ICAST Announces 29 Fishing Tackle Retailer New Product Showcase Winners Plus “Best of Show”
from The Fishing Wire

One of the most popular featured events at ICAST, the New Product Showcase, sponsored by Fishing Tackle Retailer/Decode, is a once-a-year opportunity to see the latest and greatest innovations all in one place.

Orlando, FL – Wednesday night, the ICAST 2019 “Best of Category” winners were announced during the awards reception. One of those 29 category winners on Thursday was named “Best of Show”. This year’s winner:

The “Best of Category” awards were presented during the Wednesday night New Product Showcase Awards Reception, sponsored by SiOnyx. Winners were selected by credentialed buyers and media from around the world who vote for the best of the new product entries. The “Best of Show” overall category was awarded Thursday afternoon. This year’s winner: Garmin, and its Force™ Trolling Motor.

One of the most popular featured events at ICAST, the New Product Showcase, sponsored by Fishing Tackle Retailer/Decode, is a once-a-year opportunity to see the latest and greatest innovations all in one place.

After launching July 9, with Super Tuesday, ICAST, the premier annual event for the global recreational fishing industry, is in full swing through Friday, July 13. ICAST is produced by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA). ASA is a national, non-profit trade association made up of more than 800 members who share a stake in promoting sportfishing for the well-being of our businesses and as part of our national heritage.

For ICAST 2019, ­­­­­­1,004 new products were entered by 303 companies. Reflecting trends in sportfishing retail, four new categories were added this year: Ice Fishing; Technical Apparel – Warm Weather, Technical Apparel – Cold Weather; Coolers and Bait/Storage; and Cutlery, Hand Pliers or Tools.

“We congratulate last night’s winners for contributing their ideas and hard work to the innovative spirit that keeps our industry growing,” said Blake Swango, ASA’s vice president for Trade Show and Membership. “We’re pleased that ICAST once again serves as a showcase for the best in sportfishing and the entire outdoor, on-the-water experience.”

All New Product Showcase entries are available for viewing on the ICAST website and on the ICAST app for Apple and Android devices.

ICAST 2019 New Product Showcase Best of Category Award Winners
For product details, images and other information please contact the individual award winners’ contacts listed below.

Best of Category – Boating Accessories – Garmin USA
Product: Force™ Trolling Motor
Contact: Carly Hysell

Best of Category – Boats and Watercraft – Hobie
Product: Mirage ProAngler 14 with 360 Drive Technology
Contact: Sean Douglas

Best of Category – Eyewear – Costa Del Mar, Inc.
Product: WaterWoman
Contact: Heather Miller

Best of Category – Footwear – Frogg Toggs
Product: Skipper
Contact: Missy Thompson

Best of Category – Giftware – 13 Fishing
Product: Fillet Table Beverage Management System
Contact: Stacie Lowe

Best of Category – Lifestyle Apparel – AFTCO/American Fishing Tackle Company
Product: Yurei Air-O-Mesh Performance Shirt
Contact: Denny Le

Best of Category – Technical Apparel – Cold Weather – Simms Fishing Products
Product: M’s G4Z® Stockingfoot Wader
Contact: John Frazier

Best of Category – Technical Apparel – Warm Weather – AFTCO/American Fishing Tackle Company
Product: Overboard Submersible Shorts
Contact: Denny Le

Best of Category – Ice Fishing – Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc.
Product: Ice Helix 7 Chirp GPS G3N All-Season
Contact: Sandra Galis

Best of Category – Cooler and Bait/Storage – Plano Synergy
Product: Frabill Magnum Bait Station 30
Contact: Angelica Vazquez

Best of Category – Cutlery, Hand Pliers or Tools – Bubba
Product: 110V Electric Fillet Knife
Contact: Logan Waddell

Best of Category – Electronics – Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc.
Product: MEGA 360 Imaging
Contact: Sandra Galis

Best of Category – Fly Fishing Accessory – Simms Fishing Products
Product: Dry Creek® Z Sling Pack
Contact: John Frazier

Best of Category – Fishing Accessory – American Tackle Company
Product: MW20 Finesse Set
Contact: Darrin Heim

Best of Category – Fishing Line – PowerPro
Product: Moon Shine Braid
Contact: John Mazurkiewicz

Best of Category – Kids’ Tackle – Anything Possible Brands
Product: The Bumblebee by ProFISHiency
Contact: Jason Bauer

Best of Category – Tackle Management – Plano Synergy
Product: Plano EDGE
Contact: Angelica Vazquez

Best of Category – Terminal Tackle – Rapala
Product: VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble Short
Contact: Julia Lindberg

Best of Category – Freshwater Soft Lure – Lunkerhunt
Product: Phantom Spider
Contact: Jesse Bleeman

Best of Category – Saltwater Soft Lure – LIVETARGET
Product: Slow-Roll Shiner
Contact: Susan Koppers

Best of Category – Freshwater Hard Lure – LIVETARGET
Product: Erratic Shiner
Contact: Susan Koppers

Best of Category – Saltwater Hard Lure – LIVETARGET
Product: Flutter Sardine
Contact: Susan Koppers

Best of Category – Freshwater Reel – Shimano
Product: SLX DC Baitcasting Reels
Contact: John Mazurkiewicz

Best of Category – Saltwater Reel – Shimano
Product: Stradic FL Spinning Reel
Contact: John Mazurkiewicz

Best of Category – Fly Reel – SEiGLER Reels
Product: SF (Small Fly)
Contact: Liz Seigler

Best of Category – Freshwater Rod – St. Croix of Park Falls
Product: Mojo Bass Glass MGC72HM Rip N’ Chatter Rod
Contact: Rich Belanger

Best of Category – Saltwater Rod – St. Croix of Park Falls
Product: Avid Surf VSS80MMF
Contact: Rich Belanger

Best of Category – Fly Fishing Rod – St. Croix of Park Falls
Product: Imperial Salt IS908.4
Contact: Rich Belanger

Best of Category – Rod & Reel Combo – Lew’s Fishing
Product: Lew’s Mach Smash Baitcast Combo
Contact: Tony Mehrl

A Hearty Thanks To Our 2019 Sponsors for Their Support

Gold: Columbia Sportswear, Crocodile Bay Resort, Engel Coolers, Fishing Tackle Retailer/Decode, FLW, Lowrance, Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), SiOnyx andVisit Orlando.
Silver: Bonnier Corporation, FishAnywhere.com, Huk Performance Fishing, LIVETARGET Lures, Mossy Oak and Yakima Products
Bronze: Classic Fishing Products

Scott Forristall Selected to Lead St. Croix

Scott Forristall

Park Falls, WI (June 24, 2019) – St. Croix Rod CEO and co-owner, Paul Schluter, announced a planned transition of leadership to St. Croix Team Members in January of this year. In his statement, Schluter cited his desire to hand over the day-to-day operations of the 70-year-old company in order to focus on family, fishing and other aspects of the company he most loves.

Paul’s journey with St. Croix started in 1983 when his father, Gordon, hired him to manage retailer accounts in Minnesota. A year later, Paul was promoted to Sales Manager. In 1989, Gordon stepped aside, and Paul assumed the role of President. Brothers Paul, Jeff, Dave and sister Pamela Smiley purchased St. Croix from Gordon and Irene in 1990, and continue to own the company to this day.

St. Croix’s Board of Directors is excited to announce that fishing-industry veteran, Scott Forristall, has been selected and hired as the company’s new President and CEO.

Forristall brings a keen understanding of the fishing-rod business and the greater fishing industry to St. Croix, earned from a rich employment history with premier companies such as Eagle Claw, Johnson Outdoors and Far-Bank Enterprises, parent company to the Sage, Redington, and Rio Products fly-fishing brands. Most recently, Forristall served as President and CEO of the R.L. Winston Rod Company and Bauer Reels. His strong fishing lineage, industry knowledge and disciplined management style position the “Best Rods on Earth” for continued success in the company’s Balanced Scorecard approach to operations and measured company performance.

“St. Croix is the strongest brand in fishing rods in the US,” says Forristall, who shares the enthusiasm and pride of St. Croix’s employees and customers. “To come to work in Park Falls for this premier, family-owned business with US manufacturing is a rare opportunity in this industry that I love. St. Croix – its people, products and ties to the community – is everything I value and want to be part of.”

“Scott comes to us with vast experience managing premium outdoor brands and exhibits a management style which is consistent with all that we value at St. Croix,” says Schluter. “I’m really excited to watch Scott and the rest of our strong team further our objective of providing every angler the upper hand. Between my father and myself, a Schluter has been responsible for the execution of St. Croix’s mission for the last 41 of our 71 years. I have the highest confidence in Scott as he assumes this leadership role while I remain an active member of our Board of Directors, and, of course, an owner of St. Croix along with my brothers Jeff and Dave, and sister Pam.”

In addition to fishing, Forristall enjoys training and competing in triathlons during his free time. He and his wife of 44 years, Lynn, will relocate to Park Falls from their current home in Dillon, Montana. Forristall begins work at St. Croix on June 24.

Tackle Spending Up but Angler Numbers Flat
(Today’s feature, by publisher Jim Shepherd, appeared initially in The Outdoor Wire.)
Jim Shepherd, Publisher, The Outdoor Wire

The latest statistical study we’ve seen on the sportfishing market seems to paint a pretty optimistic picture for the recreational fishing industry. That’s good news as everyone preps for ICAST next month in Orlando, Florida.

The newest research indicates the overall sportfishing tackle market grew a whopping 12% to nearly $6 billion in 2018. According to the study, growth was primarily fueled by rods, reels and combo outfits that grew in both dollars and units sold.

Good news – if you’re a retailer- but for everyone concerned about growing the sport, it’s not all blue skies and a hot bite.

According to the Southwick & Associates (www.SouthwickAssociates.com) angler participation numbers, participation -the number of anglers going fishing- remain flat for 2018. If that is, in fact, the case, does it mean anglers are spending more, but not necessarily proselytizing the sport?

I talked with Rob Southwick yesterday, and he reminded me of something significant for the long-term health of fishing. Angling’s core customers, are doing what blue collar workers do in good economic times: they’re working. They don’t always have the luxury of extra time to take a fishing trip.

It’s something that’s been true for decades. In the boom years of the 70s, workers -including me- didn’t have time for “get aways” – we were working. Our bosses and the business owners were enjoying more leisure time – because with good times, the business was, basically, running itself.

I have a tendency to look at what’s happening in the outdoors from my time in the golf industry. Golf is a sport where spending and participation have been directly tied to two things: age and income. More money and more time is good- until you have an audience that’s basically aged out of the sport. Today, golf is a sport on the ropes on the consumer side.

That isn’t necessarily the case here. Especially when you consider that the blue collar workers might not have the luxury of the time to fish more; but their increasingly optimistic financial situation enables them to move to higher quality purchases they’ll be able to enjoy when they do have leisure time.

Like every business, there are a myriad of things in play. But it’s not a reach to say that the angling trade has reasons to be optimistic for the future. That allows them to focus on something every recreational business needs to work toward: bringing in new participants.

“Not everyone in the trade may be seeing the large gains across the industry due to inventory issues related to retail mergers and other factors,” Southwick VP Nancy Bacon told me, “but consumers are still spending on fishing equipment.”

The downside of that spending? There have never been so many avenues available to purchase product. Simply put, retailers are having to battle for those customers more than ever before.

Tackle shops, however, enjoy one significant advantage over their colleagues in the shooting sports. One thing that helps offset any price difference is the local knowledge that these shops offer their customers.

When traveling to unknown waters, many experienced anglers only bring their basic gear. They’ll head directly to the local bait and tackles to find out to things: 1) what’s biting, and 2) what getting bitten the most.

That’s information you can use. It’s another compelling reason to consider changing some of the gear you brought for the stuff locals are telling you works best. Fishing Arkansas’ White River a couple of years ago, I was the angler in my boat that wasn’t catching fish, and I was throwing the exact same bait as my companions.

We were stumped, until the guide noticed something. I was using my own gear and my line was tinted. My companions were using his gear and all their line was clear. When he added clear line to my reel, my bite improved- immediately. I tipped him considerably more than the cost of that very small bit of line – but you get the point- the right equipment means results.

Another reason everyone might not be realizing the same gains is the changing demographic of our society.

Today’s young consumer, I’m told, isn’t as aspirationally driven as my aging generation.

They are experientially driven. They want to participate in activities with their friends.

If their friends are fishing, they’ll give it a try. If, however, they don’t find it rewarding, they’ll move on to something that meets their needs.

Keeping them from moving on is the question every subset of “the outdoors” is trying to answer.

We’ll keep you posted.

Lessons from Lew’s, Strike King, and Sale to A Private Equity Firm

Lews and Strike King

By Ken Duke, Editor
Fishing Tackle Retailer
from the Fishing Wire

Last week we published a press release announcing that Lew’s Holdings Corporation (Lew’s, Strike King, Hunters Specialties, et al.) has “partnered” with BDT Capital Partners — a “merchant bank that provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital.”

Apparently, BDT will not own Lew’s Holdings outright, but will control a majority of the company and “fund its next phase of growth.”

Peak Rock Capital, the private equity firm that owned Lew’s Holdings, is out. But Ken Eubanks, the CEO of Lew’s Holdings, and his current management team will continue in their roles. Business as usual.

How private equity firms typically work

Phase 1 – To anyone who follows the business side of the fishing industry and the way that private equity firms (PE) operate, the sale was not a surprise. It’s what PE firms do. They buy companies which they believe have growth or efficiency potential. That’s Phase 1.

Phase 2 – involves the core proficiencies of each PE firm. Some fashion themselves marketing gurus. Others see themselves as efficiency experts. And still others hold themselves out as masters of manufacturing or distribution. Ideally, they’re really good at this thing and use this skill to advance the new holding.

Phase 3 – occurs after the PE firm has worked its Phase 2 magic. They take the business — hopefully — to a better place with better marketing, cheaper manufacturing, stronger distribution … or whatever it is they do. Once that’s complete — and it invariably takes two and a half to five years — they sell to someone else. Usually it’s another PE firm with a different set of core competencies. In fact, that’s part of the sales pitch. If the first PE firm is strong on domestic distribution, they look for a firm that’s great at overseas distribution. They tell them, “You know, we’ve got the U.S. market covered with this company, and we’re killing it! With your strength in Europe and Asia, there’s no telling how far you could take it!”

And the process begins anew.

What can we learn from BDT and Lew’s?

Quite a lot, I think, and it’s right there in the press release.

But first, let’s take a look at the Peak Rock Capital website. It describes the firm on the homepage, as follows:

Peak Rock Capital is a leading middle-market private investment firm. We make equity and debt investments in companies in North America and Europe. Peak Rock’s equity investment platform focuses on opportunities where it can support senior management to drive rapid growth and profit improvement, with expertise in corporate carve-outs and partnering with families and founders seeking first-time institutional capital. Peak Rock’s credit platform focuses on providing bespoke primary financings and making investments in secondary loans for corporate debt and commercial real estate. Peak Rock’s principals have deep expertise in complex situations and cross?border transactions, with the ability to provide tailored capital solutions and close transactions quickly where speed and certainty are priorities. [Emphasis added.]

Did you catch that? “Expertise in corporate carve-outs,” “partnering with families and founders seeking first-time institutional capital,” “secondary loans for corporate debt.”

Now let’s take a look at how BDT is described in the press release on the Lew’s Holding purchase:

BDT Capital Partners provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital. The firm has raised more than $15 billion across its investment funds and has created and manages an additional $4.7 billion of co-investments from its global limited partner investor base. The firm’s affiliate, BDT & Company, is a merchant bank that works with family- and founder-led businesses to pursue their strategic and financial objectives. BDT & Company provides solutions-based advice and access to a world-class network of business owners and leaders. [Emphasis added.]

Some complementary references to what we saw from Peak Rock Capital: “provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital.”

It’s obvious that one of the things driving this deal is capitalization and its various manifestations.

And here’s what BDT’s managing director said about the situation:

Led by industry veterans, Lew’s has a strong following among avid and enthusiastic anglers, a broad distribution network, high-quality products and an impressive innovation track record. Our investment in the company represents an opportunity to partner with an outstanding management team in a growing and dynamic industry. We view this as an attractive platform investment in a sector with significant opportunity for organic growth and consolidation, given the number of founder- and family-owned companies in this expanding category. [Emphasis added.]

She’s complimenting Lew’s Holdings’ management team, and BDT is looking to grow by acquiring other founder- and family-owned fishing and hunting companies. There are a lot of those, and many will grab the cash if offered.

So, what does this mean to retailers?

Not much, really. Lew’s and Strike King will continue to turn out high quality products that are sought-after by anglers. I’ll continue to use their stuff!

OK, but what does it mean to the industry?

That’s a tougher, more nuanced question. One on hand, that PE firms are showing interest in our industry is encouraging. They wouldn’t be here unless they thought they could make a buck — or several million of them.

On the other hand, the PE firms that are not savvy enough to leave a talented leadership team alone run the risk of losing the edge that made the company attractive in the first place. We’ve all either seen it or heard about it from friends. A small company is acquired by a larger company, and the first thing they do is destroy an attractive corporate culture and replace a quality leadership team. Before you know it, the small company that was so attractive becomes a cautionary tale.

I could give examples … but I digress.

Fortunately for my friends at Lew’s Holdings, that doesn’t seem to be the plan here. BDT knows a good thing when they buy it, and they’re content to let it keep doing its very successful thing.

Nevertheless, stay tuned for the next sale of Lew’s Holdings in 2023 … give or take a year.

The Art of “Stacking” Braided Line
By Ben Seacrest, Accurate Fishing
from The Fishing Wire

With the introduction of braid by Russ Izor in the 80’s, fishing as we know it changed drastically. With the diameter of the braided line being reduced significantly, many anglers started to realize the larger reels of yesteryear could either hold a ton of braid, or they could start looking for alternative reels to fish. Once braid was accepted by a few peer group leaders its popularity with the west coast anglers surged, sparking reel manufacturers to design smaller reels that would put out more drag and handle more pressure internally.

This is the little BV-300 which is our smallest reel with 30 lb on it that has caught numerous tuna upwards of 70 lbs.
The revolution was started with new, smaller reels being designed for cranking power plus drag, and rods that had a more forgiving action for the non stretch in the braided line to effectively fight fish of considerable size. The phrase “Small Reels, Big Fish” came to light which changed the way anglers had fished since the beginning of time. Guys are using reels a little bigger than your fist and landing fish over 100 lbs regularly. With the adoption of lever drags on these reels, the angler knows exactly where his drag setting is during the battle.

As anglers became more familiar with braid and its properties, new knots were developed and people took time to experiment with setting up line on their reels. On the west coast there is a group of anglers we refer to as “Long Rangers” that get on a bigger boat (100′ to 130′) and travel down to the islands and banks outside Cabo San Lucas and mainland Mexico for up to 21 days at a time. These anglers are fishing from dead boats for trophy yellowfin tuna up to 400 lbs and its critical to have the most line capacity possible on a reel. A group of these anglers who are always looking for a better way to skin a cat came up with the idea of stacking braid and perfected the connections to increase their catch rate percentages.

The reasons to stack braid on smaller reels is to gain maximum line capacity. Manufacturers give line capacities that is with one line pound test meaning one diameter line. When stacking braid you want to understand exactly what you will be using the tackle for species wise. There are a lot of gamefish that have enough power to spool reels so capacity is key. When stacking braid we put a smaller(test) diameter on the bottom, maybe 200 yards and the higher test on top. The rationale behind this is its very difficult to break braid on a dead pull unless its been frayed. The rod will likely break before the line would.

So on a 400 size reel that holds 325 yards of 50Lb braid I will take 40 lb braid and put 300 yds on the bottom with another 75 to 100 yards of 65 lb braid on top. It gives me a little more line capacity but the key is with the heavier line on top I can actually put the drag up on the fish and pull harder at the end of the battle. Most fish are lost coming to the boat. You want enough capacity to handle a good run early in the fight, then once he is close to the boat you can tighten the drag on him to get him within gaffing distance. This is a common practice with a lot of anglers fishing smaller tackle for bigger fish. The thought behind it is not to fight the big bulky tackle but have more comfortable tackle that is easy to handle over the duration of the fight.

There is no set combination of line sizes to stack but lines within 20 to 30 lb differences work well. Putting the capacity line size on the bottom(smaller diameter) and the heavier on top seems to be what most anglers do. One example we have been doing the last couple years is taking our Dauntless DX2-600N and putting 65 lb braid on the bottom and putting one hundred yards of 80 lb on top with a short fluorocarbon leader. The 65 lb will handle 20 to 25 lbs of drag no problem, then once we get a couple wraps on the spool of 80 lb we can increase the drag pressure as the fish approaches the boat into gaffing distance. This setup is used primarily for casting surface iron or poppers to foaming fish with an 8 ft heavy rod that will go directly to the rail once the fish is settled in. Stacking braid is a more specialized thing to do when targeting bigger gamefish but will also work when fishing bottom fish in deeper water.

Stacking the braid on the reel is a fairly easy process and there are a couple ways to do it. One of the easier ways to do this is to tie a 25 turn Bimini Twist for the line on the reel and that line coming off the spool. Put both loops together and pass the spool through them three times. Make sure the line is even as you pull them apart holding the Bimni knots on each end. Slowly pull them making sure as they get taut the line is straight. Once the line is straight you can pull them tight. This will leave you with a cats paw knot in the middle of the connection; I have never seen one break yet. The cool part of this connection is it will go through the guides the same way a solid line would.

The other way of connecting braid is by using hollow core line and splicing lines into each other. They are held together similar to a Chinese finger puzzle. The harder they are pulled the tighter they hold. This takes needles and practice to get good at doing it. Very important here to test all your connections. Last year I had one fail on a fish that was a real trophy on another persons tackle that had a spliced leader. It’s up to the angler which connections to use when stacking braid. One thing that is important is whichever one you use, you must be very proficient. Only way to become good is to practice and the perfect place is in front of the TV or at home in the back yard. It’s super important to test every knot and put your weight into it for maximum results. Don’t get discouraged if your first few fail; you will get the hang of it. Personally I stay with the double Bimini connection which works great but it is not as clean as the splice.

There are two schools of thought when you are fishing braid .

One way is fishing enough drag on a reel so its more like hand to hand combat which lets the rod wear the fish out with the main objective of getting his head coming up. This way you continue to put pressure on the fish without letting him get his head down as you are bringing him to gaff. More experienced anglers will do this and line capacity is usually not a factor. They are dealing with using the power of the rod and stopping power of the drag. You need to know what you are doing and be in some kind of shape to exert that much energy on those larger fish. The rail is extremely important too as your fulcrum while using your rod to gain maximum action and power out of the rod.

The other way anglers tend to fish is to rely on the line capacity of the reel and fish a little lighter rod with less drag and “play” the fish. This technique lets the fish wear its self out versus exerting all your energy trying to break his spirit. Its extremely important to have all connections solid so knots, crimps, splices all should be tested by pulling on them with some weight. Its important to make sure you stay clear of the boat and other anglers hooked up. Deckhands will be there to assist or on a private boat someone will put the boat where it needs to be. Trying to play out the fish with lighter drag with more line out means the fish is on longer and with big fish on the line, time is not your friend.

Always use the maximum test leader wise that will still get bit. Its a nightmare when a good fish wears through the leader.

Put the package together right, test it carefully before going on the water and you’ll be ready to take on some serious big game fish on tackle that fights the fish instead of your muscles.

Get more fishing tips at www.accuratefishing.com.