Cover of July 2023 ICAST issue of Fishing Tackle Retailer

The American Sportfishing Association will host ICAST 2023 next week in Orlando. The “world’s largest sportfishing trade show” will bring us all manners of “game changers” and “revolutionary” products we can’t live without. If you can shovel past the hype, however, there will be lots of great gear, and a fair amount of information about the state of the industry.

I received Fishing Tackle Retailer’s ICAST issue last week and the ads and articles inside led me to ponder the trends and winners that we’re likely to observe. Clearly, that comes with a caveat: A lot of it is hype, and to the extent we’re judging things based on ads or advertorial content, it’s a self-selected data set. While omission may in some cases be indicative of a larger story, some companies may for their own very good reasons decide not to advertise with FTR.

Based on what I saw, here are my pre-ICAST thoughts on gear for anglers in general and traveling anglers in particular:

When I started fishing seriously in the mid-1990s, there were essentially four baitcasting reel companies for bass anglers: Shimano, Daiwa, Abu-Garcia and Quantum. The latter was in my opinion an also-ran, bolstered by a heavy marketing budget and quality pro staff. Eventually it went away and is now coming back. However, the landscape has changed. It’s clear that there is a factory or factories in China that will pump out reels (many of them looking quite similar to one another) for anyone with the desire and the bucks. To wit, there are now 24 brands available on Tackle Warehouse. That has increased the choices, but made it harder to know whether you’re getting a winner or a throwaway.
Continuing with reels, I’ve tried at least a dozen of those 24, most recently KastKing. For some reason I came into the process prejudiced against them but after using a couple for the past few months, I’ve been very pleased. They’re not just cookie cutters, and I like the fact that they’ve produced a fair number of “specialty reels,” particularly in the bait finesse category. They’re fighting an uphill climb with their “iReel,” but while the success of any intelligent reel remains to be seen (the Curado DC shows that it can be done), the rest of their lineup is seems solid.
One more note about reels: I just received an early version of the Seviin baitcaster, St. Croix’s entry into the space. I’ve yet to fish it, so I cannot give you an honest assessment there, but I can give you some pre-testing thoughts. With many other companies, I’d assume it was just a money grab, a way to add a high-profit item to its lineup, but in my experience St. Croix doesn’t do things like that. Sure, they want to make money, but they don’t introduced subpar or cookie-cutter items. In the two decades I’ve been in the industry I can only think of one (among dozens) of introductions that seemed out of character. Accordingly, I really expect to like this reel, adding to the list of choices when I go to buy more.
Turning to rods: Zenaq, a Japanese manufacturer of super high-end sticks (check out their $12,000 concept tuna rod), including travel rods that we’ve highlighted before, is making a push to enter the US market in earnest. They’ve taken out a two page ad announcing that they’re looking for US dealers. To me, that’s a sign that savvy manufacturers of premium items still think there’s a willing set of buyers among US anglers.
As with baitcasting reels, when I first got seriously into fishing in the mid-90s there were a limited number of options when it came to trolling motors for bass anglers. Realistically, there were two: Motorguide and Minn Kota. Now there are at least five – those two plus Garmin and Lowrance and recent addition Power Pole. That’s spurred a serious competition to innovate, without necessarily reducing the price tag for existing feature. Power Pole’s early ’23 intro of theirs makes me assume (?) that they won’t have anything new now, but Minn Kota fired the first mid-year shot across the bow with their Quest, bringing it out two weeks before the trade show. We’ll see what the others have to offer.
Not many clothing ads in this issue, although I’m sure there will be plenty of new apparel at the show. AFTCO has a full page ad for their new Channel Performance Hood near the “front of the book.” Under third generation leader Casey Shedd they have really made a push to position themselves as the premier clothing outfitter across multiple types of angling.
Despite all of the talk of “new” and “improved,” it’s comforting to see the same old ad for Texas Tackle Split Ring Pliers in the back of the magazine. I bought my first pair at least 25 years ago and still have them, and when we started chasing freshwater exotics and saltwater species, I added an upsized version. There are plenty of other split ring pliers on the market, but their persistence shows that if you build something really good, it’s possibly to carve out a long-term niche in the fishing industry.
It’s slightly hidden in their half-page ad, but Sunline is introducing tapered fluorocarbon leaders. For example, you might have 12-pound test at one end and 8 at the other, or 16 to 10, or 36 to 22. That allows you to strengthen either the connecting knot or the lure knot. Obviously, the fly anglers have used leaders with similar attributes for a long time, but I love this sort of cross-pollination, and I’m surprised that it hasn’t entered bass world sooner.

Remember, the ultimate value of ICAST to weekend anglers or traveling anglers like us does not necessarily consist of award winners. Indeed, many of the most hyped and celebrated products have effectively gone straight to the clearance bin, if they’ve been introduced at all. Even last year’s winners have a mixed track record. Gear junkies like me will likely find a few items that work their way into the long-term lineup, but the biggest stories usually relate to the state of the industry and more general tackle trends.