TackleTour's Best of ICAST 2021 Award Winners (continued)

Best of ICAST - Fishing Line: Seaguar BASIX: Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon is the stuff of legend and has become the go-to line for finesse enthusiasts, but is also among the most expensive lines on the market. This year Seaguar introduced BasiX, and as the name suggests will be a basic fluorocarbon line for everyone. This mainline is 100% fluorocarbon constructed with Seaguar's own resins so that it delivers quality knot strength and abrasion resistance. It is designed to be supple and soft enough for anglers of all skill levels to cast easily from both spinning and casting setups. The best part of all is that a spool of 200yds. will retail for only $9.99 each!

Best of ICAST - Fishing Apparel Foul Weather Gear : Aftco Barricade Elite 4L Waterproof System: Foul Weather Gear is a highly contested category and Aftco is able to leverage years of saltwater fishing experience to deliver a storm proof suit designed for all anglers. The Barricade Elite jacket and bib feature 100% nylon 4-layer construction that was designed for saltwater. This 30K waterproof / 7K breathable system is built to take on the harshest elements, featuring the innovative SpeedVent Hood which eliminates neck strain, Double Dry Cuffs to prevent water seepage, YKK AquaGuard chest zippers, kill switch D-Ring, and reflective logos. The Barricade Elite Bib retails for $399 and the Barricade Jacket retails for $449 which may seem like a major investment but is still significantly cheaper than competing top-end foul weather suits. In the short span of just a few seasons Aftco has gone from an apparel brand focused primarily on saltwater fishing to catering to fishermen and fisherwomen of all types. Whether it is a performance sun shirt or a foul weather suit, like the feature-rich Barricade, the company has anglers covered.  

Best of ICAST - Optics : Costa Untangled Series: Costa is a titan in the optics space and especially when it comes to sunglasses specifically designed for anglers. This ICAST the Costa launched their 2.0 Collection, a series of sunglass that anglers can feel good about wearing, as they are built from recycled fishing nets and other sustainable materials including recycled aluminum logos and mineral glass (580G) lenses. Discarded fishing nets are a very harmful form of plastic pollution in the ocean today and working hand in hand with its partner Bureo, Costa is taking discarded fishing nets and giving them a new life in its collection of core performance frames. Ever since the original Untangled Collection of lifestyle frames debuted in 2018, Costa has been working to advance the recycling and molding techniques to build frames that are better-suited for its core angling community. The four new frames - Antille, Caleta, Pargo & Santiago -have a 100% traceable supply chain, and are built from a more durable NetPlus material that is 97% recycled fishing nets and 3% performance additive. The combination allows Costa to build sunglasses with maximum coverage and protection and the performance features that fishermen need for targeting their favorite species and those extra long days on the water. The Costa Untangled 2.0 collection hard launched at ICAST is becoming available now for $199-$299 dollars depending on model.

Best of ICAST - Enthusiast Reel : Daiwa Steez 70 CT SV TW: Nobody does "enthusiast" better than Daiwa and with a $729 dollar price of entry the Steez CT SV TW should be able to catch fish by itself. This is the reel that is designed for the most enthusiast oriented anglers and tackle collectors. Designed for ultimate finesse fishing applications the compact magnesium bodied Steez 70 CT SV TW comes with a 30 mm SV duralumin spool, air brake system, audible clicking drag, and of course the most refined t-wing system that the company offers. It also comes backed with a Steez 5 year Service Warranty which includes a 5 year clean and service and a 1 business day turn around upon arrival at Daiwa's service department. The reel will be available this Fall in both 7.1:1 and 8.1:1 retrieve ratios and weighs in at only 5.3 ounces. While not for everyone this is must have for Daiwa enthusiasts, who can fish the lightweight baitcaster hard knowing that this compact super-reel comes backed with an industry leading service and support package.

Best of ICAST - Enthusiast Rod: G.Loomis NRX+: Though technically introduced earlier this year the G.Loomis NRX+ had a strong presence at this year's ICAST. We have already put the Bladed Jig rod through the paces but being able to handle the entire lineup side-by-side at the show gave us an even better appreciation for all the many applications that this enthusiast lineup is able to address with the new multi-taper design and spiral-X construction. We continue to be thrilled that G.Loomis maintained the hybrid guidetrain and that these rods are still handcrafted in Woodland Washington. Ultra light, ultra crisp, and ultra clean, the NRX+ spinning rods in particular offer anglers an absolute weapon when it comes to finesse fishing. The original NRX Series rods are still great, and these new NRX+ rods are even better. As with all products targeting best in class performance the NRX+ are not cheap with retail prices from $595 to $625 dollars, but they are absolutely worth it for enthusiast anglers seeking ultimate sensitivity, accurate casting, and exceptional lifting power.

Best of ICAST - Innovation: Okuma Hakai Series Baitcasters: There were a number of reel manufacturers that pushed to make magnesium-bodied reels more affordable this year but Okuma went a step further by supertuning their spool with the help of Dream Tackle Design. The innovation comes in the form of a patented hollow stainless steel mainshaft which enables the addition of SUS balls on both ends to aid with startup, rotation, and strength. The combination is designed to provide a better balance in weight, durability, and smooth friction-free casts. The spool is further tuned with a .4mm uniform thickness and 33mm O/D so that the entire assembly weighs only 9.5 grams, making this the most refined spool the company has ever built. Besides this innovative Flite Shaft and Flite Spool the Hakai gets oversized hardened brass gearing, stainless steel and carbon drag washers, a universal line indicator, externally adjustable magnetic cast control system, and a carbon fiber drag star. This lightweight reel weighs in at only 5.9oz. and will retail for only $169 dollars when they become available this winter. Simply put the Flite Shaft equipped Hakai could be a game-changer for Okuma. 

Thanks for joining us for this year's ICAST coverage. It was great to get back together with everyone in-person, and there really was no replacing being able to handle the tackle and learn more about the details from the product managers and pros that were involved in bringing them to market. We will continue to cover the new products in upcoming previews and in-depth reviews. Some of the new product has already landed in our lab so stay tuned as we get back to our regular review schedule.