ICAST 2015 fishing tackle show coverage

ICAST 2015 Coverage

	Saving the Best for Last? 13 Fishing's Rods Redefine Performance and Value It has been a little over a month since ICAST 2015 and while it would have been impossible to cover everything that the show had to offer we crammed as much as we could into the last four weeks. It's finally time to get back to our review schedule but before we do that we had to write about 13 Fishing one more time, and cover the company's new rod offerings.
	Halco's New Fast Moving Baits for Big Fish Halco continues to be a leading provider of lures for top of the food chain species. The Australian lure company had a busy year, moving into a larger custom built new head office and warehousing facility, their third move in 64 years. One of the big benefits of the move to the new facility is that it is located only 100 meters away from the saltwater.
	Pike and Beyond with Scandinavian Lures from Westin The first ever Westin lure was created by the late Ingvar Westin, a skilled toolmaker who wanted to create a "toy" for his children back in 1952. He carved a fish which wriggled and rolled, and since it looked like an oversized pike lure he called it "Jatte" which is the Swedish word for "giant." It wasn't long before this toy caught the attention of local Pike anglers...
	Cutting-Edge Rods and Reels from Hardy When strolling the aisles of the IFTD show, there are a lot of “must visit” booths. Hardy is one of those. With a long history in the fly fishing marketplace, the legendary brand is always improving and innovating. We met up with the good folks at Hardy to see what's on the horizon!
	Redington Keeps You Dry and Comfy Redington may best be known for their affordable fly rods and reels, but they also make some great waders and apparel for men, women, and children. We've long been fans of their gear, and this year they brought out some new items to keep things interesting. Let's dive in and see what Redington had on hand at this year's IFTD show!
	Ardent Introduces Blue Marlin Saltwater Spinning Reels to the Americas Unless you are a die hard saltwater angler chances are that you haven't heard of Blue Marlin, but now Ardent is helping change that. The brand has roots going all the way back to 1955 but now the brand is looking to enter the global stage with a new flagship spinning reel...
	Weego Offers Portable Power for Anglers on the Go! Just about every boat owner has dealt with it at one time or another, dead batteries and a truck or boat that just doesn't have enough juice to crank the engine. A young company called Weego offers a simple solution for today's outdoor enthusiasts, portable power, in the form of compact jump starters and battery packs.
	Two New Rod Series' From Aleka Sports At this year's IFTD show we had the pleasure of meeting the guys at Aleka Sports. We had previously seen snippets of the brand here and there, but never had the opportunity to handle any of their gear. Aleka was on hand at the show to not just show off current product offerings, but to showcase two brand new families of wallet-friendly rods.
	Halo Fishing Refines Their Rods with Series II Offerings Halo Fishing is a rod company that focuses on delivering quality rods at very reasonable prices for anglers. Their rods do not shy away from the spotlight and feature striking colors that scream fun. This ICAST the team at Halo introduced three new Series II rod lines starting with a redesign of their popular Twilite rods.
	Cortland Guides the Way to Fly Fishing Success With Technical New Lines As one of the “big” flyline companies, Cortland is constantly tinkering and listening to user feedback to stay on the cutting edge of fly line design. This year, Cortland showed us what they've come up with since we visited them at the last IFTD show!
	Livingston Lures Brings the Tech With Their Connected Lures When it comes to infusing technology into lures one company stands apart, Livingston, which offers "smart baits" that are able to emit natural sounds to call fish in and trigger instinctual strikes. This ICAST the company took this technology to the next level with new lure designs and the world's first app controlled smart bait.
	Are You Ready For New Rods From Redington? Fly-fishing can be a frighteningly expensive sport, but thankfully there are some companies out there that make it accessible for people without stratospheric budgets. Redington is just such a brand. Featuring a mix of very affordable to modestly-priced offerings, Redington is well-known within fly-fishing for bringing great quality at great prices.
	New Premium Fly Rods From Thomas & Thomas Thomas & Thomas, or as people affectionately call “T&T”, is well-known for producing some of the finest-crafted rods around. Having never met up with the folks at T&T, we were anxious to meet them and see what they had in store for IFTD 2015. Let's take a peek at their latest offerings!
	Time to get Savage with the Award Winning Hard Shrimp Savage Gear brought their A-Game to ICAST once again and introduced a plethora of new baits. There were high expectations after last year's win in the soft bait category with the 3D Crab and they met that challenge head on with a back to back to win!
	Cheeky Unveils New Fly Reels and.......Spinning Reels?! If someone is using a Cheeky reel you'll likely recognize it instantly. Most of their reels exhibit bright, bold color schemes that are easy to identify from a mile away. At the IFTD show this year, they brought out not only fresh fly reels, but a couple of colorful new products from outside the realm of fly fishing as well!
	New Fly Rods and Reels From Douglas Outdoors Last year we visited the folks at Douglas to take a peek at what this new company had to offer on both the conventional and fly-fishing side of things. Although still a very fresh brand within the industry, Douglas is rolling out quite an array of new products—especially considering the company's young age. Here's a tour through the fly-fishing lineup of what's coming from Douglas.
	Simms Introduces New ProDry Foul Weather Gear and Covers Anglers from Hood to Toe When it comes to angling apparel Simms still sets the benchmark in terms of high performance gear, and this ICAST the company is seeking to raise the bar once again with a complete redesign of their popular ProDry foul weather jacket and bib, and a complete range of new gear designed for the discriminating fisherman, or woman.
	Impact Your Fly Fishing Success With New Rods and Reels From TFO Currently, Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) offers over 20 different categories of fly rods for everything from tiny brook trout to brawling marlin. What's a company to do when they already offer a mind-blowing array of rods? Release more new stuff, of course! This year, TFO has once again shaken up both their rod and reel product lines. Let's take a look!
	New Fly Reels From 3-Tand! Unfortunately, we missed out on visiting the guys at 3-Tand at the 2014 IFTD show. This new company took home the award for “Best Fly Fishing Reel” at that event, and we wondered what they had up their sleeves for this year. While walking the aisles we made sure to swing by and have a look for ourselves!
	Majorcraft Unveils Some Majorly Exciting New Rods! Although our recent review of their WJ731M model was a good one, some people have expressed disappointment that Majorcraft's much-sought-after JDM offerings aren't readily available here in the states. Much to the delight of us and probably a lot of our readers, the wait finally appears to be coming to an end for at least one of these series' of rods!
	Nichols Goes Big With Ben Parker Spoons and a Rod Designed to Handle these Magnum Baits Nichols Lures has been supplying quality lures since 1989 and offers a wide range of hardbaits and terminal tackle products. This ICAST the company branched out into new territory by introducing application specific rods designed to offer something unique for bass anglers.
	Spooltek Gets More Bass Friendly With a Smaller Size Spooltek was one of the more interesting companies we visited at last year's ICAST show. Their unique swimbaits, with hooks that break free from the bait when a fish strikes, showed a lot of promise for cross species application. This year, they demonstrate some of that versatility with new size introductions that are sure to get bass fishermen excited.
	R.L. Winston Rod Company Shows Us Their Latest Boron Creations Long-respected rod manufacturer R.L. Winston sets themselves apart by incorporating boron into many of their rods. Claiming that this material gives them an advantage when it comes to things like strength and weight, this year's IFTD show saw the folks at Winston roll out several new boron-infused made-in-the-USA rods.
	Hot Cranks and Rats, Spro has you Covered! SPRO continues their tradition of introducing quality baits that are designed with heavy input from their prostaff. The new RKstar crankbait and BBZ-1 Rats only increase the versatility of what you can do with SPRO hardbaits whether your cranking, backtrolling, or targeting lunkers on the surface.
	Batson, a Rod Builders one Stop Shop There are few component companies that have grown as fast as Batson has in the last few seasons and there is a good reason, the company helps address challenges that rod builders face. Each season Batson continues to innovate and introduce new products and services that are much more than just a new reel seat or guide, but rather a complete solution for rod builders.
	Diamondback is BACK We were both surprised and delighted to see Diamondback Rod Company in attendance at this year's IFTD show. After seeing and hearing about the company on a fairly consistent basis years ago, they since vanished from our radar. But now, things have changed. After being part of Cortland they are back on their own and had a strong lineup of both fly and conventional rods racked up at the booth—including one fly rod series that really caught the eyes of many people!
	New from Ima, AA Worms, Zappu, Kahara, Reins, & Deps! Those privy to the bass fishing world are familiar with the fact many of the more exotic baits from Japan and other countries make their way here to the shores and stores of North America via a distributorship of some sort. What some may not know or realize is that the owners of Optimum Bait company are one such umbrella corporation...
	More Precision Excellence From Abel Reels In the world of fly reels, no other manufacturer has as many customization options as Abel Reels. Sure, other companies offer some jazzy color schemes and tidbits, but Abel takes it to a whole other level. Not only do they offer a huge variety of choices to the consumer, but they are constantly refreshing and updating colors and designs every year.
	From Argentina to Orlando: Correntoso Reels Argentina-based Correntoso Reels may not be a household name in America quite yet, but these reels certainly have a look all their own. We first met with these guys at last year's IFTD show and were impressed by the unique appearances and designs of their reels. This year they made the long trip to Orlando once again, this time to show off a new fully-featured prototype reel.
	New Fly Lines From Airflo Airflo has been in the fly line game for quite some time, and every year their forward-thinking leads to improvements and new innovations in line performance and design. Was the 2015 IFTD show any different? Of course not! Like always, this year's show saw the Airflo team showcase a variety of new items including lines, leaders, and tippets.
	Diversity with Rapala Brand Companies Rapala is the overarching brand for Normark Corporation consisting not only of the Rapala brand, but eleven other name brands as well including VMC, Sufix, Storm, Luhr Jensen, Terminator, Trigger, Blue Fox and more. As you can imagine, with so many brands under one umbrella, there are a ton of new introductions to wade through. We zero in on a couple of key ones we found interesting.
	A New Reel From Nautilus Guaranteed to X-cite! As one of the most respected reel manufacturers around, Miami-based Nautilus reels has gained a solid reputation by making not only beautiful reels, but some of the highest-performing anywhere. Although their lineup is already a solid one, this year at the IFTD show they launched a brand-new family of reels that blends light weight, durability, and performance at a modest price point.
	A New “Favorite” Rod Possibly Coming to the US Market? Every ICAST there is that one company that one rod company that manages to really surprise us with their offerings, leaving us with hope that they will successfully introduce their products into the domestic market. This year that brand called “Favorite” which we have heard about, but never seen their products firsthand before.
	Seaspin Thinks Communication is the Key We were introduced to Seaspin at ICAST 2014 where we saw some unique takes on rigging baits. This year we took at look at some new, more conventional offerings for the bass fishermen and then an interesting communications tool.
	Megabass Introduces Exciting New Baits As most who follow the brand already know, Megabass is not just about fishing rods and while the introduction of their "affordably" priced $199 Levante series of rods was exciting, there's a whole-nother side to the brand we've yet to discuss - baits! Megabass, and actually, more accurately, Megabass of America has a crop of new baits they shared with us at ICAST 2015.
	Two New and Very Different Reels From Redington With all the varied choices available to today's fly angler, it is difficult to design a product that truly sets itself apart in form and function. At the 2015 IFTD show, Redington succeeded in breaking away from the pack by introducing two intriguing new reels.
	Not Just Fly Lines: New Reels and Outfits from Scientific Anglers Scientific Anglers is definitely most well-known for their crazy-huge variety of fly lines that serve any application you can dream of. While lines make up a huge amount of their product lineup, it's not all they offer. At IFTD this year the team at SA showcased some new budget-friendly reels, outfits, and other accessories that will be arriving very soon!
	New Lines from Scientific Anglers Since we visited them at the 2014 IFTD show, it's quite evident that the crew at Scientific Anglers has been hard at work. This year, they had a variety of new items to show us, including....you guessed it.....fly lines....and lots of them! Come with us and check out what they have to offer for their 2016 product lineup!
	How is it Possible? St. Croix Continues to up their Game! It's no secret that St. Croix rods out of Park Falls, Wisconsin is regarded as one of the premier rod manufacturers in the world. Not only are their sticks always meticulously crafted, but they invest a lot in their own technology to improve the blanks and strengthen them from the inside out. We look forward to visiting their booth each year to see what's new.
	River2Sea Keeps It Simple This Year Normally, each year, River2Sea has a host of new introductions to show us at ICAST. This year, the company scaled back a little bit instead, concentrating on bringing to market, product that had been previously promised and also filling out existing lines with new colors. We stopped by to take a look at what they had display.
	More JDM to USDM Product from Sunline! We were fortunate to fish Sunline's big announcement this year prior to its release and were able to bring you an exclusive, full blown review of their brand new Assassin FC P-Ion infused fluorocarbon back in May. So we were left wondering if there was anything new to report on from the Sunline booth this year...
	The Excitement Never Wanes Over Molix Molix always manages to bring a little style and panache to their product lineup. Perhaps it's the company's Italian roots or maybe it's the influence of their headline prostaff member, Elite Series Pro Mike Iaconelli, but we always enjoy seeing what's new and exciting with Molix each year.
	Welcome to Gill's Vortex... Hood Anglers who pay attention to rainwear alternatives are probably already familiar with Gill, a company that has outfitted the sailing industry with some of the highest performing waterproof garments available for the last forty years. The company made a soft push into the bass market roughly five years ago, but now they're finally ready to go full bore with three sets of gear tailored specifically for the angler.
	Two Brand New Fly Reels From Ross Ross Reels is easily one of the most popular fly reels around. While they may not be the “blingiest,” their performance and value has earned an impressive fan base over the years. We had a great time last year visiting the Ross booth and seeing their Animas reel for the first time, but this year they outdid themselves with the introductions of not one but two new reels!
	Rajeff Sports Reveals New Fly Rods Rajeff Sports offers tackle to cover all the aquatic bases, and they were one of the many companies at the IFTD show this year displaying a bevy of new rods made to increase your on-the-water success at smile-worthy prices.
	Daiwa and Evergreen International Partner Up! The on again, off again availability of baits by JDM manufacturer, Evergreen International is officially on again. In the footsteps of the not too recent Shimano/Jackall partnership, the prestigious JDM tackle manufacturer has entered a partnership with cross country rival, Daiwa to bring Evergreen International baits to North America once again!
	From Trout to Musky With Clutch Clutch is a relative newcomer to the world of fly rods, but that hasn't stopped them from putting together some solid rods and a solid pro-staff. With roots in Ohio, Clutch offers fly anglers premium rods for a variety of fishing from mountain streams to the tarpon flats. This year, Clutch continues their forward momentum with even more rods to add to their lineup!
	Getting to Know New Fly Lines from RIO You can have the best $800 fly rod on the market, but it simply won't perform at its full potential without the right line. A quality fly line will not just optimally load the rod, but it will be more user friendly in and out of the water, too. RIO products was back at it again this year and showcased several new items, including something for rods with “old school tapers.”
	Legendary Status: New Designs and Colors from Tibor Fly Reels On the IFTD side of the show this year, Tibor kept things interesting by showing us new spool designs and color options designed to maximize performance and really spike the WOW meter!
	Getting Hooked on HUK "Kryptek" Garments Huk continued to build momentum this year at ICAST and though the brand is relatively new to the angling apparel scene it has become one of the fastest growing brands out there, and has even become the foul weather gear of choice for some of the biggest names in professional bass fishing including Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, Brent Ehrler, and Gerald Swindle.
	Sub $10 Cranks from Lucky Craft!?! Lucky Craft's dizzying array of quality baits does not get any easier to wrap your tackle box around this year with several new bait introductions designed to fill out their product lines and overflow your tackle management systems.
	Missile Baits D Stroyer has a Baby! Anchored by the Editor's Choice Award winning D-Bomb, the company's arsenal grew this year with a new weapon, the D Stroyer launched shortly after the BASS Classic. We didn't really expect to see much else from Crews when we visited the booth, but he actually had a couple of things to show us!
	Another New Rod Series from Megabass of America Marking their second series of rods developed for the Western Market, Megabass's Levante Series is built from new carbon material from Mitsubishi (PYROFIL^TM) but layed out in the company's traditional multi-axis design.
	The iBobber Fish Finder, There is an App for That! Looking for fish? There is an App for that! The iBobber is a castable fish finder that syncs with your smartphone or tablet to deliver quality imaging wherever your angling adventures take you.
	Gamakatsu Goes Maxo on Nano There are a handful of terminal tackle manufacturers to which we play close attention because their product has always performed for us when critical product reviews are on the line. One of those brands is Gamakatsu. We caught up with Aaron Martens at the Gamakatsu booth to check out what's new from the company in 2016.
	Abu's New Rods for 2015 : From Finesse to Anti-Finesse and All Sorts of Villainy in Between Abu Garcia has been relatively aggressive in the rod market delivering performance at value with a bit of edge considering the naming of their product line. This year, we have three interesting new and revamped lines to talk about.
	It's Prime Time for STORMR Foul Weather Gear Stormr continues to develop new foul weather garments for anglers that are looking for the ultimate in protection. One of the features that sets their high end garments apart from the fray is the use of neoprene to deliver a comfortable, durable, and highly effective barrier from the elements. This ICAST the company unveiled their new "Prime" jacket for both fresh and saltwater anglers.
	Orvis Shows Off New Fly Rods and a New Reel Series Orvis is easily one of the most recognizable brands in fly fishing. Although their scope extends far beyond just fly fishing, the IFTD show is where we met up with the Orvis crew to check out their latest entries into the fly fishing market. With a few very special new rods and a slick new reel series arriving for the new year...
	Increase Your Pulse With New Offerings From Sage This year's IFTD show was a big one for the Sage brand. They introduced not just three new rod families, but also added additional models to the hot ONE series and redesigned the classy Click reels. We loved what we saw at their booth, and here's a rundown of all the drool-worthy products they had to share with us at TackleTour.
	Finally, Phenix Debuts their K2 Sticks, but Don't Overlook Black Chrome! After years of toying around in the mid level market price range with their Recon and M1 sticks, Phenix has finally addressed the part of market their fans have been calling for from the company for years. That’s right, the K2 rods are finally here!
	The "Robocup" Portable Caddy Securely Holds Rods or Drinks on just about Anything Every year at ICAST we bear witness to new gadgets designed to improve how we fish, and for the most part these inventions are overly complex or just plain irrelevant. The Robocup portable fishing caddy on the other hand stands apart, and presents anglers with a genuinely simple yet effective drink/rodholder combo.
	Ramble On With YETI If you're reading this you're likely an angler, so it's a pretty safe bet you've seen a YETI hat or cooler product at some point. Both the popularity of YETI as well as the product lineup continues to grow at a constant rate with no end in sight. Their products are known for not just keeping stuff cold for long periods, but also for extreme durability.
	Get a "Grip" With Galvan Galvan Fly Reels makes all reels in-house at their Sonora, CA headquarters. Comprised of the Torque, Torque Tournament, Rush Light, and Brookie reel families, this year Galvan brought out a new addition to their lineup. These beautiful new reels include an impressive look and an equally impressive list of features!
	Daiwa's Exciting Rod Lineup for 2016! Daiwa is introducing eight (8) new casting rods to their Steez AGS lineup. What was once just a series of spinning rods is now a full fledged bass line complete with cranking and flipping/pitching sticks!
	Still the Boss, Accurate's New lightweight Valiant Reel The new Valiant BV-300 was designed by Accurate with shallow water jigging in mind but is also a good fit for many other applications including live bait coastal fishing, reef fishing, mooching or jigging for salmon, or targeting tuna and dorado with lighter line offshore.
	Denali Rods's New Lithium and Bottom Feeder Series Two years ago at ICAST 2013, Denali introduced us to their stealth looking Kovert series of rods - a new, budget minded series with contemporary stylings. This year, Denali cranked things up a bit introducing their new Lithium series of rods priced from $179 - $199. Let's take a look!
	Gain an EDGE with North Fork Composites Fly Rods! While searching the aisles of the ICAST/IFTD show, it was no surprise to see the North Fork Composites booth. What was a surprise was to see them not just showcasing conventional rods, but fly rods as well! Though just a small lineup is expected for now, it didn't hurt our curiosity when it came to these fresh new sticks.
	The Not so Puzzling Story Behind Enigma Fishing's Product The name, Aaron Martens has been synonymous with the brand Megabass for years, so naturally, we were curious to see what Enigma Fishing was all about. What was it about this company and the rods, that swayed Martens to part ways with a company that he'd been working with for 17 years.
	Kamooki's New SmartCraw can be Cranked, Crawled, or Jigged Canadian lure company Kamooki is passionate about creating innovative baits and this year introduced a follow on product to their patented SmartFish. These lures utilize the relationship between buoyant forces and gravity to create baits that deliver a very unique presentation to fish.
	Gearing Up With Fishpond Tackle Storage Gearing up for a day of fly fishing involves much more than just a rod, reel, line, and fly selection. Things like choosing the proper clothing, accessories, and ways to store these accessories all come into play. Fishpond has long been known to provide premium solutions to meet these needs of anglers, and this year their product launches definitely didn't disappoint!
	Tight Loops and Big Bass: St. Croix's New Mojo Bass Fly Rods With all of the different conventional methods at our disposal, many anglers overlook the challenge and thrill of chasing bass with a fly rod. This year, St. Croix brings us bass anglers an attractive, affordable line of new fly rods geared towards hooking more anglers on the fun of bass fishing on the fly!
	Is Graphene The New Wonder Material? G-Rods Says Yes G-Rods is building an entire array of sticks for multiple species with blanks made from a proprietary grahpene and Toray carbon fiber blend. That's not a typo, "graphene" is an actual material that can best be described as a thin layer of pure carbon atoms tightly packed and bonded together in a hexagonal, honeycomb lattice.
	Big Bite Baits's New Battle Bug Arrives With their recent signing of Mike McClelland, you knew Big Bite Baits had to have something new in the works for 2016, and that they do. We caught up with Mike in the Big Bite Baits booth at ICAST to see what this new bait is all about.
	G.Loomis Expands the E6X Line into the Inshore G.Loomis is on a roll, and the E6X rod series has become one of the company's most successful launches over the last few years. The E6X line brought the G.Loomis rods down to the $189 dollar price point, introducing the premium brand to a new crop of mainstream anglers. This ICAST G.Loomis builds off this foundation and expands their E6X offerings into the river and salt.
	Abu Garcia Takes it to the MAX and Unleashes the BEAST Leveraging the success of last year's introduction, The BEAST baitcasting reel, Abu extends the brand into other lineups and also refines their offerings in the sub $100 price category.
	Tauten's Premium Line Cutter and a Prototype Welder that Eliminates Knots At every ICAST there is that one thing that we see that we walk away thinking, "that's pretty cool," and this year that tool were the new offerings from a company named Tauten. This company is offering a new precision line cutter called the Pro Elite as well as showcasing an innovative new tool designed to eliminate knots when fishing mono or fluorocarbon.
	The Art of DUO’s Custom Baits on Full Display at ICAST When it comes to Japanese baits DUO is pretty much as respected as they come. The company has consistently delivered premium designs for two decades. The main reason for this consistency is that the company is helmed by Masahiro Adachi, who is not only the company’s CEO but chief lure designer.
	G. Loomis Broadens Their PRO4x Lineup It's clear that the Loomis crew was hard at work again, as this year they continue their forward progress with the addition of new PRO4x models for both fresh and saltwater pursuits.
	A Hot New Superline from FINS Many anglers often spend a fair amount of time when selecting a rod or reel, yet give very little thought to the type and style of line they buy. To say this can be a mistake is a huge understatement, as the optimal line will allow for a much more enjoyable and productive experience overall. At ICAST this year, we swung by the FINS booth to see their new superline that they are marketing as a real “game changer.”
	Turn Up Your Salty Game With New Premium Fly Rods From Scott Colorado-based Scott fly rod company is no stranger to the salty game, having forged a legendary reputation in the fly fishing industry. This year, they aim to reinvent high-performance saltwater fly rods with a hot new premium series called the Meridian.
	Live Target's New Sunfish Hollow Body Bait is a Hit Live Target has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years and this ICAST the company promoted the fact they now have over 750 products in their robust portfolio. Each of their lures has been known for two primary things, high quality construction and extremely realistic finishes. The company continues to set the bar very high each ICAST and this year was no different.
	New Rods from Douglas Outdoors At last year's ICAST/IFTD show in Orlando we previewed Douglas Outdoors, a new company from fly fishing industry veteran Jim Murphy. Not just a fly fishing company, Douglas offers up a vast new product lineup geared towards both fly and conventional angling. We had sampled their intriguing new DXS and DXC families of spinning and casting rods, and now one year later we take a look at their newest models.
	Shimano Stradic FK is a Winner and the Casitas Baitcaster is Unveiled Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated spinning reel of the show, the new Shimano Stradic FK, took home the "Best of Show - Freshwater Reel," winning over buyers and media with the brand new sleek redesign. Though the Stradic FK definitely took the spotlight another new reel, the low profile Casitas baitcaster, is sure to be of interest to mainstream bass anglers.
	Quantum Demonstrates Refinement Doesn't Necessarily Mean Expensive Having spent a good deal of their R&D budget on the upper end of their low profile baitcasting market with the EXO, TourMg, and Smoke reels over the last few years, this year, Quantum focused on their more core offerings. Three new introductions highlight this year's lineup starting with a baitcaster priced at $49.95!
	A Look Back and Forward Spincasting with Zebco Spincast reels have the reputation of truly entry level equipment for those looking to sample the fun past time of fishing. The perception is, spincast reels are simply tools for children so they don't tangle their line while casting. Truth of the matter is, line management is so simple on these seemingly clunky little reels, many fisherpersons never give them up...
	Abu Garcia Goes Big in Spinning for ICAST 2015 Since Abu Garcia introduced their Revo reels, a lot of attention has been afforded to their low profile baitcasting lineup and while the company did offer spinning reels under this name, the suite was never quite complete. Well, this year, Abu Garcia resolves that issue and then some by filling out the Revo suite of spinning reels!
	Okuma Redesigns the Inspira Spinning Series and it's a Beauty Okuma has a lot of great reels but before the company had all the low profile baitcasters and heavy duty saltwater reels it was known for quality spinning reels above all. This year the company decided it was time to redesign the Inspira spinning reels and what they finally are introducing looks like a beauty.
	Powell Introduces New Fly and Bass Rod Models The Powell brand has over 100 years of experience in the fishing rod industry. While the majority of their company history has been within the fly rod market, the success of Powell's bass rods has taken center stage the last several years. Having never lost touch with their fly fishing roots, Powell is aiming to continue their legacy in fly fishing by revitalizing their lineup with the introduction of the new Legacy XL rods.
	The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same : Daiwa's Exciting Low Profile Lineup for 2016 Over the last several years, Daiwa's low profile baitcasting scene has been dominated by their T-Wing line guide system. From the original Tatula to last year's Zillion TWS, the T-Wing has really taken flight. But this year, Daiwa has taken a step back enhancing and expanding their core, non-TWS reels. Let's take a look at the new lineup!
	13 Fishing Introduces New Reels, and Yes there is a Lefty! One of our first stops on Day 1 of ICAST was the 13 Fishing booth, a brand that is known for pushing the envelope when it comes to product design and sheer cool factor. The company recently impressed us with the release of the Trick Shop components and we were eager to see what new reel offerings they would unveil this year.
	Jackall Prepares to Launch New Hard and Softbaits at ICAST 2015 Jackall is known for both the quality and detail in design of both their hard and softbaits, and this ICAST the brand is going for a one-two punch with introductions in both categories. While these new lures will be officially introduced next week at ICAST in Orlando we take a hands on look at the new Jackall Jaco crankbaits and ChunkCraw creature bait now.
	Preview the New Shimano Stradic FK Spinning Reel Ahead of ICAST 2015 One of the big introductions for Shimano will be the official launch of the completely redesigned Stradic Series spinning reels. This morning we got our first hands on look at the new reels and share our observations in this pre-ICAST preview.