn more about. Visit http://www.lazertrokar.com/ on July 15th for info about this new lineup of hooks. I will let you know whats up once I get by their booth as well. W&G's Skeet Reese Tessera rods will feature 9 technique specific rods designed to the specifications of one of the world's best (some may say the best) bass fisherman. They will have combine modern split grip design with Skeet's signature colors...black and yellow...looks like lots of yellow.(see photo)

Frabill- A new net concept from frabill to solve the problem of having some big ol bulky net laying on your deck getting in the way. The Hiber-Net can collapse down inside the handle, which looks like a long tube. With one slide of the handle, the net comes out and you are "open for business" (Frabill's tag line for this net apparently). (see photo)

Castalia Outdoors- Not a name I am currently familiar with but they are promoting a braided line that is supposed to cast as well as monofilament. Definately worth checking out. (see photo)

Strike King- New rage tail plastics including the smokin rooster, baby craw, thumper worm, hawg and eeliminater (this one looks pretty cool). Also will officially launch the Sexy Swimmer (like Sebile Magic Swimmer) although we already have those in stock. Will also have a new deep diving crankbait, 6XD. (see photo)

Rapala- Last year, Rapala launched the DT20 deep diving crank. Then they ran into some problems and the baits have just now started to trickle out. Hopefully their new DT Thug won't go the same way. The new addition to the DT lineup is designed to fish cover, with a bent lip to bump your way through wood. (see photo)

SPRO- SPRO will introduce several new sizes within current offerings. A 6" BBZ swimbait to sit in between the 4" from last year and the 8" from the year prior. A king daddy frog, which looks to be a much larger frog than the bronzeye. Then one that I am really excited about, a deep diving little john. (see photo)

FethaStyx- A good company from the the left coast that has been producing rods for the northwest and canadian fisheries for a while. They have a very unique lineup of rods being offered called TRUE HERO. Only one Bass model, a 7' MH casting rod available in Police or Fire. What does that mean? Whenever you buy a True Hero rod, $10 is donated to either a police or fire family fund for those families who loose someone in the line of duty. (see photo)

Check back Wednesday night for more info on these products and many many more!

Thanks and keep fishin',

Corey

PLEASE NOTE: Just because we write about something here does not mean we will definately be stocking it, so if you see something you like, or think is just crap, please click comments below and let us know what you think!