Anglers can find the best of traditional and high-tech gear at the annual ICAST trade show.
Submitted photo
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry trade association. ASA is committed to representing the interests of the sportfishing and boating community — and that commitment is on full display each year at ICAST, the industry trade show that takes place each summer in Orlando, Florida. ICAST 2024 took place earlier this month.
The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, or ICAST, is the largest fishing trade show in the world. The show was attended by 14,000 people from 75 countries. These attendees included manufacturers, retailers, service providers, media and more gathering to do business and learn about the newest products and brands in the sportfishing industry. This year’s show included more than 635 exhibitors and more than 950 brands from the fishing industry.
A highlight of the convention each year is the New Product Showcase, where the latest and greatest is unveiled. This year, 260 companies submitted nearly 1,000 products to the New Product Showcase. Submissions included rods, reels, accessories, electronics, and apparel. This year’s showcase also included expanded fly fishing categories.
“The New Product Showcase is one of the most important elements in the fishing industry,” said Glenn Hughes, the president of ASA. “The category winners and the best of show announcements are the culmination of years of research and development and truly shape the future of our industry.”
The most coveted award is the annual Best of Show. This is the best of the best crown. Every company in attendance dreams of taking it home, because the notoriety is sure to translate into sales. This year, the Best of Show Award went to the PENN Fathom Electric Reel — a nod to the future of fishing and outdoor sports in general. This reel is the first to come with an integrated battery, which does a lot of the work for the angler. It has an LED display screen on which an angler can monitor a digital line counter, and take advantage of auto-stop functionality when they reach a desired depth for the their lure.
“It means a lot after the several years we put into this and for the members of our team to be recognized,” said Ben Joyce, the PENN senior product manager at Pure Fishing. “You can continue to expect improved innovation from us this year and beyond.”
Fishing Tackle Retailer sponsored the New Product Showcase. Publisher Angie Thompson said, “ICAST is the most important week in the business of fishing, and Fishing Tackle Retailer’s platforms are all about the business of fishing” said “To be able to sponsor the New Product Showcase, the biggest event in ICAST, is an incredible honor. Our mission is to make sure all retailers know about new products, and how to use and sell them.”
The electronic reel wasn’t the only futuristic piece of gear to take home an award. The Electronics Award went to XPECE Fishing Drone Technology for their XPECE ONE, a waterproof fishing drone. It flies, floats and sees underwater. You can fly it to a spot and land it on the surface. From there, you drive it around and view underwater using the onboard HD camera, which transmits live video to the waterproof remote control.
When you find fish or a likely looking spot, the drone drops your lure. The Xpece ONE can then troll your lure. When a fish bites, it automatically releases your line, and the fight is on. Xpece ONE will be available this summer and retails for $2299.
Taking a turn from the technology front, it was nice to see the good old Ugly Stik brand back in the winning column. Ugly Stiks have been around a long time and have caught millions of fish for anglers of all levels of fishing experience. These rods are available in stores like Walmart, so if you can’t afford a drone that costs thousands of dollars, you can still fish with an award winner. The Ugly Stik GX2 took home the Freshwater Rod Award.
An award announcement I was especially pleased to see isTemple Fork Outfitters (TFO) winning the Fly Rod Award for their Elevare series. Elevare is Italian for “to lift or raise.” TFO has been producing incredible fly rods at affordable prices for a couple of decades and has entrenched itself as the industry leader. This new premium series allows euro nymph anglers to hook fish more effectively in leery, light-line, and small fly environments. It’s a specialized line of rods for a selective purpose.
Each year, I tell myself I have more gear than I’ll ever need or use. Then each year, new cool equipment is debuted. While I don’t think I can swing one of the drones for my farm pond fishing adventures, I could see myself euro nymphing with an Elevare on the North Fork for some bottom-hugging brown trout in the heat of summer.
See you down the trail …
Brandon Butler writes a weekly outdoors column for the Daily Journal. For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast on www.driftwoodoutdoors.com or anywhere podcasts are streamed. Send comments to [email protected].
