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Locally Sourced and Produced Zee Bait Co.
In a little town, about an hour outside of Philadelphia, PA, is where Hunter Grogan, founder, bait maker, head of sales, marketing, shipping, inventory, quality control, maintenance, janitorial services, power, lights, water, runs an operation know as Zee Bait Co.. Zee Bait Co.'s primary offering is soft plastic baits and scents, but they also offer a line of branded apparel and custom rods! We caught up with Grogan and his crew at ICAST to see what they have cooking. |
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Abu Garcia Encourages Us to Be Like Ike
Most professional bass anglers with rods and reels bearing their name are featured on products in the value driven product lines, so when we heard about the new Revo Ike Series casting and spinning reels by Abu Garcia, we naturally assumed they'd be based off the RevoX or S reels making them more accessible to the young anglers who idolize Ike. Imagine our surprise when we discovered these reels were instead priced over $200! |
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Rolling Down the River2Sea Catalog of Baits
River2Sea's catalog of product can be overwhelming so we're usually a bit leery of the task of reporting on what's new with them. They claimed they didn't really have much going on, but when we arrived, their pro staff made sure we had plenty to talk about. Here's what's new, refined, and happening with River2Sea. |
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Quantum Re-Focuses their Value Propositions
Quantum's S3 engineering effort to refine their Tour PT and Smoke reels last year was a great success. This year, it was time to concentrate on one of their best selling reels, and solidify their position in the value segment of low profile baitcasting reels.
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Jackall expands their Surface Bait
Offering with the Chopcut and Riserbait
We are always eager to check out what Jackall has to offer and this year
the company is focused on expanding their hardbait lineup, and especially those
that are designed to target fish on the surface. |
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Speed, Power, Xtreme... Abu Garcia Cranking up Gen 4
2017 was a big year for Abu Garcia at ICAST. It was then the company introduced their 4th iteration of their popular REVO series of low profile baitcasting reels. This year, the company is extending the Revo4 refresh to two of their more specialty and extreme performing reels.
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Like a Seafoam Tide - Meet
the Concept TXZ
13 Fishing is based in Florida and wholeheartedly embraces their roots
offering a wide range of inshore products. This ICAST the company built on their
CZB range of reel offerings with the introduction of the Concept TXZ, a reel
designed to stand up to tough saltwater abuse. |
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A Huge Leap for Daiwa's Tatula
Series by Going Smaller and More Compact
Daiwa's Tatula Series has become a top seller for the company and with
good reason, these reels deliver a lot of the features and performance of higher
end Daiwa reels at a significantly lower price. While the recent Tatula reels
have become extremely refined, even sporting SV spools, the form factor of the
reels still left anglers wanting something more ergonomic and refined. |
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Exclusive First Look at the New Shimano SLX Series Reels
and Rods
Fans of Shimano biking components will immediately recognize the SLX name, and that it is designed for value and mainstream oriented riders.
The new SLX baitcaster is designed to do the same for anglers, providing a
solid, versatile, and affordable everyday workhorse option.
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A First Look at the Boldly Styled Upcoming Halo Rods Black
Widow Bass Series
In the weeks leading up to the show we
had the opportunity to fish a new rod line that Halo will be launching at ICAST
called the Black Widow Series, which is based on a Japanese graphite blank and
is designed for excellent response and sensitivity, all with a range of tapers
and actions specifically created for bass anglers. |
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Shimano Curado 150 DC – Bringing
Digital Cast Control to the Masses
Shimano’s Digitally Controlled (DC) braking system is
not new, it is a proven technology that has been reserved for the company’s
highest end, mostly JDM, reel offerings. That is until next week when Shimano
will officially launch the Curado 150 DC, the first mainstream baitcaster in the
U.S. to make use of this externally adjustable microprocessor controlled
technology. |
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Make No Bones About It, The New Z from Kistler
When we heard about a refreshed rod series being built on a new blank rolled without the traditional scrim material, our interest was peaked. When this series is coming from Kistler Custom Rods, you know we had to get our hands on one of these sticks to check out the benefits - or lack there of - for ourselves. Here's our look at the 2019 ZBone ZB3LMH73.
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Daiwa's Stealthy New 2018 Ryoga
For those unfamiliar with the platform, Daiwa's Ryoga served as
the basis for the USDM Pluton back in 2008. The original intent for this reel is
as an inshore product but of course fishermen, especially bass fishermen, don't
pay attention to this... |
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A Squarebill with Special FX : The Megabass Knuckle
What if the bait you already
had tied on and were firing down the bank could be adjusted to accommodate the
parameters that one little situation presented, and then adjusted back to handle
the remaining stretch of bank. Megabass has the solution with their Knuckle FX squarebill crank.
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TackleTour Shootout : Stella FJ vs Exist LT
It's that time again. Time to
cast aside our review mentality and really get into the nitty gritty side by
side comparison of product. It's been a few years since we've conducted a good
old fashioned TackleTour Shootout but early in 2018, two products presented
themselves before us that inspired a true head to head comparison. |
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Crazy Glide? The Baitsanity Explorer
Swimbaits
There is arguably no more desirable hard-bodied swimbait to big trophy
hunters than the custom glide bait. A good glide bait is often the centerpiece
in the swimbait aficionado’s arsenal, one that is responsible for many personal
bests. What is it that makes these baits so popular among ardent anglers? |
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Number Four REVO Winch by Abu Garcia
Fresh off their Editor's Choice Award win with the Revo X, Abu Garcia is right back in the fire with perhaps my favorite Revo
model or at least the one in my lineup that has seen the most consistent use
over the years... |
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Re-Enforcing the Viability of Spinning Gear, Megabass's New F4.5-74XXS
In March, we shared with you our first impressions of Megabass of America's refreshed Orochi XX lineup after a day on the water with CEO Yuskei Murayama and a collection of his late model prototypes. In late April, the production sticks arrived at their Northern California headquarters on a day I just happened to be there picking up some Destroyer sticks to fill out my collection... |
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Light and Tough? It Does EXIST and It's Made by Daiwa
It's been eleven long years since I've sampled a new Daiwa Exist. At least, that's the last review on our site of Daiwa's top end JDM Spinning Reel.
To be honest, I like that reel so much and it has performed so well for me
through the years, that I haven't really paid attention to updates on this reel. |
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ARK Rods Adds Value to Your Search With the IVK70MXC Casting Rod
In March of 2018, in their first official review here on TackleTour, ARK Rods's Invoker IVK610MLXS spinning rod easily won our Best Value award for delivering a solid performing stick on a good blank. Does their formula translate well in a casting rod? We take a close look at the IVK70MXC to find out. |
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Forget the Street Car, Book the Bullet Train to this New Stella
How excited were you and how much anticipation did you have to take to the water and make your first cast? Remember that feeling? That's what being an enthusiast is all about - enthusiasm. |
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On a Monster
Mission: Fishing for Great Snakehead
Like many other anglers I have a number of fish on my bucket-list. Some
are easy guesses like the beautiful Amazon Peacock Bass (check), or drag
destroying Goliath Grouper (also check), but others are a little more obscure
like the enigmatic Great Snakehead... |
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What the Finesse?!? A Sub $150 BFS Stick?
Meet The 47
The T47C-370BCF is a seven foot stick built on a blank featuring a blend of thirty and forty tone carbon fiber by Toray. This is good quality graphite. Doomsday Tackle is making use of Fuji's micro sized Alconite insert guides with stainless steel frames and wraps them with a kind of vintage thread wrap design on the offwhite painted blank.
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Putting the Pro in IMX, G.Loomis's new DSR822S
As someone who prefers and appreciates a clean hierarchy in product lineups, I always found it confusing and a bit chaotic the way G.Loomis had grown a little sideways with their former technique specific series. It's easy to understand where GL3, IMX, GLX, NRX, etc., fit in terms of pecking order but just where did crankbait, spinnerbait, shakyhead, jerkbait, etc., fit into that scheme? |
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Versus Goliath - Targeting
Goliath Grouper in Florida
Goliath Groupers look
like gigantic bass and are some of the most voracious predators that cruise the
wrecks and reefs in South Florida. These bottom dwelling titans are responsible
for stealing many a fish from unsuspecting anglers whom are simply trying to get
their fish back to the boat. I’ve wanted to catch one of these monsters ever
since I first tangled with one of these beasts, and lost, just over two years ago.
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Slowing Things Down with Abu Garcia's Revo 4 Winch Spinning Reel
One of the arguments I hear in
passing as to why bass anglers prefer casting reels to spinning is the slower
gear ratios in spinning reels versus casting. What I guess many of the anglers
making this argument fail to realize is it's not the gear ratio that's
important, but the actual rate of retrieve or inches of line retrieved per turn
of the reel's handle (IPT). |
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Slowing Down with the MagSlowl by Megabass
During the Spring of 2017, we shared our long overdue look at Megabass's somewhat unconventional MagDraft soft bodied swimbait. It was unconventional for the way in which it was intended to be fished - fast. Today we finally take a look at the MagDraft's more chill sibling. Introducing Megabass's MagSlowl soft bodied swimbait. |
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What the Finesse?!?
Phenix's Sub 3oz Feather Series Spinning Rod
If there is one rod
manufacturer that has proven over the last five years it's on a mission to
deliver solid performing sticks at a price that won't break the bank, that
manufacturer is Phenix Rods. With roughly half a dozen collections offered at
right around two hundred dollars or less (Recon, Glass Cranking, Composite
Cranking, M1 Bass, Maxim, M1 Swimbait), Phenix demonstrates they understand the
value minded angler. |
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Making a Case for the Rotation : Quantum's Smoke S3 Inshore Spinning Reel
One of the Quantum reels that really caught our attention at ICAST 2017 was a black spinning reel with blue highlights. It is one of the newly re-engineered Series Three reels, but not built solely for freshwater.
In fact, this reel is actually intended for inshore use, but of course, just
because it's built for inshore does not mean we can't use it in freshwater
applications.
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Cranking It Up with Spro's John Crew's Fat John 60
How many of you have tucked
away in your tackle collection somewhere some of those big, fat, wood cranks
from yester- year. Seems like these precious little baits become more difficult
to find with each passing year. In fact, is anyone still making one?
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Living the Dream – Big Bass Crappie
Dreams
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to join Oliver Ngy,
renowned trophy bass hunter and founder of the lifestyle label Big Bass Dreams,
for a day of fishing at one of my favorite regional bodies of water, Lake
Berryessa in nearby Napa County. Looking to mix things up our target for the day
was not the usual largemouth and smallmouth bass that I typically fish for, but
rather the pursuit of monster crappie. |
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Forget the 4, this Revo Generation is about the X
No, Abu Garcia's Revo4 model X is not a product made in conjunction with Tesla motors nor does it have any electronic parts (that we know of). Instead, it is the new, gateway Revo
model available in three retrieve ratios and presented with a price tag of $99.
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Crank It Up! : Berkley Fishing's Comprehensive Dredger
Deep diving crankbaits of recent vintage have taken on a new profile as is witnessed by our L.O.U.S. (lures of unusual size) series. Berkley bucks that trend and goes in the opposite direction with a pint sized crankbait they've engineered to reach depths in excess of twenty five feet!
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A Jig Worth More Than Just Flipping Out Over
Pre-ICAST 2017, social media was a-buzz with Mike Iaconelli supposedly flipping out for some mysterious reason. We now know the reveal was Missile Jigs's new Ike's Flip Out Jig. We managed to get our hands on some post-ICAST and have been fishing them off and on ever since. Here's a closer look at this new jig. |
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A New Benchmark in Rigidity? A Look inside the Shimano Bantam
MGL Baitcaster
At the recent Bassmaster Classic Shimano officially introduced a new generation of
anglers to the series with the launch of the Bantam 150 MGL which will be
offered in six different models. The new Bantam reels channel the original with
a focus on a solid metal construction, only with a whole lot more refinement and
use of the latest technologies from the Shimano stable... |
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Stop, Wait a Minute.. Yes, that's Megabass's Funky Flipper
The Funky Flipper measures just over two inches in length but
this bait's story begins with its over all teardrop shape that really resembles
the vintage Griffon that's been sitting within a Plano box baking in the sun for
several hours causing it to balloon up from the inside... |
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Bull Shad Swimbaits Enters the Rat Race
Like an infestation that circles around every three or four years, rat style baits seem to come back into vogue with good frequency. Bull Shad Swimbaits has made their mark with kind of nondescript, really plain, almost beat up looking baits that mimic shad, sunfish, herring and the like. Late last year, they jumped into the rat race too. We spent some time with the Bull Rat and the following is our review!
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Beware the Bait Finesse Addiction : Shimano's Scorpion BFS
Once only available to the most
dedicated enthusiast with a big budget, reels like Shimano's Brenious and Daiwa's Alphas SV are built to deliver BFS capabilities for right around $250. No where is it more evident that the BFS movement has gained real traction than in the availability today's subject of review - the Scorpion BFS. |
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Best Value Alert : Ark Rods Invoker IVK610MLXS
With each passing year at ICAST, we come across a new (or at least new to us) rod company or two that bares closer inspection. At ICAST 2017 this distinction went to ARK Rods out of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Established in 2016, ARK Rods already has a full suite of bass sticks with five (5) series in all ranging in price from $90 through $200.
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Reaction
Innovation's New One Two Shiver Punch
The Shiver Shot is just over three and a half inches long soft plastic bait made in the general shape of a baitfish. The main body and head of the bait resemble the company's Skinny Dipper only with a flat, dolphin like spit tail rather than a paddletail.
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A Global Design for Enthusiasts, the Shimano G.Loomis
Conquest Rods
A joint collaboration within the same company? This is exactly what it
took to create the Conquest Series, a twelve rod lineup that brought together G.Loomis’s rod design expertise and popular mag
bass actions with Shimano’s core blank technology. |
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