|
ICAST! Tons o' fun as always. Seen the obligatory negative takes on social. Not sure what ICAST they went to, but the one I was at was full of positivity (it's fishing!) and a surprising amount of new stuff. Although I personally didn't see a ton of "wow" items, everything I saw was good.
Quick note for Ditch Melon Derby June winners: I am told your prizes will be mailed out as soon as the Abu Garcia folks are back in the office. Not sure when that is, but they're a-coming!
Hope everyone else is out there trying to cherry-pick those prizes in the July derbE – just download the FishDonkey app!
|
|
|
Lots of pics in this one so if your email doesn't like 'em then 👇
|
|
|
If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
|
|
|
|
Before getting into the top stuff from my ICAST experience, same disclaimer I have every year: I didn't see every company that was there, I definitely didn't see every product there (impossible), and every company in bassin' wasn't there – a beeg Juan missing this year was Berkley/Abu, don't think 6th Sense is ever there, etc.
Also, I am not including stuff in this list that was at ICAST but released months before ICAST.
That said, away we go – just one guy's 2c.
#1 – Aqua-Vu's The Captain is it
|
|
|
When I first saw this new "The Captain" deal from the folks at Aqua-Vu I was like – huh, not sure I get it. Then when they showed it to me at ICAST I was like, Man you guys hit this on the screws!
Basically this is a "dash cam" you mount on your bow and on your stern, with a waterproof, Bluetooth phone-sized screen you mount to your dash area. So just like that they solved the safety issue of having that NASA setup on bows, plus the tourney liability and he said/she said involved in any boating accident.
Bottom line: If I owned a tourney organization or maybe even just put on 1 tourney a year, I would require it. If I was a pro tourney angler – aka a marked man on the water – I would have it on my boat. If I ran on crowded lakes a lot, I would have it. Etc. (None of those apply to me but I want it anyhow lol.) If I was a boat manufacturer, I'd at least add it to my offerin's or make it OEM.
The Captain isn't expensive ($699) and sounds like it's pretty easy to install. Plus it has CarPlay and Android Auto, which means that not only do you have all that functionality you're used to in your vehicle, you can put your precious phone in your pocket or whatever box you keep it in.
|
|
|
Note: Not all apps are configured/registered to work with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto. For example, why would lake apps do whatever steps are necessary to make them useable in your car.
You can use The Captain on ATVs, snow sleds, you name it. If it doesn't break or glitch (of course they've tested it) I 100% believe it will go big-time.
I think this is the first time a non-fishing item has ever been #1 on my ICAST list. For me The Captain is a "wow" product. Should be available next month.
Still waiting to hear if The Captain plays the Spongebob theme when you open the box:
|
|
|
🤣
#2 – Yamamoto Fuzzy Senko
|
|
|
What can I say except that the best bass fishing lure of all time just got some fuzz. #nobrainer
Obviously fuzzy baits are a mega trend this year, and that's because:
a) Pretty much every pro fisherman says that for whatever reason they work great
b) Bait companies want to help peeps catch 'em
c) Peeps want these baits without paying $20 a pack for 4
d) They want different options than just the 6-sided dice.
Matt Becker said the Fuzzy Senko has the same action as a regular Senko and still skips well.
Comes in 5" and 4" right now and 8 colors, 4 of which are some variation of gp. On some colors, the skirt material alternates in color like this one, 'gp chartreuse':
|
|
|
Another greatest of all time bait – which just Ned Kehde and his bud Drew Reese have caught probably 1 gajillion bass on – is the Z-Man TRD (duh!). Add in the rest of the bass world and you probably get to 1.1 gajillion bass. 😁
Okay anyhow, it's another #nobrainer. 2.75" body, buoyant/tough ElaZtech plastic, 8 colors (including 'bubble gum'!) some also with 2-color of skirt material, $9.99 per 4-pack:
|
|
|
As you know, Z-Man also came out with the Fuzzy BugZ and the Fuzzy NuggetZ. Both are also ElaZtech plastic and $9.99 per 4-pack.
#4 – FishLab Rattle Toad Pro
|
|
|
The rattle on the tush of that frog tells most (but not all) of the story. It's not a rattle shoved in the body of the frog (which dulls the sound), no J-Lee surgery to get Lt. Dan rattle legs into frogs, just a rattle on the outside of the frog...which might be some kinda miracle of engineering.
As bait designer Big Bad Bill Siemantel says in this vid, by the rattle being on the outside of the frog and sitting in the water you get the most sound distance in the water.
Plus welded to each other hooks so they don't move, floating PVC "legs" for less drag in the water and to help the bait pivot/walk in place.
I got to make some casts with this bait, and the thing that to me was the most mind-blowing about working it – which Bill had to show me because no one would ever work a frog that way – was if you have a bunch of slack and just give it super-light twitches (like SUPER light), the frog walks in place even past a 180.
Crazy deal. Here's Bill fishing it and talking about it on YT.
Bill and FishLab have been consistently coming out with solid and kinda unique products for a few years now. Seems they're highly interested in and invested in the bass market.
#5 – KastKing Mg-Ti Elite baitcaster
|
|
|
Big deal on this reel is the titanium spool and shaft, which I believe is a first for a mass-produced reel. They put a spool in my hand and it's so light it feels like it's made outta plastic. Crazy.
Got a chance to cast this reel and it's as smooth as whipped cream on strawberry pie – or something like that. 😁 I really liked it.
Guys have been "tuning" their reels with aftermarket titanium spools for a long time, and while I haven't ventured into those waters I hear that all such spools aren't created equal and for sure ain't OEM.
With this reel you can zing baits down to 1/16-oz (and up to 1-oz) a long ways, which I believe is because of that ultra lightweight titanium spool and shaft. So in other words the Mg-Ti Elite covers BFS to regular/power duties.
Other cool deals about it, some of which apparently were asked for by KastKing pros:
- New magnetic braking system for longer casts and fewer backlashes, although our new guy did manage to backlash it lol
- Bigger handle (good!)
- Drag clicker
- Tapered star drag/"Ninja star drag" – One of my favorite deals because I didn't know that with a drag "wheel" that big and that shape you can pick up slack while your draggin' or jerkbaitin' or whatever JUST WITH YOUR ROD HAND (FB vid). Did you know you can do that?? Wish I knew that YEARS ago.
Retails for $299, only in 7.2:1 right now. Not on TW yet but it is on the KK website.
|
|
|
Who's crazy enough to come out with a deep-diving crankbait in 2025? Bill Lewis and props to 'em! 😁 Shoutin' this one out in particular because of its new "Ledge Technology" – which doesn't mean TN River-like ledges, although you would fish it there – but those "shelves" on the sides of the bait.
Believe they enable the bait to dive steeper and deeper with a smaller bill to get to that depth. I'm sure they change the bait action as well, and that will be a key deal obviously. Here's a quick 48-second YT vid on it which shows it running.
Comes in 6 colors, not available yet.
2. Fuji Skeleton Ultralight Skeleton Reel Seat
|
|
|
Visited my bud Bill Falconer at Fuji (that's him) just to say hey and ended up being blown away.
Hope I get this right: On the top right is what a top of the line titanium carbon hybrid reel seat has been for the past 2 years. Bottom right is Fuji's new top of the line, the carbon fiber/titanium Ultra Light Skeleton Seat.
Bill showed me this stuff and I was like, "Okay that's interesting" – I was thinking it's just rod geek stuff. Then he gave me that rod to hold he has in the pic and I couldn't believe it. Felt like I was holding a stick of gum, it was that light.
Might wanna know this: Easton Fothergill is sponsored by Fuji because he (and many of the other young cats) is plugged into all the latest/greatest Japanese stuff.
Also:
- Got a peek at some new offerin's Fuji is bringing here not for rods but for fishing techniques. Word is a few pros know about 'em and are using 'em but not all. Here's a couple examples:
|
|
|
- Bill also had what MIGHT be the world's best and easiest split ring pliers in his booth, made by a company called Toit ("too-it"). Highly machined and not as cheap as most split ring pliers but man they work great.
|
|
|
You can see it yourself – metal prop and trailing back blade make a plop + a semi-buzzbait sound (word is). Seems Rapala can't make a bad step right now so....
4. Yo-Zuri Pro Popper
|
|
|
I don't fish a popper much, but guys who do – like Brandon Card – love this bait. 70mm, 3/8-oz, 8 great Yo-Zuri colors, it can walk, feather on the back. Sort of a high-end more stealthy/finesse popper.
5. Snag Proof Pad Rambler
|
|
|
Mentioning this because the idea here is that the rear end of the frog compresses easier because the butt is not right up against the hooks – which in theory should allow the hooks to get driven in further.
Snag Proof calls this HOP Technology – "Hook Optimized Penetration." BKK hooks, props to 'em for the packaging showing the back and belly of the frog.
6. 6.5" Bill Lewis Big Gizz
|
|
|
How 'bout a giant blade bait / spoon? Says it can be fished like a lipless crank too. I love this idea. 2.5-oz, 8 colors.
|
|
|
Founder/owner Kyle Buchholz said this $49.99 bait is his company's first mass-produced bait. They are from MN and never heard of Easton Fothergill – kidding, I didn't ask!
Galapagos Grace
Japanese brand I never heard of – Galapagos – had a new customizable bait. It has optional tails and "bumpers" that you can add to the swimbait "joints" for different actions. $89.99 for the 240 and $149.99 for the 280:
|
|
|
They might want to rethink that right side of the package for American markets lol.
Other than that, there's a new Yo-Zuri Pro Series Glide, Strike King's glide collab is the Hog Father Jr and Bucca Brand has a new bigger 8" version of their Trick Shad (also a 5" Bull Shad for $25).
An interesting new one is the Clutch Darter Glide which "features an anatomically correct herring profile that can be worked at an incredible rate of speed. A glide bait that allows anglers to cover water with the same efficiency as a spinnerbait or bladed jig...."
4. Bait/technique "systems"
Not sure if this is an industry-wide trend yet, but it is for sure coming on I think mostly driven by the FFS minnow deal. Z-Man has been doing it for a while – with their Ned and ChatterBait stuff – and is who I think of when I think of bait "systems."
Another is Berkley with their Forward Facing Science baits and Forward Braid.
Several more companies are rolling out multiple jigheads and minnows to have their own systems and give their sponsored anglers everything they need to get it done. Increasingly these are bigger companies with multiple brands, like GSM doing plastics with Yamamoto and Big Bite, and jigheads with Buckeye.
Another is Rapala, which rolled out several new sizes (bigger and smaller) of Freeloaders and Mooch Minnows – and the new-to-the-US CrushCity Jerk – along with new VMC Jigheads like the Minnow Shaker.
As the new bassin' brand dynasty because of cats like Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell pingin' without mercy, Rapala ain't playin'!
|
|
|
Same deal, just 1 guy's 2c, I did not see everything, no particular order.
Most interesting new color: 'Steve's green machine'
|
|
|
Always a bunch of new colors at ICAST, a lot of them very 😍, but according to the [sandbagger] pros 😆 all you need is gp and b/b. Assuming you can fish like them, which not many of us can.
Anyhow that color, in G-Ratt baits' The Rocker minnow – not sure if you can see it well, but in person it's a translucent (in sunlight, not in a bait shop) gp-ish watermelon-ish bait that Steve Kennedy calls "seedless watermelon."
Said he had a pile of that color baits from a shop that used to custom-make 'em, ran out and got G-Ratt to make it. Or a version of it. He said all the bait companies (including G-Ratt) are doing shad colors for minnows, but in clear water – and pressured situations, and when fish don't want to swim far from cover for a shad-looking bait – they will smoke this color.
It's more stealthy: He said the fish don't see it as well from far off, then all of a sudden it's right there and it's on.
Pretty sure Steve would rather have his fingernails pulled out than tell the the bassin' world about what has been his secret deal for years 😆 but there you go!
The Rocker is on TW but looks like not in Steve's color (yet?).
Runner-up: Roboworm in 'morning dawn silver flake'
|
|
|
I mean isn't that a #nobrainer? 2 more new colors are 'morning mutilator' and 'oxblood dawn.' Glad to see it because Roboworm and Yamamoto are the 2 companies that have the biggest need for more colors...🤣
|
|
|
Most incredible packaging: Synch Fishing swimbaits
Here's the FB/IG vid I did on it that got bizarrely over 1 mil views and also bizarrely got a huge amount of negative comments...mostly from bank fishermen who are not bass fishermen. Crazy stuff – more on that at a later date.
Anyhow, Synch Fishing is a new American Baitworks swimbait brand – with Andrew Gardner of Melosh Fishing Lures.Check 'em out here on IG and here on FB. Congrats to him and American Baitworks on an epic launch.
Most surprising "absences": Electronics and lines
- Electronics – All the players were there, but no significant electronics updates.
Humminbird rolled out their new stuff early this year, Garmin had a LiveScope software update a while back and has a new 16" screen and kayak troller (LiveScope on that 16" screen looks GOOD). Not real sure about Lowrance. I'm guessing AI is coming to fishing electronics in 2026...we will see!
- Lines – Did not seem like many new lines, at least from the major players.
Ones I saw: Yo-Zuri SuperBraid 9 (comes in green and white), Sufix Defcon FC Copolymer (fluoro over copolymer mono, I believe), Sunline Shooter Overtex Fluoro (more abrasion resistant than regular Shooter), and new 3,000-yd spools of Seaguar InvizX and Red Label. I think that was it from the majors...?
- Crankbaits – Other than the Bill Lewis DR24 above, wasn't a whole lotta new hard baits that I saw. Rapala has a new lipless geared for bass (the Snare 50), Strike King has a new circuit board lip bait, other than that not much.
Lone exception is Yo-Zuri, which is plowing ahead with new hard baits and new colors (some real good matte ones like 👇). More about that in a future BB.
|
|
|
Most expensive I've heard of anyhow: Do you have $7K for your lithium troller battery system? If so, all good and this is probably the best system you can get.
For that $$ you get that 36v battery system – battery, charger, display, cables, hooks up to an app – plus features like built-in battery ventilation, an internal fire-suppression system, removal battery top for maintenance, bi-directional charging, UL-certified and more.
Abyss is OEM for high-end salty boats like Freemans and whatnot – so they're built to take pounding all day on the water. Are they "overbuilt" for us bass-heads? I guess it depends how much coin you have, where you fish and how much peace of mind you want.
Good news is they have a less-costly Legacy Series which is what they built their rep on, and their 12v goes up to 350 amp-hrs.
Word is the 2 Drews – Benton and Cook – are running 'em, maybe more guys in the future.
|
|
|
Latest News will be in the next BB!
|
|
|
Cole Floyd flips grass with a 1-oz weight
He likes to go fast. From the MLF site ^:
> Floyd typically likes to flip grass with a 1-oz weight and doesn't go to the end of the earth to get a particular fall rate.
> "I don't want something too heavy, but I want something that will get down in there – I don't want to waste my time jiggling something around. In general, a 1-oz weight is good.
> "If you can get a 1-oz weight through the grass, and it isn't just blowing through, that's usually when I'm catching them good."
|
|
|
"Everything's going to 'go down' [in size] to get the bites, and 'go up' to get the draw."
- Stetson Blaylock at ICAST, talkin' 'bout bait trends.
|
|
|
You seen this yet? New for ICAST the SPRO KGB K-Rig – 3 KGB swimbaits rigged together, 3 trebles total. Not sure how much that deal weighs but I can't get my mind around how to cast, retrieve and fight a fish with it? $129 – would you fish it?
|
|
|
You mighta heard we lost Ozzy Osbourne today. Way before I was a saved man, I played a bunch of his music in bands. He had a real gift for choosing great guitar players.
Hope ol' Ozz got right before he passed. I remember him praying by himself, on his knees, one time in a documentary...so who knows.
My buds and I saw him in NJ in the early '80s when he kicked off his first solo tour. His opening band was one from England we'd never heard of: Def Leppard!
|
|
|
|
|
Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
|
|
|
|
Check out BassGold.com! It's FREE!
Sign up another bass-head!
If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or whatever....
|
|
|
GITCHA HANDS ON THE BEST STUFF!
|
|
Gitcha BB social at these links
|
|
|
|
