• ICAST 2009 Previews

ICAST is the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. Try saying that three times fast. Yeah. It's a trade show. It's being held in Orlando this year from July 15th to the 17th. I'm not going, but thousands usually attend this big event.
icastfishing.org/

Because most of us won't be going, we need to get the inside info. We want a sneak peek at what is coming. I have been trying to dig up all I can find about what's going on at ICAST 2009, but there is very little info out there giving sneak previews of products. So far, only a few products have been mentioned on the web and in magazines.

So here's what I've found so far. Feel free to share your findings by posting a comment below. If I knew I had permission, I would have posted images of some of the new products, but most of the links I will provide have good photos already.

Being the Pflueger guy that I am, TackleTog's mention of the Patriarch XT caught my attention. My Patriarch has been in my arsenal for a while now and here Pflueger decides to release a 6.8oz version with a carbon fiber handle and EVA knobs. I already want one, but I'm already loaded up with reels as it is. I also read on the TackleTour forum that a lefty Patriarch is in the works for ICAST. Can anyone confirm that one?
Link 1
Link 2 with photo
New Photo: Gag reflex Johnny Morris-esque bright blue sideplates, aluminum frame, 6.4:1 gear ratio, 12/100, carbon fiber drag, 9+1 bearings (one less than the regular Patriarch?)
No, I'm not happy with the blue sideplates. If Pflueger is going after the Shimano Core with this reel, I think they dropped the ball in the looks department. A 7:1 version had better be in the works too. Pricing points are similar.

Rich Lindgren has posted a quick ICAST preview on the Versus Country Blog. He really only covered a few baits, including the Mad Maxx hollow body frog, Tru Tungsten Flea Flicker weighted wacky rig hooks, and Berkley PowerBaits like the Ripple Shad swimbait, a Finesse Worm, Ribbon Tail Power Grubs, and a Curtail Worm.
Read his VS blog post:
Link

I read about the Ripple Shad in the latest issue of Bassmaster Magazine. It is available in 3 and 4 inch sizes and it's called the Ripple Shad because it has segmented ribs along the sides. This might be the swimbait I have been searching for. I want to see it in person to find out how big the lure really is.

A few other products were also mentioned in the latest issue of Bassmaster and I suspect that although most, if not all of them are available now, they will be on display at ICAST. XCalibur is bringing out the Xr25 lipless crank in 1/4oz available in 18 colors. Booyah has another spinnerbait called a 1/8 ounce Micro Pond Magic. Berkley is unveiling a new monofilament line that you can already purchase called Trilene TransOptic. It changes color in and out of water, turning a hi-vis gold outside of water and invisible beneath the surface.

By way of BassFan, I was able to read about a new Quantum Tour baitcaster. KVD is behind this reel. It's a high speed 7.3:1 reel with a lot more line capacity. What stands out is the pricing point and the line recovery. At a projected cost of $299, it appears Quantum is taking aim at Daiwa and with a line recovery of 34 inches, the Quantum reel might smack around the high speed competition. The new ACS 3 casting control is some sort of self adjusting braking mechanism. It should allow anglers more time to fish and less time fiddling with brake adjustments. On the down side, there is no lefty version and it weighs about 8.5 ounces.
BassFan (item is listed towards the bottom of the page)
Wired2Fish Link

Wired2Fish has recently posted an article on a new Yamaha outboard called the F150 Jet Drive. If they're at ICAST, they'll probably be showing it off. Read more about it at the following link:
Wired2Fish Link

TackleTour must also be holding out on us because I can find very little on their main page at this point. I found an article on some new Penn saltwater spinning reels. There are other articles on the Reaction Innovations buzzbait called the Squeaky Dolphin as well as articles related to Sebile Baits, Skeet Reese Tessera rods, and Mattlures swimbaits. Whether or not these items are good enough for ICAST is beyond me.
TT Link

Rumors have been flying around about Abu Revo modifications, so although I'm not a big Revo fan, it'll be interesting to see where they go with any changes. Also look out for the Vendetta rods.
Revo Mods
Revo Redesigned
Vendetta Rods

A really neat addition to the list has to be these SpinTech Treble Hooks that rotate 360 degrees. (spintechhooks.com)
Link

As ICAST gets closer, I'm sure we'll be hearing more about new products on the horizon.

• Off The Pier 6-27-2009 - Rinse & Repeat

Started fishing off the pier this evening around 8pm. Yes, the mosquitoes were already out and about. Fished the same technique that has been working for me the last couple of weeks. Like the post title says, rinse and repeat. My Patriarch was ready to go. The Scumfrog was still tied on.

Worked the Scumfrog over duckweed first and eventually picked up a small one. Most of these fish under the duckweed have been in one small area measuring 8 feet by about 25 to 30 feet. This one hit fast and flopped around more like a small gar. Really didn't know it was a bass until I lifted it out.

Fished the duckweed some more and came up with nothing, so I moved on out and worked some weed edges. A giant clump of weeds drifted in weeks ago and with the slow weather, there has not been enough wind to relocate it elsewhere. It has yielded bass recently, so I cast the Scumfrog right to the outside edge and bobbed it up and down a few times. Finally hooked into a decent 2lber. Can't say whether or not I'm catching the same fish over and over, but I will say this last one looked darker than the rest. Once hooked, it took me into a cypress tree, so I had to swing the rod around to my left and muscle the bass away from the tree. I think this fish has been caught recently. As it was floundering around in my grip, my thumb slipped into a hole in its lower lip like a hook from a weigh scale or culling device might make.

I'll have to head out in the V-18 one morning and see if I can replicate the pattern elsewhere. These fish are still shallow despite the sweltering heat during the day. I have no idea what the water temperatures are, but when air temps hit 90 to 100, Cross Lake turns into a giant bowl of 90 degree water.

As a reminder, for most of us in Louisiana, it's time to renew our licenses. It'll go out on the 30th of June, so hit up your local tackle shop or fishing department before the morning of the 1st. Sure would hate to have to drive into town to renew and miss out on a calm cool morning on the water.

• Off the Pier 6-25-2009

The only gear I had with me this evening was a Patriarch on a 7' rod, two pairs of hemostats, my license, a black Scumfrog, and a black Bronzeye frog as a back up just in case. I should have brought my scale, but I did bring my phone for taking photos.

First cast was around 6:45pm. Only spent about 90 minutes out there. Fished the same few spots I've been hitting over duckweed. Water beyond the duckweed has cleared up nicely. I did not see much of that brown scum that was on the water a week ago. I'm sure the water temps are in the upper 80's to low 90's. The heat here has been brutal. Even the good breeze this afternoon was hot.

About fifteen minutes later, I made a cast and put the frog about six or seven feet from where I caught the catfish featured in the video a few posts back. Tapped it a few times and had a bite. The strike was fairly subtle and in my post on Scumfroggin' over duckweed, I mentioned how hits may not always be huge blow ups. Sometimes a bass under duckweed lifts its nose out of the water and inhales the lure instead. I set the hook and used the high speed reel to my advantage. This fish fought me the whole way. Hooked this one in the roof of its mouth a little deeper than I'd like, but thankfully not in the gullet or gills.

Didn't have my scale with me. I'd say this bass fit into the 2 to 2.5lb range. Although the photo makes the fish look long, it probably landed at the upper edge of the slot limit. Still a great fish. Only had two more hits the rest of my time out there. Both were probably from fish too small to even care about.