Talking tackle with Tom Ricks, Pure Fishing's Marketing Director of rods and reels (continued)

JIP: Anglers are seeing more and more Mitchell offerings, especially available from the major e-tailers. Can you tell us more about the product offering, and who you envision is the perfect customer for a Mitchell branded reel?

Patrik Svensson, a long way from home field testing in Florida

Ricks: Mitchell is another example of the great heritage brands from Pure Fishing.  The introduction of the Mitchell 300 in 1948 revolutionized the industry.  After more than 25 million sold, the 300 is the spinning reel of choice for millions of anglers.  Mitchell will continue its tradition of creating innovative yet user-friendly designs to appeal to practical anglers who love the pure joy of fishing.

This year, we’ll continue to expand Mitchell’s offering in spinning reels, including the re-introduction of the classic Mitchell 300.  The updated 300 will stay true to the heritage of the original 300, but modernized for today’s anglers, with outstanding performance, feel and functionality.

JIP: Pure Fishing owns three of the most popular line brands, Trilene, Stren, and SpiderWire. How do these line offerings differ? What can we expect to see from these brands in the coming season?

Ricks: Each of these three brands addresses a different group of anglers, and each has a very loyal following.  In fact, Stren, Berkley, and SpiderWire have the highest loyalty in the category.

Trilene is the worldwide leader in monofilament fishing line, with products for every freshwater condition.  But Berkley continues to innovate with products such as Trilene Sensation^®, Berkley Fireline^® and Berkley Vanish.  This year, the world will see a new Trilene, which will literally be the best Trilene ever – and that’s saying something.  You’ll also see the next generation of Berkley superlines.

Stren has always been about dependability, setting the standard for inventive fishing line.  And Stren continues to be a powerful brand today.  Expect to see a new Stren line designed for stronger, easier knots.

Spiderwire is our premium brand of fishing line and the most trusted superline on the market.  Performance-driven anglers turn to Spiderwire for their most demanding applications.  This year, Spiderwire will introduce several new products, including a new line which uses cold fusion technology, and an exciting new mono designed in partnership with one of our Spiderwire pro staffers, the “G-Man” a.k.a. Gerald Swindle.

Abu Garcia Pro Staff member Katsutaka Imae

JIP: Turning to Fenwick. The premium Techna AV rods were very popular among Enthusiasts, but in recent seasons we have seen more of a shift in the company into more and more mainstream and value offerings. Is this the direction the brand is going, or can we expect more premium offerings down the road?

Ricks: You mention that the Techna AV “was” very popular with enthusiasts.  I think the rod is still growing in popularity with enthusiasts. The secret is out on the Techna AV.  It’s one heck of a rod with the strength of a gorilla but it’s lightweight and has superb feel.

Fenwick has a tremendous heritage in fishing rods, and the fishing world will soon see a return to the roots of classic Fenwick.  Fenwick pioneered many of the technologies that you see in fishing rods today – from quality blanks to cosmetics – and we expect that trend continue.  Look for Fenwick to not only create some buzz in the freshwater segment, but also make noise in the in-shore and off-shore saltwater markets, as well.

JIP: What can we expect to see from Pure Fishing this season?

Ricks: You can expect to see Pure Fishing continue to use cutting-edge technology and constant feedback from our pro staff to deliver the right products at the right time with the right value.

JIP: In closing is there anything else you would like to say to TackleTour readers?

Ricks: First, I would suggest your readers “bookmark” the TackleTour site. I’ve bookmarked the site and so have most of my coworkers. This site is a fantastic resource for anglers and our sport, and I hope Pure Fishing can continue to help to make this site as useful and informative as possible. Second, I would like to thank TackleTour for this opportunity and providing this awesome site.

And if you make it to ICAST in July be sure to stop by our booth and check out all of our new products for 2007.  We’re pretty excited about the year to come, and can’t wait to share all of the news.

Finally, I’d like to thank our loyal anglers who continue to use and support our products.  I’ll see you on the water…

 

Conclusion: TackleTour would like to thank Tom Ricks for taking time out of his busy schedule, and sharing some of company's future plans with TackleTour and our readers. While we may have to wait until ICAST for the exact details TackleTour is working closely with Pure Fishing to shed as much light as we can on the upcoming products and solutions. So whether you are a die hard Abu fan, like pairing your reels with Fenwick rods, or simply tie on with Trilene and Stren, we can tell you that the best is indeed yet to come, and Pure Fishing promises that this year at ICAST they are going to release a plethora of exciting new products, many of which that will surprise and thrill even the most devoted Pure Fishing fans.