ICAST is ‘yak time again

The 2015 International Convention of the Allied Sportfishing Trades Show (ICAST) was held July 14-17 in Orlando, Fla. It is the largest tackle show in the world, and many store owners and buyers compare walking the aisles to a child spending a few days with the elves in Santa Claus’ North Pole workshop. There are far more booths than can be visited and much more stuff than a fisherman can use in a lifetime. Still, ICAST continues to expand.

A spokesman for the American Sportfishing Association, the organizing group for ICAST, said the 2015 show was the largest yet, with more than 13,000 buyers and media members checking out the booths on more than 500,000 square feet of show floor and numerous seminar rooms. The displays included lots of new products, many improved products and an abundance of long-time favorites.

Products range from the latest tackle options to the newest fishing and boating accessories. Some of the products displayed at ICAST are so new they are prototypes and aren’t yet in production and may not be available until spring. Still others are beginning production and will be available in the next few months. My favorites were a mixture of this and aren’t meant to be a tease, but an advance notice of several products I consider special for a variety of reasons.

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