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New Products at ICAST
Every year when I attend the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show, better known as ICAST, I find myself getting all amped up about some of the new products. Then there's the big letdown when it becomes clear that most everything new won't be showing up in the stores for a few months.
This past July I wandered the aisles of the show in Orlando like a kid in a toy store looking for things that I thought might be of interest to my fellow shallow water sight-casters. I found more than I could write about in the space I'm allowed, but picked a few things y'all might enjoy. It was hard not to do this write-up sooner, but I decided I'd spare you guys the angst of waiting for them to hit the shelves. As far as I know, most of these should be available by the time you read this.
I've seen several attempts to imitate a small crab over the years. Most were soft plastics of some sort, but they've always fallen short. Looking good in the hand never seemed to translate into looking good in the water. Part of the problem has been that there was no thought given to rigging the baits. You get a bag of plastics and then stick them on a regular jig head. Some work out okay, most don't.
Given that, I'll admit when I first glanced at the PVC Crab by Savage Gear I was dismissive. Then I saw it in the test tank and stopped in my tracks. It not only looked like a crab, it actually looked alive. In talking to the guys at the booth I learned that they had used a 3D scan to exactly replicate a crab. The lifelike movement comes from the claws having air chambers so they float up and move with the slightest twitch or water current. Just sitting on the bottom it looks like a ticked-off crab waving its claws in a defensive manner. To top it off they pre-rig them on what they call a gliding stand-up jig. On the drop it doesn't just sink straight to the bottom, it sort of slides in at an angle. I think the reds are going to crush this thing. They'll be available in 2" and 4" models and five colors.
Next up is a nice simple idea from Owner hooks that's been a long time coming. Swapping OEM treble hooks to singles on topwaters and other plugs has become quite popular the past few years. Some folks do it to help keep grass off the hooks while others just like the safety factor of fewer hooks when landing a fish. In order to get those J hooks to run straight it takes two rings of some type. Some use two split rings, but more popular has been the "live bait" hooks with a welded ring on the eye. I've never really liked having the two rings looped together as they'd sometimes get locked up, but there wasn't any other option. Owner simply took a J hook and turned the eye 90-degrees. When I saw these it was a "why didn't I think of that" moment. They'll be offering two styles. One in a black chrome finish in sizes 6 through 2/0 for smaller inshore plugs and a 3X strong with a tinned finish in larger sizes intended for offshore lures. Both come with Owner's Super Needle Point that won't roll over or dull easily.
Another interesting hook I ran across in the Umpqua booth should appeal to those of us who like throwing flies at tarpon. Anyone who has ever tried to set a hook into a tarpon's rock hard mouth will attest that it isn't a high percentage game. Their new Triple Threat Tarpon Hook should help. These hooks have a series of three barbs. The idea is that hopefully you can at least get the first one to grab hold until you can get a second hook set to drive it home. As many tarpon as I've missed over the years I'm willing to give it a shot.
Costa has added to their awesome 580 lens line-up with new mirrored polycarbonates. The popular green, blue and silver mirrors were previously only available in glass lenses. The outer layers have oil and water repellant properties to help keep them clean throughout the day. The mirror layer is protected under this outer layer making them highly scratch resistant. If you have found the glass models too heavy for all-day wear you will appreciate the much lighter 580P. The initial release now available in stores offers the 580P in fourteen of their most popular styles. They will be available in the rest of the frame styles after the first of the year.
Small "point of view" waterproof cameras have become all the rage for recording fishing adventures. It seems like everybody has a GoPro or something similar these days. While I'm not sure this will be all that useful in the shallow water sight-casting world, it could be really cool for trolling offshore. The Water Wolf is a small streamlined camera waterproof to 100 meters. It is designed to attach on your line ahead of a lure to record the fish striking. They were playing some really cool footage of some savage pike and musky hits. I'd love to see some of our offshore bruisers in action. The camera comes with three different sized weights to get the lure down to different depths as well as a float when using bait. Somebody please go buy one of these and film a pack of jacks or a streaking kingfish crushing a plug. I want to see that.
It's only been in the last three or four years that kayak companies have started showing their wares at ICAST. This year there were quite a few companies with new kayak models along with several new stand-up paddle boards. While most of the new models were just variations on existing kayaks, the Hobie 17T Pro Angler was enough of a departure to warrant attention. This thing is more of a small boat than a kayak I suppose. It's a 17 foot tandem version of their popular Pro Angler. It can be set up for two anglers facing forward or with the person in the bow facing backwards as well as an option for placing a single seat close to the midpoint when fishing alone. This boat would be a great option for taking a kiddo fishing. At 17' there's enough room for safe casting and it is super stable in case your little one is a wiggler. There are all sorts of options for mounting accessories such as fish finders, trolling motors, rod holders, camera mounts, etc. The first boats are due to hit the kayak shops any day now.
I had to laugh when I picked by luggage off the carousel upon arriving in Houston. There was the familiar TSA tag indicating my bags had been searched again. It happens every time I come back from ICAST. I suppose all those samples of hooks, lures and various other odd things look kind of weird on the x-ray machine. Maybe next year I'll take my truck so I can really load up on goodies.
This past July I wandered the aisles of the show in Orlando like a kid in a toy store looking for things that I thought might be of interest to my fellow shallow water sight-casters. I found more than I could write about in the space I'm allowed, but picked a few things y'all might enjoy. It was hard not to do this write-up sooner, but I decided I'd spare you guys the angst of waiting for them to hit the shelves. As far as I know, most of these should be available by the time you read this.
I've seen several attempts to imitate a small crab over the years. Most were soft plastics of some sort, but they've always fallen short. Looking good in the hand never seemed to translate into looking good in the water. Part of the problem has been that there was no thought given to rigging the baits. You get a bag of plastics and then stick them on a regular jig head. Some work out okay, most don't.
Given that, I'll admit when I first glanced at the PVC Crab by Savage Gear I was dismissive. Then I saw it in the test tank and stopped in my tracks. It not only looked like a crab, it actually looked alive. In talking to the guys at the booth I learned that they had used a 3D scan to exactly replicate a crab. The lifelike movement comes from the claws having air chambers so they float up and move with the slightest twitch or water current. Just sitting on the bottom it looks like a ticked-off crab waving its claws in a defensive manner. To top it off they pre-rig them on what they call a gliding stand-up jig. On the drop it doesn't just sink straight to the bottom, it sort of slides in at an angle. I think the reds are going to crush this thing. They'll be available in 2" and 4" models and five colors.
Next up is a nice simple idea from Owner hooks that's been a long time coming. Swapping OEM treble hooks to singles on topwaters and other plugs has become quite popular the past few years. Some folks do it to help keep grass off the hooks while others just like the safety factor of fewer hooks when landing a fish. In order to get those J hooks to run straight it takes two rings of some type. Some use two split rings, but more popular has been the "live bait" hooks with a welded ring on the eye. I've never really liked having the two rings looped together as they'd sometimes get locked up, but there wasn't any other option. Owner simply took a J hook and turned the eye 90-degrees. When I saw these it was a "why didn't I think of that" moment. They'll be offering two styles. One in a black chrome finish in sizes 6 through 2/0 for smaller inshore plugs and a 3X strong with a tinned finish in larger sizes intended for offshore lures. Both come with Owner's Super Needle Point that won't roll over or dull easily.
Another interesting hook I ran across in the Umpqua booth should appeal to those of us who like throwing flies at tarpon. Anyone who has ever tried to set a hook into a tarpon's rock hard mouth will attest that it isn't a high percentage game. Their new Triple Threat Tarpon Hook should help. These hooks have a series of three barbs. The idea is that hopefully you can at least get the first one to grab hold until you can get a second hook set to drive it home. As many tarpon as I've missed over the years I'm willing to give it a shot.
Costa has added to their awesome 580 lens line-up with new mirrored polycarbonates. The popular green, blue and silver mirrors were previously only available in glass lenses. The outer layers have oil and water repellant properties to help keep them clean throughout the day. The mirror layer is protected under this outer layer making them highly scratch resistant. If you have found the glass models too heavy for all-day wear you will appreciate the much lighter 580P. The initial release now available in stores offers the 580P in fourteen of their most popular styles. They will be available in the rest of the frame styles after the first of the year.
Small "point of view" waterproof cameras have become all the rage for recording fishing adventures. It seems like everybody has a GoPro or something similar these days. While I'm not sure this will be all that useful in the shallow water sight-casting world, it could be really cool for trolling offshore. The Water Wolf is a small streamlined camera waterproof to 100 meters. It is designed to attach on your line ahead of a lure to record the fish striking. They were playing some really cool footage of some savage pike and musky hits. I'd love to see some of our offshore bruisers in action. The camera comes with three different sized weights to get the lure down to different depths as well as a float when using bait. Somebody please go buy one of these and film a pack of jacks or a streaking kingfish crushing a plug. I want to see that.
It's only been in the last three or four years that kayak companies have started showing their wares at ICAST. This year there were quite a few companies with new kayak models along with several new stand-up paddle boards. While most of the new models were just variations on existing kayaks, the Hobie 17T Pro Angler was enough of a departure to warrant attention. This thing is more of a small boat than a kayak I suppose. It's a 17 foot tandem version of their popular Pro Angler. It can be set up for two anglers facing forward or with the person in the bow facing backwards as well as an option for placing a single seat close to the midpoint when fishing alone. This boat would be a great option for taking a kiddo fishing. At 17' there's enough room for safe casting and it is super stable in case your little one is a wiggler. There are all sorts of options for mounting accessories such as fish finders, trolling motors, rod holders, camera mounts, etc. The first boats are due to hit the kayak shops any day now.
I had to laugh when I picked by luggage off the carousel upon arriving in Houston. There was the familiar TSA tag indicating my bags had been searched again. It happens every time I come back from ICAST. I suppose all those samples of hooks, lures and various other odd things look kind of weird on the x-ray machine. Maybe next year I'll take my truck so I can really load up on goodies.