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Cal Coast Fishing's New Twerk Minnow Swimbait
Cal Coast Fishing's Twerk Minnow is available in two sizes, five and a half and seven and a half inches (5.5" & 7.5"). It is a full body, split belly type of paddletail
made from a soft plastic material. |
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Buongiorno! An
Aggressively Priced Glide Bait from Molix
From their Supernato hollow
body baits to imaginative soft plastics like their SC Bug and Vincex Craw, to
their triple armed spinnerbait, the Lover, Molix brings a fun spirit to their
bait products. Up until now, what had been missing from the company's catalog
was a contender in the increasingly competitive big bait market. |
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Wake 'Em Up With Spro's Wameku Shad 70
I was fortunate to spend some time on the water with the designer behind this bait, Shin Fukae recently where he
walked me through the Wameku Shad 70 design. While the bait is made with a different sound than other Spro lipless cranks, what he was most excited to show me was his strategy behind the line tie - the Wameku Shad 70 has two positions. |
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The Wrap to Get.
Swimbait Underground's Union
As your swimbait arsenal
grows the need to be able to safely store, organize, and transport them also
increases. I've been searching for a quality wrap solution for years, and
most of the ones that I have tried have required a number of sacrifices. This
year Swimbait Underground released their own branded wrap, the Union 9", designed
for protecting swimbaits, and easy access to them in the field.
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ARK Rods's New Graphite Cranking Stick : Invoker Pro IVP74MHRC
Riding on the coat tails of the Reinforcer success is a refresh of one of their original series, Invoker. They've elevated these rods to "Pro" status but kept the price point the same. Let's take a look a the IVP74MHRC to see how they've done.
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Savage Value, the Pulse Tail RTF
Bluegill Swimbaits
The Pulse Tail RTF Bluegill is the most realistic
looking bluegill swimbait that Savage has introduced to date, and is designed to be easy for anglers to
simply tie on and start fishing effectively right out of the package. |
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The Omega Swimbait 8' Heavy by Leviathan Rods
To be honest, it didn't really take much to convince me to reach out to Leviathan rods once I found out they're relying on Gary Loomis's company, North Fork Composites (NFC), to supply their blanks. Their Omega Swimbait 8' Heavy is built on an NFC, custom specified LMX-PSI
blank... |
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Missile Baits Adds a Convenient Quiver to their Arsenal of Baits
The technique we're discussing today involves sticking a specialized weight into the head of the worm, and rigging your hook somewhere along the body of that worm so it dangles, head down and tail up. That's right, it's the Neko rig and Missile Baits has a new worm to increase your chances of getting bit while fishing this technique. Here's our look at their Quiver Worm. |
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Easy Handling FINS WindTamer Braided Line
Fishing with superlines has become a huge market
segment with many manufacturers
developing lines for both fresh and saltwater applications, and even some more
niche situational ones. One such company, FINS, out of Erlanger, Kentucky,
specializes in braided line products and has continued to introduce new braids
specifically targeting bass anglers, including situational braids like the new Windtamer Pitch
Black Braid. |
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My Favorite Topwater Custom
Swimbait - The Illude Rad Rat
Illude's Rad Rat is a
hand carved wakebait that is designed to generate explosive strikes both day and
night. How good is this bait? I must warn you in advance, the second you see,
and hear, a Rad Rat being fished you are probably going to want one for your
arsenal, and the biggest challenge with this swimbait might just be trying to
land one. |
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What Are We Going to do About RI's Man Bear Pig?
If there's one bait manufacturer that's not
afraid to have a little fun in the naming of their baits, it's Reaction
Innovations. If you're not careful about staring too long at that Tramp Stamp
while Vixen is Twerking, you're likely to get Donkey Punched with a Machete or
at least get a two handed Shiver... |
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The Search for One : Megabass of America's F5.5-75XX Braillist
Megabass of America's F5.5-75XX Braillist is a seven foot, five
inch (7'-5") casting rod rated with a fast taper rated and medium heavy in
power. The stick's name is derived from the fact it excels at bottom contact
applications. |
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Tuned for Big Baits - Abu Garcia's REVO Beast X Casting Reel
The Beast X shares the same size, shape, spool
capacity as its pricier siblings, but in a slightly toned down package mimicking
the look and feel the REVO X, all for a price $100 below that of the standard
Beast. |
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Evergreen International's Chaotic EsFlat Glide Bait
The ES Flat is a
two piece bait measuring five and three quarters inches (5.75") in length and
weighing a hair under two ounces (2oz). It's rated as a slow sink bait and comes
in a variety of colors though many are difficult to find in the US. |
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Serving Aces with PowerPro's Hollow Braid
PowerPro entered the market a
few years ago not only making the product more accessible, but offering it in
strengths that are more in line with what bass fishermen would use. In an effort
to perfect my leader connection game, I finally dove back into the hollow braid
game and PowerPro's Hollow Ace was the impetus. |
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The Potent Sting of Shimano Japan's Scorpion MGL
Once the gateway reel to many an enthusiasts' addiction, most
anglers now know Shimano Japan's Scorpion is simply their version of the Shimano
America Corp Curado. The reels are identical in just about every way save for
the color and finish treatments. Yet something about fishing a Scorpion versus a
Curado just feels more enthusiast. |
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Going Big with Phenix's M1 : The MX-UR80H
Phenix's refreshed and revamped M1 series made a big splash here at TackleTour when we published our thoughts on the Search For One contender, MX72MH. In fact, it is still among my favorites so far this year. Of course, when we published that article, we received quite a few messages from our
West Coast readers asking about the swimbait stick.
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Shimano's Twin Power FD is a Solid Choice
Fresh off the heels of my positive experience with the
Stradic FL, I was hungry for a new spinning reel to
fish. Turns out, Stradic wasn't the only
spinning reel platform from Shimano to be updated for 2020. Twin Power, the
former JDM only but now global platform sitting somewhere between Sustain and
Stella, also received some new initials. |
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An Enthusiast Level Rod For Anglers Of All Levels, Legit Design's Big Bait Special
Arundel Tackle out of
Chicago, Illinois is in partnership with Legit Design for exclusive North
American distribution rights. That's how we got our hands on the subject of
today's review. Introducing the Legit Design Wild Side WSC75XH Big Bait Special.
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Just Tie It On, Toss It Out, and Crank It UP! Megabass's Deep-X LBO II
Megabass of America recently refreshed the
Deep X along with its smaller sibling, the 100 giving the series a new shape, updated paint schemes, and a brand new internal balancing system. Here's our look at Megabass of America's latest Deep-X LBO series of cranks.
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Taking the Time to Appreciate the
Unique Personality of the Dobyns Xtasy Series
Priced well into the enthusiast range these rods are described by Dobyns
as a "feel" series, and are designed to provide an advantage in applications
where quick bite detection is key. |
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Bigfoot or Finesse? Nishine Lure Work's New Football Jig
The idea of a finesse football jig is intriguing. I've fished smaller football head jigs before, and generally speaking, finesse often just equates to small or smaller. So what makes the Nishine
Lure Works Finesse Football Jig "finesse?" It's not very obvious at first... |
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The Go-To Sun Protection Garment for Hot Weather - Aftco's
Samurai 2 Hooded Shirt
Building upon the success of the original Aftco
has now rolled out a second generation hoodie shirt which utilizes new fabrics
and styling that are designed to improve comfort for those long days on the
water. |
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A Cranky Honey Badger of a Stick : Ark Rods's TS74MH-G B-Hittay
Since their debut a few short years ago, Ark Rods has done a good job making headway with affordable, smartly styled, good performing sticks. They recently upped their game by signing Pro Bass Fisherman, Randall Tharp to their team and last year, they celebrated this team up with the company's very first line of signature series of rods, Randall Tharp's Honey Badger line. |
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The Latest Swimbait from Mattlures : Code Name
"Bo"
Matt Servant, owner and creator
at Mattlures cut his big bait making molds on the soft product then made his way
into the hard bait side where his background in taxidermy really set him apart.
Many of his baits rival in realism, fish you could actually catch out of the
water.
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Just How Wild is Willy? G-Ratt's Topwater Walker
The G-Ratts Wild Willy is a top water plug measuring six
inches and weighing about two ounces (2oz). It's a hard plastic bait, but does
not have any moving parts inside so it runs silent. |
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The i-Slide 262T's Long Journey En Route to Earning Our Ultimate Award
The i-Slide 262T
is far from an easy bait to get to know. It measures 262 millimeters which
equals somewhere around ten and one third inches (10 1/3"). I mean, how do you
even measure a third of an inch unless you have an engineering scale? It weighs
six full ounces and comes with two, very large hooks. But those stats don't tell
the story. |
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Chip Off The Old Tungsten? Never Again with WOO!
What happens when you take a couple of college friends who happen to be a tournament fishing partners, throw in some frustration over the durability of terminal tackle they've been using, and finally add a Flair for pro wrestling? Well quite naturally, you get a terminal tackle company called WOO! Tungsten. |
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Megabass of America's New Baits for 2021
Earlier this year, we learned of Megabass of
America's plans to bring to North American Shores the JDM lineup of Destroyer P5
fishing rods featuring a unique, 5D graphite system to build the blanks. Never
one to shy away from new, intriguing tech, Megabass continues on that trend in
their new product introductions for 2021. |
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Denali Rods's New Sub $100 Rod Series : Ryker
With several series spread out
and smartly targeted at price points between $100 through $250, Denali's
popularity grows with each passing year. For 2021, Denali looks to push the
boundaries of affordability even further with the introduction of an entirely
new series. |
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ARK Rods Is Not a Company that Plays Small Ball
ICAST may be over for this year, but that's never held manufacturers back from continuing to send us information on what they have planned for the coming year. ARK Rods, out of Port St Lucie., Florida did just that this past week with a full catalog of product they're getting ready to flood the market with in 2021.
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TackleTour's Best of ICAST
2020 Award Winners
While ICAST has their New Product Showcase Awards our Editors also review and select the
products that they found the most exciting this year, and while there are
numerous entrants worthy of consideration, these
are the products in each category that the Editors at TackleTour recognize as
the "Best of ICAST 2020." |
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Storm Bolsters Its Rebellious Nature
Somewhere within the last decade, probably around
the time they debuted their Arashi Squarebill, the brand began to develop a
somewhat rebellious streak. Perhaps the brand is growing weary of playing
younger sibling to Rapala, or maybe it's just being true to their name.
Regardless, we found some interesting new product at ICAST 2020, that made us
want to weather through the brand. |
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Rapala Keeps Things Lively for 2021
- Launches Rap-V Blade
Having recently discovered the BX Big Brat
squarebill crank, while browsing TackleWarehouse.com, I was a little anxious to
see what Rapala had cooking for this coming year so I wouldn't be late to the
game should they bring to market an equaling intriguing product. While the
brand's introductions for the coming year felt somewhat conservative, there were
a couple of products that caught my eye. |
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Old Town Powers Up the Sportsman 106 Kayak with Minn Kota
Kayak fishing is absolutely blowing up and watercraft manufacturers are
creating new kayaks that are specifically designed for anglers to get to the
fish faster, navigate bigger water, and back home safely. This ICAST Old Town
introduced the Sportsman 106 motorized kayak powered by Minn Kota which is
controlled by a powerboat style throttle for intuitive forward and reverse. |
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Simms Outfits Both Men and Women for Inclement Weather This Year
- Updates ProDry Rain Suit
Each and every year, Simms has a dizzying array of new product to help outfit anglers for the coming seasons and protect them from the elements. This year is no different and we zeroed in on a few key products that we think anglers who like to challenge the elements as well as themselves while in pursuit of their favorite quarry. |
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Pradco
Brands Makes the Legendary Arbogast Jointed Jitterbug and Heddon Slopenose Baits
New Again
This ICAST there were two baits from the Pradco portfolio that really
caught our attention as they were classic baits that we were nostalgic about
made new once again. These are the Arbogast Jointed Jitterbug 2.0 and the Heddon
Slopenose. |
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Sunline Reformulates Lines and Increases
Visibility for 2021
Some fishing line manufacturers specialize or offer better product in one line category versus another. Few, as far as we are concerned, hit the mark with a noteworthy product in each and every category, braid, fluorocarbon, nylon monofilament. Sunline is one of these triple crown line manufacturers so it's always interesting to see what they have cooking at ICAST.
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13 Fishing
Refreshes Entire Fate Black Rod Lineup and Unveils New Fate V3 Series
13 Fishing's popular Fate Black is getting a major refresh this season
and marks a return to a more traditional stealthy black look and feel versus the
bright green styling of the last generation. In addition to the refreshed Fate
Black rods the company also launched a brand new line called the Fate V3, which
features immediately identifiable white blanks and carbon grips. |
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Arundel Tackle Unleashes JDM Legit Design's Wild Side
Less frequently than the next super rare, large, and epic moon event, it seems every couple of years at ICAST we're fortunate enough to meet a new rod manufacturer threatening to shake up the status quo. Despite the virtual nature of the event, this year's show was one those affairs. Arundel Tackle out of Chicago, Illinois, is a small, family run business with a special connection to an up and coming tackle company out of Japan. |
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13 Fishing's FreeFall Miami Nights Special Edition Hardwater Reel, and an
Exclusive Look at Another
This ICAST 13 Fishing is introducing a Special Edition hardwater reel to
highlight their performance oriented Black Betty FreeFall Series... meet the
Miami Nights.
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Keeping Fish Stapled in Place with Spearpoint Hooks
New terminal tackle companies must present new designs and create more
innovative products to garner attention from anglers. Spearpoint is looking to
do exactly that this ICAST with the introduction of their own brand of
Performance Hooks.
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