by Chester Moore
TEXAS FISH & GAME'S STAFF RECENTLY RETURNED from Orlando and the 2009 International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) trade show, loaded down with stories about many of the hundreds of new fishing products you will begin seeing on sale this fall.
We attend ICAST every year, and this year is marked by two differences from coverage of past ICAST shows: first, we saw a greater than normal number of truly new and innovative products (very positive in the climate of economic doom that has been shoved down our throats for so long); and secondly, this time we bring the show to you for the first time in VIDEO.
Over 40 taped interviews with the inventors, developers and marketers of products from established and new manufacturers can be viewed, by clicking on the Icon links below. You can see product demonstrations, and explanations of how these new rods, reels, lures, accessories and gadgets can improve your fishing experience.
INTRODUCTION
Texas Fish & Game's Executive Editor Chester Moore and Saltwater Editor Calixto Gonzales about to enter the show floor on Day One of the ICAST fishing trades expo.
BONUS VIDEO
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BILL DANCE
The first day of the show, Chester Moore ran into fishing legend Bill Dance, who stopped to chat about bass -- and his new passion, salwater -- fishing.
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LURES
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Z-MAN CRAB & SHRIMP
Z-Man's ElaZtech soft-plastic material is used in these two great new lures to make them extremely durable and lifelike.
Z-MAN FROGS
Z-Man has developed two new topwater frogs that will be of great interest to Texas bass anglers.
YUM BAITS
Yum introduces two new soft plastic Money baits: Money Frog and Money Hound.
HEDDON LURES
The maker of the original Zara Spook introduces 2 new updates to this topwater classic.
THUNDERMIST LURE CO.
Thundermist Lure Company makes the Viper Spoon and Boca Jigger lures, plus their new T-Turn swivel.
SEBILE SLICK SHADD
The Sebile Slick Shadd Hollow is new for 2010. A versatile soft plastic, it can be rigged weedless, or by using the unique removable slot cover, can be rigged with a jig-head.
SEBILE ONDUSPOON
The Sebile Onduspoon, with its partitioned construction, is designed to avoid the twist build-up -- and resulting line wear -- associated with the natural swivel of conventional spoons.
SEBILE MAGIC SWIMMER
Sebile has created a new Soft version of their Magic Swimmer swim bait... that is also Weedless.
SEBILE FLATT SHAD
The Sebile Flatt Shad now comes in a snagless model, using its unique simming action to literally bounce away from underwater brush.
SEBILE BONGA JERK
Patrick Sebile demonstrates his Bonga Jerk topwater... which can be fished at speeds up to 20 knots!
P-LINE HARD BAITS
P-Line, makers of top selling fishing line, has introduced a series of lures to compliment their growing line of fishing products.
L&S BAIT CO. - MIRROLURE
L&S Bait Company/MirrOLure has some cool new topwater twitch-baits and soft plastics for 2010.
BOMBER SALTWATER GRADE INSHORE LURES
Bomber Saltwater Pro Mark Davis introduces the new soft plastics in Bomber Saltwater Grade's 2010 arsenal.
BOMBER SALTWATER GRADE TOPWATERS
Bomber Saltwater Grade's pro Mark Davis introduces two new saltwater topwaters, the Badonk-A-Donk and Super Pogey
BASSTAR DEEP DIVING CRANKBAIT
BasStar has redefined the deep diving crankbait. Their Infinite Diver literally will go as deep as you want it... 100 feet or more. Plus, golf ball-style dimples have been designed into the surface for better casting aerodynamics.
BERKLEY POWERBAITS: BELLY STRIPS AND CHIGGER CRAWS
Gulp! inventor John Prochnow talks about Berkley's new Powerbaits, the Belly Strips for big game saltwater, and Chigger Craws for bass.
BERKLEY POWERBAIT: WHICH ARE THE SMARTEST FISH SPECIES
Berkley Gulp! developer John Prochnow tells us which two species his research has shown to be the smartest fish.
BERKLEY GULP!
Berkley Gulp! developer John Prochnow previews the newest baits and technology from the Gulp! and Powerbaits labs.
CREME LURES
Chris Kent of Creme Lures explains the concept behind his company's new swim bait hook.
BERKLEY POWERBAIT
Gulp! inventor John Prochnow shows us some of Berkley's new Life-like Powerbaits.
RAT-L-TRAP
TF&G Executive Editor Chester Moore reports from the ICAST floor on new Rat-L-Traps designed for South Texas' lunker largemouths.
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REELS
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SHIMANO STRADIC & CORE REELS
Shimano's new Stradic spinning, and Core baitcasting reels are designed for finesse fishing. While designed for freshwater, they are rated for saltwater as well.
DAIWA AGGREST BAITCASTER
Daiwa's all new, sleek baitcaster for freshwater has 7.3:1 retrieve ratio -- perfect for target casting.
DAIWA SALTIST LINE COUNTER
Daiwa adds their popular line-counter features to their equally popular saltwater reels.
ARDENT REELS
Legendary pro angler Denny Brauer shows off the new Ardent Reels, and also discusses Texas Bass Fishing, "best in the U.S."
ARDENT REELS
2008 Bassmaster Classic winner Alton Jones shows us his favorite new models from Ardent Reels.
ABU GARCIA
New reels from Abu Garcia
DAIWA COASTAL REEL SERIES
Daiwa's new models for inshore saltwater fishing
DAIWA SALTIST
Daiwa introduces new models in its Saltist series of fishing reels.
DAIWA SALTIST BIG GAME
Daiwa's new saltist big game reels, winner of the Best In Show for saltwater reels at ICAST 2009.
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RODS
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AMERICAN RODSMITHS
American Rodsmiths introduces a truly innovative new product, golf club-style grips that actually perform better when wet.
USA CUSTOM RODS
Texas-based USA Custom Rods won Best in Show for their new camo patterned rods.
CARROT STIX RODS
Ken Whiting, of Carrot Stix explains the nano-technology behind Carrot Stix's ability to make lighter, stronger, more sensitive rods.
CASTAWAY GRAPHITE RODS
Texas-based CastAway Rods has new camo patterns on their rods, including an exciting new Aqua Design Water Camo pattern, on rods and fishing apparel.
DAIWA RODS
Daiwa's Bill Liston shows us some of the amazing lightweight rods Daiwa will bring to market this year.
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LINE
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JBS FISHING - VICIOUS ICE
Vicious Fishing has a great fishing line for Texas: Ice. That's right, proven in the frozen world of ice fishing, this line is perfect for fishing the dense cover of Texas lakes and saltwater flats.
P-LINE FLUOROCLEAR MIST GREEN
P-Line introduces a new version of its popular Floroclear line, Mist Green
EAGLE CLAW BIOLINE
Eagle Claw introduced a new bio-degradeable monofilament line for 2010. The new line, Bioline, breaks down in just 5 years (as opposed to 120 years for conventional lines) in both marine and land-fill environments.
BERKLEY TRILENE VANISH
Berkley has impoved the strength and shock resistance of their top-selling fluorocarbon, Vanish.
SPIDERWIRE XXX
BERKLEY TRILENE TRANSOPTIC FISHING LINE
Trilene Tansoptic, fishing line that changes color when it goes from daylignt to underwater.
SPIDERWIRE STEALTH BRAID
Spiderwire's new Stealth braided fishing line
STREN CLEAR BLUE FLUOROCARBON LINE
Stren releases a new fluorocarbon line for night fishing
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HOOKS & TACKLE
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SEBILE SOFT WEIGHT HOOK SYSTEM
Another innovation from lure maker Sebile: adjustable hook weighting with soft weight components.
EASY2HOOK KNOTLESS FISH HOOKS
A truly amazing breakthrough in hook design from Outdoor Specialty Innovations. Tie these hooks securely to your line with NO KNOTS!
BOMBER SALTWATER GRADE
Bomber Saltwater Grade introduces a new weighted hook.
MUSTAD
Mustad has reinvented the circle hook, in addition to introducing a number of other hook innovations for 2010
BASSTAR SPINTECH REVOLVING HOOK
BasStar's Spin Tech Hooks revolve 360% like a swivel, reducing stress a hooked fish puts on your lures.
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ELECTRONICS
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NAVIONICS
New from Navionics is their blockbuster App for the iPhone -- a chart plotter that uses the iPhone's GPS to show maps, waypoints and even contour lines for your favorite bodies of water. You can even share your waypoints -- and photos marked with waypoint icons on your maps!
HUMMINBIRD SIDE IMAGING SONAR
See the latest developments in side-imaging sonar units from Humminbird.
MINN KOTA i-PILOT
Minn Kota's new i-Pilot uses GPS technolgoy and a digital wireless remote to precisely control trolling positions.
HUMMINBIRD 300 SERIES
Humminbird's 300 series packs a lot of functionality in a small package, with the ability to store waypoint data in separate folders. Includes an optional kit for installing on kayaks.
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ACCESSORIES
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RESCUE TAPE
Rescue tape is a phenomenal new product that should be in every angler's tackle box or on every boat. A non-adhesive tape that bonds to itself to make almost perfect repairs to almost any surface.
YETI COOLERS
Yeti makes coolers that can take all the punishment an angler can throw at it... and is built to keep contents cold for a long, long time.
P-LINE PLIERS
P-Line, a leading manufacturer of fishing lines, also has a great line of utility pliers, including new lightweight models in colorul alumnimum.
FRABILL
Frabill introduced a number of innovative new products at this year's ICAST: Hiber-Net, a retractable landing net; Shrimp Shack aerated bait bucket; Pop Net, a large collapsable fishing net; and more.
PLANO MOLDING
Plano has two very innovative new products: Liqua-Bait Locker to hold your live simulation baits like Gulp!; and the new Big Water Bag, which is made to take all the punishment a rough day on the water can throw at it.
DURASAFE LOCKS
Dura Safe has announced a truly innovative lock concept -- Codeable to your vehicle keys! In one step, you can set it so your Truck Key works your trailer lock, receiver lock, padlocks, spare tire lock, cable locks and more!
COSTA DEL MAR
Coasta del Mar has three new models of sunglasses for anglers, on the market now.
CANNON DOWNRIGGERS
New state-of-the-art downrigger from Cannon communicates with the boat.
EGO NETS
TF&G Executive Editor Chester Moore checks out the floating Ego Net on the ICAST floor.
LANSKY SHARPENERS
TF&G Executive Editor Chester Moore checks out one of Lansky's many sharpeners on the ICAST floor.
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Spiderwire's XXX mono, retooled with better strength and low stretch properties.