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Lew's
Goes Lighter with HyperMag and a BFS Oriented Custom Lite Reels
Lew's focused on lighter weight and offering more refined baitcasters this ICAST
with the launch of two new low profile reels, the HyperMag and Custom Lite
Shallow Spool. Both of these reels are designed with better ergonomics, lighter
overall weight, and the ability to cast lightweight baits with ease. |
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Baitcasting Young Guns:
Fresh New Low-Profile Reels
While the reel market is very competitive there has been a number of rod
manufacturers that have introduced their own branded reels, as well as a few
independent reel makers that are entering the fray. Let's take a look at some of
these baitcasting "young guns" that launched new low-profile reels at the recent
ICAST. |
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Hardbaits at ICAST, from
Swimbaits to BFS
This year at ICAST hardbait manufacturers seemed to focus on extremes, with a
number of notable introductions in full sized swimbaits and on the opposite end
of the spectrum a number of tiny lures designed for BFS. There were a few other
interesting conventional baits where manufacturers added patterns or additional
features. |
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The Worthy, Wild, and Just Plain Weird Soft Lures at ICAST 2023
This ICAST there was a wide range of soft-bodied lures introduced by American,
JDM, and even a few independent manufacturers just breaking onto the scene. This
year there was a lot to unpack in the soft lure category with a number of baits
that looked worthy of tying on immediately, some that had wild features, and
others that just looked plain weird. |
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Costa's Most Advanced Frames Yet. Hail the King Tide
Costa has established itself as a leader
in optics and has always done a great job catering to the unique needs and
challenges that anglers face. This ICAST, the brand celebrated their 40th
Anniversary with the launch of their most technical frame to date, the
feature-rich King Tide. |
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Shimano’s Stradic Moves Closer to Stella in Major Refresh
The Shimano Stradic has long been the workhorse reel in Shimano’s spinning
lineup and this season the series gets a major refresh with features that
debuted on the Stella FK. The new Stella FM is designed to be smoother, more
powerful, and offer enhanced durability over its predecessor, yet it remains the
same price. |
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Daiwa’s Tatula 100 Grows Fangs
Daiwa refreshes its top-selling Tatula Series reels
with a completely new form factor that places an emphasis on ergonomics.
However, the redesign is more than skin deep, as HYPERDRIVE features originally
reserved for the company’s higher-end reels now make their way into the new 100
size baitcaster. |
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KastKing Makes Big Moves with
the iReel One
KastKing, once
known primarily for their value reels, made big moves this ICAST with the launch
of their own smart reel. The iReel brings the Internet of Things (IoT) to US
anglers, with the capability of providing real-time data to anglers as well as a
plethora of statistics that anglers can use to identify patterns, make
adjustments, and adapt quickly to improve their on-the-water success. |
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Okuma
Goes Limited and JDM with Wave Off Urban Fishing and ITX CB Reels
Following the success of their previous limited-edition offerings including the
Chroma and GT spinning reels Okuma is now dedicating more resources to creating
unique reels that add to the experience of angling and fishing an Okuma product.
The Wave Off is both the name of the next reel and Okuma’s new “Urban Design
Team” which is responsible for creating these limited-edition offerings. |
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TackleTour ICAST 2023 Live Video Coverage
ICAST 2023 has arrived! After a strange last year we are
excited to be once again on the water and show floor here in Orlando. This year
in addition to our article coverage we will also be providing Instagram Quick
Hit Videos from the manufacturers and pro anglers.
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The Ultimate Poison –
Shimano and Jackall Bring JDM Poison Ultima Rods Stateside
Shimano and Jackall are answering the Enthusiast call by bringing the ultra-high
end Poison Ultima rods to U.S. shores stateside. These rods feature a number of
unique design attributes and performance characteristics that make it the
highest-end Shimano rod made available in the U.S. yet.
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Daiwa's Got Your Bass Covered with 16 New Pro
Inspired Application Specific Tatula AGS Rods
Daiwa will be introducing a number of new products at ICAST this year including
an update to their popular Tatula line of reels and rods. The Tatula Elite AGS
Bass Rod Series gets 16 new technique specific rods built with the latest SVF
Nano Plus Blanks and AGS guides with signature actions and powers favored by
their staff of Pro Anglers.
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Chop
It Like It's Hot. Baitsanity X TW New Chimera Shad
Baitsanity is launching their first shad profiled
swimbait, the Chimera. In addition to a number of unique design features, and
emphasis on chop-style action, one of the things that makes this new swimbait so
interesting is that it was co-developed with the Tackle Warehouse product team
from inception to mass production. |
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Berkley Culls First Batch Cullshad Swimbaits
Berkley is literally asking customers to "cull" all the first run
Cullshad swimbaits to address a production issue that is affecting swimming
action, and launches a process to replace the baits with properly manufactured
ones.
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Z-Man Ready to Launch Drew's Ultimate NED Finesse Rods at
ICAST
When it comes to fishing NED rigs the first bait
company that usually comes to mind is Z-Man, and with good reason. The TRD is a
globally renowned bait and this ICAST the company is launching their own
signature NED rods designed with Drew Reese, a finesse legend himself, and
co-creator of the TRD bait. |
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Drift Mode Enabled: Minn Kota Goes Brushless
with Upgraded QUEST Bow Trolling Motors
The arms race in the trolling motor wars has continued to heat up with
Minn Kota’s biggest lineup refresh in a decade and gets some interesting new
features including Drift Mode. The highest end Minn Kota bow motors have been
re-redesigned with a new dual brushless technology platform called QUEST
offering even more power and efficiency. |
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For the Culture – 7 Takeaways from Toxic Day 4
Toxic Day 4, or TD4, is the creation of Caesar
Chavez, the head honcho at Toxic Baits and is an event that brings together
custom lure makers and anglers from all over the country. Originally created as
a local swimbait show the annual event has grown and transformed into something
much greater...
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Fenwick is Back! A First Look at the Completely
Refreshed Lineup from Eagle to World Class
This coming ICAST Fenwick is looking to refresh of
their entire lineup, getting back to their legacy of innovation, and
re-introducing the brand to both loyal fans and a new generation of anglers. |
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Megabass's Unheralded Spark Shad Swimbait
When it comes to a soft bodied swimbait in Megabass's product line, it's really mostly about MagDraft. Available in two varieties, MagDraft is a proven producer. The Sleeper line is probably a close second, but those are more like jigs. A third less talked about alternative, at least as a stand alone option,
we feel deserves more attention.
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A Reel for Those Who
Like to Cast Fast, but Retrieve Slow : The Revo5 Winch
With each passing revision, one of the Revo platforms I look forward to getting
re-acquainted with the most is the Winch. While the battle for who can build a
small, low profile caster that can pull in the most line with each crank of the
handle endures, I continue to covet the slow, plodding, long game reels like the
Winch.
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Shimano's High End, Light Weight Champion, Vanquish '23
It's only been a couple of years since my first experience with Shimano Japan's
Vanquish line of spinning reels, so when reports of a refresh was in the
pipeline for 2023, I was hesitant. However, craving a new spinning reel for this
season and not feeling the need for a Stella or Exist, Vanquish kind of hit the
sweet spot.. |
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Kickin' It with Yamamoto's Zako Variant
The original Zako, featuring a y-shaped swim tail, is a popular choice as trailer on skirted baits like vibrating and swim jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc.. The Kickin' Zako is variant made instead, with a paddletail.
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Megabass's New Sleeper Craw : Just Tie It On, Pitch It Out, and Get Bit
One of the surest methods to get anglers to bite
as both fishermen and consumers is with realistic craw profiles. Anyone who has
fished with live crawdads knows the effectiveness of this little delicacy, so a
bait that imitates the crustacean just makes sense. Unfortunately, not all
realistic craw baits are effective... |
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Shimano
Readies Mastiff Fluorocarbon Line with Nanoarmor Tech
Shimano has been in the line game for a while now with their PowerPro
brand of braided superlines, and this season is introducing a new fluorocarbon
line called Mastiff. Designed and manufactured in Japan, Mastiff is engineered
with a technology called Nanoarmor, which incorporates nano-sized ridges to
deliver several performance advantages. |
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ARK Fishing's Gravity G5, An Impressive Middle Child Casting Reel
ARK Fishing's Gravity G5 casting reel is the current middle child among three options. I say current, because with ARK Fishing's aggressive approach to offering product, the situation is always fluid.
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The Search for One - Reel? Lew's Super Duty LFS
With so many specialized
techniques, it's even more difficult to find a reel, or really, one reel
platform, to handle a wide variety of techniques. However, with the latest
iteration of their Super Duty LFS, Lew's may actually have a contender for the
title. Let's take a look.
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A Reel for Those Who Like to Cast Fast, but Retrieve Slow : The Revo5 Winch
With each passing revision, one of the Revo platforms I look forward to getting
re-acquainted with the most is the Winch. While the battle for who can build a
small, low profile caster that can pull in the most line with each crank of the
handle endures, I continue to covet the slow, plodding, long game reels like the
Winch.
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A Stick That's Difficult to Pin Down : Megabass's US Destroyer P5 F7-75X BMG
Coming off of our positive experience with
Megabass of America's US Destroyer P5 F7.5-76X Mark-56, we felt it appropriate
to take a step back and look at a stick with an appeal for more conventional
techniques. |
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Berkley’s Latest Finesse Worm Doesn’t Fall Flat
Berkley’s PowerBait MaxScent lineup of lures
spans everything from large creatures and trailers to finesse baits. Designed
for finesse applications Berkley’s MaxScent Flat Worms are deadly effective
across a wide range of conditions, and is even designed to perform when the bite
is especially tough and fish are suspended or finicky. |
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Okuma Raises Their Bass Rod Game to
the X-Level
Okuma has been
elevating their bass reel and rod offerings over the last few seasons by
leveraging new technology and materials to improve performance. Unveiled at the
Classic the new X-Series rods are Okuma’s latest creation and designed to raise
the bar for the brand’s application specific bass offering. |
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Going Basic. The Reliable and Affordable Gravity G3
Baitcaster from ARK Fishing
New to the fishing reel market, ARK Fishing follows the
familiar trend set by many manufacturers of using the same frame and sideplate
design for their catalog of casting reels and putting them together in different
ways to meet varying price points. The Gravity G3 is currently at the entry
level of ARK's casting reel lineup... |
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Shimano
BOOSTs Freshwater Hardbait Lineup
In advance of the Bassmaster Classic Shimano is bolstering their
freshwater lure lineup with three new lures that make use of the company’s
patented BOOST CONCEPT technologies. These new offerings include the Enber
jerkbait, World Rush squarebill, and finesse oriented Zumverno jerkbait. |
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A Solid Little Reel With a Bigger Purpose: Lew's American Hero Tier 1 Casting Reel
The American Hero Tier 1 LFS casting reel from Lew's is a
familiar profile from the manufacturer in a size that's roughly equivalent to an
industry standard 100. It is built with an aluminum frame and graphite
sideplates and features an externally adjustable magnetic braking system... |
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Fold to Cast Further – Shimano’s Armajoint Hard Bodied Swimbait
The swimbait segment continues to grow, and it was just a matter of time
before Shimano launched their own hard bodied swimbait. Rather than introduce
just another single jointed glide or dual jointed wake, Shimano’s lure engineers
wanted to put their own spin on a shad-like profile and create a bait that could
be cast further and fished effectively by anglers of all skill levels. |
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Mike Iaconelli's Powerbait Flute Worm by Berkley is no Fluke
We are in the process of looking at some of
their newest PowerBait lures including the Maxscent Flat Worm but before that
review goes live let's take a look at one of Berkley's classics. With the help of Mike Iaconelli
this the Flute Tail Worm was created for those dedicated Neko/wacky/shaky head
fishermen |
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Forward-Facing Sonar Units and the
‘Harass-A-Bass’ Technique Have Changed Bass Fishing Forever
The rumors percolated pre-pandemic of
an electronics guru devouring the competition in America’s largest crappie
tournaments. Fishing in a previously unimagined futuristic manner, from the
not-so-bass-mecca state of Oklahoma, Josh Jones is reported to have caught more
than 200 ten-pound fish in less than five years...
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Lightweight and Worth the Effort – Edge’s Versatile Epitome
MBR725-1C Rod
If there is one rod maker that needs no introduction it
is Gary Loomis. Gary’s legacy as both an expert in graphite and resin materials
and for his understanding of rod actions and how they apply to different species
and techniques is already the stuff of legend. Gary’s latest rod series, the Epitome, is designed to be his
lightest and perhaps most distinctive rods yet.
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KastKing’s Kestrel Elite Magnesium Baitcaster Takes Flight
Usually aimed toward the casual angler, KastKing reached outside of their
comfort zone and set their sights on JDM competitors with the release of
the Kestrel Elite. Does the Kestrel Elite have enough wind under its wings to
soar with Shimano and Daiwa? |
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Take Two (Piece) with Phenix's Feather Casting Rods
The FTX-C277MH is a two piece casting rod measuring roughly
seven feet, seven inches (7'7") fully assembled. It comes with updated Fuji
stainless steel guides with FazLite inserts built on the same, blended Carbon
Weave blank with Nanolite resin.
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It Is An Obsession, It Is My
Obsession, Lanciotti's Psycho Gill Can Be, an Enthusiast Bait Collector's Key
Nothing inspires an unhealthy passion for bass fishing like a good topwater
bite. This is especially true when your lure of choice is an oversized chunk of
resin or wood. Whether it be a rat, gill, trout profile or other, it's tough to
beat the adrenaline rush of having a three ounce or larger bait slurped down
from the surface of the water. |
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How Does a Budget, Value, Rod Dubbed Offshore
Dominate the Search for One?
Ark Rods continues to make a name for themselves in the bass rod market. By all accounts, their Randall Tharp Honey Badger series of signature rods has only served to help them gain a stronger foothold in a very hotly contested market. Today, we take a look at one of Tharp's favorite sticks in the lineup, his TS76MHFC Offshore Special.
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Trika's Candidate in The Search for One, Their C73MHF
Setting out with the goal of
delivering some of the best fishing rods on the planet, Trika leveraged their
highly technical approach to deliver a full line of bass fishing rods.
Introducing Trika's Search for One candidate, the C73MHF casting rod.
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Fishing Favors the Bold. Trika’s 7 Foot+ Casting Rods
Trika launched their brand at the end of last
season with a market changing mentality. Chances are you have seen the brand’s
bold performance claims when it comes to outperforming competitors retailing for
much more in both casting distance and sensitivity and we were eager to see just
how these rods would stack up. |
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JDM Calcutta Conquest
for
Finesse - The Calcutta Conquest BFS
Shimano Japan has been busy this season updating their
Calcutta Conquest platforms on both ends of the spectrum. In addition to
launching the new MD reels for big bait anglers the company is also introducing
a new BFS reel with the proven Finesse Tune Braking system which is designed to
deliver lures as light as a single gram.
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