ICAST Underway On July 14
from The Fishing Wire

The doors of the show floor of ICAST/IFTD officially open this morning and the largest combined annual trade shows of the global fishing industry will be underway. Underway means a three day walking trek around the cavernous Orange County Convention Center and not the outdoor industry’s preferred location: Las Vegas.

Personally, I prefer Orlando, but I’ve been told that all the industry studies say I am clearly the minority opinion. Last night, my voice had a little more influence. The buyers and credentialed media vote for the best of hundreds of new products across a variety of categories, and our preview of the new products being showcased is the first official event of the show. The previews of products in their on-the-water testing mode aren’t really part of the event. And unlike SHOT, where manufacturers have been forced out of their more intimate previews for a single Media Day at the Range, it is still possible to get an invitation to see gear without having to stand in line with several hundred others.

There have been other earlier fishing trips and secret previews for some members of the media, but the vast majority of the local and regional media will really getting their first looks at the gear here in Orlando.

And that’s one reason the flight into Orlando was filled with pro tour anglers. As spokespersons for their sponsors they’ll be in the show booths, wearing their tournament jerseys and best smiles as they repeat a nearly endless chain of answers to questions about the latest products. Yesterday, they were enjoying the chance to sit in silence at the airport without being recognized. Until they leave ICAST that’s not an option.

For some, the crowds seem more challenging than the toughest tournament. Others have no problem shifting between their private/public personalities because they’re not really different at the show or on the water. That, FYI, isn’t always a good thing. Some are just difficult all the time, but you know what you’re getting, so you come prepared.

As far as new products, the fishing industry, like most of the rest of the world, is heavily invested in technology. That’s seen in everything from navigation systems evolved from military aviation to fish finding sonar and mapping technologies that might have changed the face of the world had it been available to naval forces a few decades ago.

And there are less obvious, but equally amazing descendants of military development, too. Fabrics are lighter, stronger and able to keep anglers warmer or cooler and protected from the dangers of UV radiation as needed along with lines with no memory, slick finishes and can be cast further with more sensitivity than you would thing possible.

Perhaps the biggest change is that the technological advances are coming in years -and sometimes months- instead of decades. That contributes to an almost ephemeral attitude concerning gear. For some, it’s tough to get excited about the “latest” of anything, because it may be gone as quickly as the mayfly hatch on a Montana trout stream.

For the manufacturers, it’s a realization that it’s essential to choose advances carefully. Otherwise, there’s the risk of either instantly obsolescing popular models with technology with little, if any, real longevity

Revo’s Beast (top) is designed to meet the challenge of throwing- and retrieving- today’s big rigs without burning out your reel. Others, like Lew’s newest reel, haven’t yet been seen, but have used clever pre-ICAST teases to build media interest. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photos.

Having seen some of the new gear, I have cast my votes for the various categories top picks. As an average angler, I’ve seen new things I believe will help me catch more fish- at prices that don’t require six figure incomes or tournament sponsors.

That’s good news for the growth of the sport. The industry isn’t just adding color combinations or cartoon figures to their gear and calling it children’s gear, they’re actually building gear that can make kids better anglers. Ditto the gear for ladies. And that’s recognition of the fact that everyone has to enjoy a sport to get families engaged.

Some of the new products have genuine promise. Other, like every other ICAST have subtle nuances that an average angler (like me) might not notice. Some, too, have only marketing changes or appear to be “solutions in search of problems”. Those one and go, but there’s plenty of new gear to get you excited about upping your came without breaking your budgets.

And there’s still the matter of guaranteeing access to public waters, reasonable fishing seasons and sustainable harvests and the problem of equitable allocations of resources to recreational fishing by the federal government. Those are industry-wide concerns and can’t be solved at a trade show, but must be addressed while we’re all together under a single very large roof.

But we’re going to try and capture the essence of the show as part of our promise to you: we’ll keep you posted.

–Jim Shepherd