New Stuff Season

If you're a fisherman, the end of June and the first half of July can be a pretty fun time of the year. Not because of some hot bite, although I'm certainly not denying that those exist. Right about now is when word starts trickling out about cool new fishing products that will be released in two weeks at the ICAST show. Put on by the American Sportfishing Association, ICAST is a huge trade show and the place where fishing tackle manufacturers introduce the next year's product releases to retail and wholesale buyers and to the fishing media. This year's show is July 14-17 in Orlando.

Rods, apparel, lures, kayaks, reels, terminal tackle... you name it. If it is sport fishing gear, several companies that make it probably will be at ICAST, and some will have new products to show.

Many products aren't revealed until the media and buyer preview reception of the New Product Showcase, which takes place the evening before the main show floor opens. That said, many companies favor a PR and sales head start over the surprise factor, so a couple of weeks before the show they begin trickling out information about products and select samples. With today's electronic media and especially social media sites, word of anything noteworthy pretty well spreads immediately.

Because I attend the show and write about products in magazines and on websites, I get a lot of emails alerting me about cool new stuff, along with a few packages containing things to field test. In fact, I'll share some of the stuff that looks extra cool to me between now and the end of the show. I got information just today about the Plano A-Series QuickTop Tackle Bag (pictured above). I'll write more soon about this really cool hybrid box, which has some feature that make it stand out from anything before it.

In truth, though, if you pay attention to fishing news website or follow pro anglers or guides or fishing tackle manufacturers on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites, you've likely heard about several new products in recent days. That will grow dramatically over the next couple of weeks.

Most stuff won't actually be in full production and in stores for several months. Now is just when the products get announced and the companies start trying to build interest so they can fill store shelves once the products do hit production. For me, it's a really fun time of the year.

Revo Beast

We often say around my house that you never know what a day will bring. Seems that also applies on the water in Mexico. Who knew I'd get to fish El Salto with the Beast?

It seems possible -- even likely -- that I could spot the Beast again this week at ICAST, as Abu Garcia is launching it's new Revo Beast reel at the show. I actually fished a quite a bit with a Revo Beast in Mexico, and I can tell you right now that if you like the sound of a smooth-operating, heavy-duty bass reel that was designed specifically to handle big baits, you're going to like the Beast. It was ideal for El Salto, where big worms, big swimbaits and big crankbaits typically are the major players. I used one a lot for deep crankbaits because I liked the oversized handle and grips for getting the bait down and manhandling it.

Speaking of ICAST, I made it to Orlando. Everything begins tomorrow!

ICAST Prep

This page has been way too quiet, which I don't like. Days have been filled with catch-up efforts on magazine work from so many days on the road this summer, and I just haven't found my way here to post updates. Not a good excuse, especially right now, as I get word about so much cool fishing stuff coming out next year, but still the way the week has gone.

This weekend I transition from catch-up mode to get-ready-again mode because on Monday I'll be driving to Florida for the ICAST show in Orlando. If you look at many fishing websites, you probably see the name ICAST quite a bit. It's the fishing industry's primary trade show and the place where much of the new stuff for the following model year gets revealed to tackle distributors and retailers, and to the outdoors media. Lures, rods, reels, fishing kayaks, clothes, electronics, lines, rigs... You name it, it's there. You've likely seen quite a few peeks at stuff already.

I go to ICAST both to learn about and report on the new stuff and to catch up with folks from the industry, including other writers, editors and various folks who represent fishing tackle manufacturers. For me, it's three days of walking a big show floor, looking at stuff, taking photos, asking questions and talking fishing. This year, I'll also be doing a lot of on-the-spot writing because I'll be reporting about new fishing line and rod introductions for FLW's website and magazine, along with other stuff I'll report here, on the Jeff Samsel Fishing facebook page, on Twitter and on Instagram.

So priorities today are gathering notes, clearing camera cards, charging batteries, packing and generally doing stuff at home that's good to take care of before returning to the road. I suppose I'd better get to it.

Watch here for updates on cool new stuff!

Unintended Fly-By

My biggest regret from last week's ICAST show in Las Vegas is that I never got the opportunity to give the International Fly Tackle Dealers show a decent look. For the first time ever, the two shows shared dates and a single convention center floor, and buying or media credentials for one got you in to the other. I never attended the fly show when it was a separate event in Denver because I don't do enough fly-fishing writing to justify the travel cost (and maybe to be granted media credentials). However, I do write enough about fly-fishing and fly tackle that I was excited about the opportunity to roam the show and meet more folks on the fly side while I was already right there.

Good idea. Poor planning.

When I booked my travel, I chose a flight that left Las Vegas mid-afternoon on Friday, which was the final day of the show. That gave me two full days, plus a few hours on Friday, to walk the floor. That has been enough time in the past. Between appointments with tackle manufacturers I always want to visit and a couple of major editorial projects, which were my top priority, I simply ran out of time this year. Beyond visiting as single booth by invitation, my entire time at the IFTD show totaled about 10 minutes, right before I packed up to start toward the airport. Basically, I walked the aisles and looked left and right to see what I was missing. It wasn't that I didn't keep busy. I spent every open show hour walking the floor, looking and visiting. I simply ran out of hours.

I do hope that the merged show format worked well for ICAST and IFTD and that they'll be back together next year. The next few ICAST shows are in Orlando, which means I can drive there, so I'll have more liberty with time. Were it back in Vegas, though, I'd either book a Friday redeye or stay Friday night so I could attend the whole show. I feel like I missed the boat -- the drift boat, so to speak -- by running out of time and missing the chance to learn more about the fly fishing industry and to meet more folks on that side of the business. Even 10 minutes on the IFTD floor was enough to make it clear that I was missing a lot of good stuff.

New & Really Exciting

Many of my friends are in Orlando this week, gathered for the world's largest sportfishing trade show. There, folks will get first looks at all kinds of new fishing products. Rods, reels, lures, fly vests, rod holders ... You name it.
Today I got my first look at my new baby girl, Holly Joy, who was born at 5:00 pm. That's something new and really exciting! Holly is our sixth child, and each is a wonderful gift from the Lord. I normally travel quite a bit, mostly to fish and gather material for stories, but I'll be staying close to home for the rest of this summer!
The goofy bow on her hat, by the way, was the hospital's doing, not ours. 

Ice Gear in Orlando?

Folks don't set up ice-fishing shelters in Florida during January, let alone July, but the shelters will be going up tomorrow. At the same time everything from ice lures to augers will being coming out of their packaging. Orlando is the host city of the International Convention of Allied Sport Fishing Trades (ICAST), and all segments of the sportfishing industry -- including ice-fishing -- will be represented at the show.

One new name in the ice world at this year's ICAST show will be Ice Force, which is not a new brand but instead a new marketing alliance of several classic ice brands. Otter, Strike Master, Mora Ice, MarCum, Rapala, VMC and Sufix together make up Ice Force. Collectively, these brands offer ice-fishing shelters, augers, electronics, lures, hooks, line and more.

You can bet these brands will break out some new stuff that will have northern anglers seriously longing for colder days. One I've heard about is an ice-specific version of Sufix 832, a high-performance superline.

Set-up for the three-day show begins tomorrow. ICAST activities begin with a New Products Showcase preview reception Tuesday night. The show runs Wednesday through Friday, so look for lots of buzz about new fishing stuff.