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Is the Revo X Still a Factor?
Back in 2018, we shared our experience with Abu
Garcia's newest member of their Revo lineup, the X. Surprisingly, that $99 reel
ran away not with a Best Value Award, but our Editor's Choice. Having such a
positive experience with the recent, fifth generation refresh and the SX
platform, left me to wonder if the X still had the factor to capture my
attention. Let's find out! |
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A "Tail" of Two Baits: Baitsanity Explorer Gen 2 Swimbait
Updates
At first glance, the latest generation of the
Baitsanity Explorer may appear nearly identical to the original glidebait that
the company originally debuted to launch their brand. However, there are a number of
updates that have made significant improvements to the bait's capabilities and
performance over even last year’s models. In this update, we explore these
latest improvements, fresh tail designs, and a bones option. |
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Berkley Channels Science to Launch New Forward Facing Sonar
Optimized Baits
Like it or not forward facing sonar, also known as
live-sonar, has forever changed the fishing world. This powerful tool has
enabled anglers to evolve and adapt like never before by providing them with the
ability to see how fish react to baits in real time. To arm anglers with baits
designed specifically to maximize effectiveness with forward facing sonar
Berkley is launching three new baits optimized for this technology. |
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Shimano Launches New 70 Size Metanium DC and SLX Baitcasters
Shimano is kicking off 2024 in a big way by going smaller with the
introduction of new Metanium DC and SLX baitcasters in compact 70 sizes. Both of
these new reels feature numerous updates driving versatility and performance
enhancements, and the Metanium 70 represents the lightest and most durable DC
reel to date. |
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Fishing Lew's New ParaMag Featured in the Elite-Ti SLP
This past year, at ICAST, Lew's
announced a low profile reel to usurp the Pro-Ti atop their food chain. The
Elite-Ti SLP is the new top dog at Lew's and sports a brand new braking system
that just might lead the way for their next generation of reels. |
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Battle of the Turd Baits -
Dropping the Missile Bomba Worm
Just when you've grown comfortable into
thinking lure designers and manufacturers have exhausted available profiles for
soft plastic baits, something rumbles in the creative bowels of those designers
and out shoots another... |
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Denali's Kovert Lite KW764MP Swim Jig Stick
Denali's Kovert Lite KW764MP is a seven foot, six inch (7'-6") casting rod built
from an IM8 graphite blank. It features a split rear grip made of a polymer
material similar to that found on golf clubs and an EVA butt. |
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The Stick To Go With That Bait : SPRO's KGB Signature Series B79H
Keeps it In the Family
Searching for a stick to fish
the new SPRO and KGB Swimbaits collab bait, the Chad Shad 180? Well, the two
manufacturers do their best to eliminate this challenge with another joint
venture. Here's a look at their complimentary collab fishing rod, the SPRO KGB
Signature Series B79H. |
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Beyond a Bargain: Kastking's Mg12 Elite Baitcaster
KastKing has built a well-earned reputation for providing reels at
competitive prices. However, in recent seasons, they have significantly elevated
their offerings, venturing into the high-performance segment. The Mg12 Elite
stands as KastKing’s most advanced, and most expensive, compact
baitcaster to date. |
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Denali's Middle Child, the Novus Pro Casting Reel
Denali is no longer just about
fishing rods. At ICAST 2023, the company rolled out a complete line of fishing
reels (2 spinning, 3 casting). Today, we take a look at the middle child in
their casting reel lineup, the Novus Pro. |
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Shimano’s Stella FK
Spinning Reel is a Moping Legend
The Stella is to Shimano what the NSX is to
Honda or the GTR is to Nissan, the pinnacle of engineering, a halo product
showcasing the latest technology. Serving as both a flagship for these
respective companies and as a brand builder, there are very few spinning reels
that can even claim to compete with the Stella... |
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Enabling Swimbait Mode with BFS Gear -
Zappu Bredy Weedless Underspin
Zappu is a JDM terminal tackle company with innovative takes on terminal tackle. If you like to tune and tweak your bait offerings, or just keep up with some of the more interesting and inventive rigging trends from Japan, diving into the product offered by this manufacturer is a great place to start.
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Swimbait Rod Build: A Blank to Handle All your Big Bait Needs and More: Phenix Titan Long Fall
Today, there are quite a number
of choices for those slinging baits that weigh up to about six ounces or so.
However, once you cross over to the truly large baits, rod options seem to
dwindle. Throw in the additional wild card of needing that stick to be no longer
than seven feet, eight inches, and there might be just a handful of production
rods that can handle the assignment. |
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Elusive No More : SPRO's KGB Chad Shad 180
Spend any time in that kind of underground, social media world of
big baits and you'll eventually come across discussion of the popular KGB Chad
Shad. This bait came on the scene a number of years ago and built a reputation
as the best shad glide bang for the buck. In the big bait world, reputation like
that inevitably leads to scarce availability which eventually raises that
buck-bang higher than retail.
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SPRO's Very Affordable Vortex-E Casting Reel
2023 marks the year SPRO
completes the transition from a bait company to full
blown creator of just about everything you need to go fishing with the introduction of their own rods and reels. Today's focus is on their brand new Vortex-E casting reel priced at just $89.99.
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Illude Lunker Fighters Zombie
Gerbil – A Deadly Walker
The Lunker Fighters Zombie Gerbil is a rat-style
swimbait that is a resin version of the original cedar-wood Illude Narle Gerbil. The
Illude Gerbil is one of the rarest wood rat-style baits, with only a handful of
batches ever made. While it's easy to assume that the wood version is superior
in every way, there are many interesting attributes that the resin-based Zombie
offers, making it both effective and desirable.
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Follow the Leader : A Look Into JDM Options
Given the accessibility and affordability of so many nylon monofilament brands, you’d think finding one to rely upon for my leader game would be easy but for one specific application... |
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Built for Life and Wherever It Takes You: The Costa
Aransas
The Aransas frames have recently undergone a makeover, incorporating more
eco-friendly bio-resin materials. In this article, we will delve into the
Aransas frame design and examine the impact of these updated materials on the
frame's construction and overall user experience. |
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3 Decades of Green -
Shimano's 200 M Baitcaster
The refresh of the new Shimano Curado 200 M flew under the radar this
ICAST as the new Stradic FK took center stage. The new Curado iterates on a
proven formula, and while it does not stray too far from the previous version,
it does offer a number some improvements in design and feature-set for
mainstream anglers.
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Catching the BFS Wave with Phenix Rod's New Series
Until recently, most bass anglers turning to finesse techniques relied solely upon spinning gear to present their baits. However, over twenty years ago in Japan, manufacturers, third parties, and anglers were tuning their casting gear to do the same. Today, Bait Finesse Systems (BFS), are all the rage with large, US based manufacturers rolling out reels and rods to support the burgeoning approach. |
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Giving Bass "The Bird" - A New Crawler From Defiant
Defiant is best known for their soft bodied 210 and 247
trout profiled swimbaits which feature a line-through rigging system. The
company has been expanding their product range and last season introduced
a range of braided and fluorocarbon lines designed for big bait anglers. This
Summer the company launches their first hard-bodied swimbait, a full sized
topwater crawler called "The Bird." |
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Not Too Big, Not Too Small, with Versatility That Can Surprise and Confuse : CBC's Mini-Sonar
Born from the need for a consistent big bait
profile for colder water, the Sonar has a build resembling a swimmer, but it is
weighted to behave like a flutter spoon or blade bait - not a spinnerbait, but a
solid metal, fish profile, blade. |
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Abu Garcia Raises the Bar in Their Quest for Speed : Revo5 RKT
Abu Garcia continues to
challenge the speed barrier with their Revo Rocket platform, but with the
latest, Revo5 iteration featuring the same retrieve ratio as the previous
version, the Revo4, has physics and the laws of nature finally won out? Well,
what if we told you, despite identical gear ratios, the Revo5 is actually a hair
faster in inches per turn (IPT)? How is that possible? |
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A Next Level Swinghead from Gamakatsu
The swing head has seen a recent spike in popularity to the point many will
think it’s new and innovative. Now, almost every terminal tackle manufacturer
offers their own take. |
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"New" Slide Swimmer
Glidebait, Same Old Song?
There are countless discussions regarding the merits of the old
versus new versions of the bait including tuning strategies for both and even
methods to convert the floating, wake bait version, the Silent Killer, into a
Slide Swimmer...
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An Instant Classic? Daiwa Japan's '22 Silver Wolf SV TW PE Special
Once the leader in BFS enabled
reel platforms, in recent years, Daiwa Japan has seen competing manufacturers
match pace with their introductions. Still, few can match the manufacturer's
fervor for offering variants to existing platforms built to suit specific
techniques, applications, or game species. |
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Lew's
Goes Lighter with HyperMag and a BFS Oriented Custom Lite Reels
Lew's focused on lighter weight and offering more refined baitcasters this ICAST
with the launch of two new low profile reels, the HyperMag and Custom Lite
Shallow Spool. Both of these reels are designed with better ergonomics, lighter
overall weight, and the ability to cast lightweight baits with ease. |
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Baitcasting Young Guns:
Fresh New Low-Profile Reels
While the reel market is very competitive there has been a number of rod
manufacturers that have introduced their own branded reels, as well as a few
independent reel makers that are entering the fray. Let's take a look at some of
these baitcasting "young guns" that launched new low-profile reels at the recent
ICAST. |
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Hardbaits at ICAST, from
Swimbaits to BFS
This year at ICAST hardbait manufacturers seemed to focus on extremes, with a
number of notable introductions in full sized swimbaits and on the opposite end
of the spectrum a number of tiny lures designed for BFS. There were a few other
interesting conventional baits where manufacturers added patterns or additional
features. |
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The Worthy, Wild, and Just Plain Weird Soft Lures at ICAST 2023
This ICAST there was a wide range of soft-bodied lures introduced by American,
JDM, and even a few independent manufacturers just breaking onto the scene. This
year there was a lot to unpack in the soft lure category with a number of baits
that looked worthy of tying on immediately, some that had wild features, and
others that just looked plain weird. |
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Costa's Most Advanced Frames Yet. Hail the King Tide
Costa has established itself as a leader
in optics and has always done a great job catering to the unique needs and
challenges that anglers face. This ICAST, the brand celebrated their 40th
Anniversary with the launch of their most technical frame to date, the
feature-rich King Tide. |
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Shimano’s Stradic Moves Closer to Stella in Major Refresh
The Shimano Stradic has long been the workhorse reel in Shimano’s spinning
lineup and this season the series gets a major refresh with features that
debuted on the Stella FK. The new Stella FM is designed to be smoother, more
powerful, and offer enhanced durability over its predecessor, yet it remains the
same price. |
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Daiwa’s Tatula 100 Grows Fangs
Daiwa refreshes its top-selling Tatula Series reels
with a completely new form factor that places an emphasis on ergonomics.
However, the redesign is more than skin deep, as HYPERDRIVE features originally
reserved for the company’s higher-end reels now make their way into the new 100
size baitcaster. |
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KastKing Makes Big Moves with
the iReel One
KastKing, once
known primarily for their value reels, made big moves this ICAST with the launch
of their own smart reel. The iReel brings the Internet of Things (IoT) to US
anglers, with the capability of providing real-time data to anglers as well as a
plethora of statistics that anglers can use to identify patterns, make
adjustments, and adapt quickly to improve their on-the-water success. |
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Okuma
Goes Limited and JDM with Wave Off Urban Fishing and ITX CB Reels
Following the success of their previous limited-edition offerings including the
Chroma and GT spinning reels Okuma is now dedicating more resources to creating
unique reels that add to the experience of angling and fishing an Okuma product.
The Wave Off is both the name of the next reel and Okuma’s new “Urban Design
Team” which is responsible for creating these limited-edition offerings. |
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TackleTour ICAST 2023 Live Video Coverage
ICAST 2023 has arrived! After a strange last year we are
excited to be once again on the water and show floor here in Orlando. This year
in addition to our article coverage we will also be providing Instagram Quick
Hit Videos from the manufacturers and pro anglers.
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The Ultimate Poison –
Shimano and Jackall Bring JDM Poison Ultima Rods Stateside
Shimano and Jackall are answering the Enthusiast call by bringing the ultra-high
end Poison Ultima rods to U.S. shores stateside. These rods feature a number of
unique design attributes and performance characteristics that make it the
highest-end Shimano rod made available in the U.S. yet.
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Daiwa's Got Your Bass Covered with 16 New Pro
Inspired Application Specific Tatula AGS Rods
Daiwa will be introducing a number of new products at ICAST this year including
an update to their popular Tatula line of reels and rods. The Tatula Elite AGS
Bass Rod Series gets 16 new technique specific rods built with the latest SVF
Nano Plus Blanks and AGS guides with signature actions and powers favored by
their staff of Pro Anglers.
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Chop
It Like It's Hot. Baitsanity X TW New Chimera Shad
Baitsanity is launching their first shad profiled
swimbait, the Chimera. In addition to a number of unique design features, and
emphasis on chop-style action, one of the things that makes this new swimbait so
interesting is that it was co-developed with the Tackle Warehouse product team
from inception to mass production. |
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Berkley Culls First Batch Cullshad Swimbaits
Berkley is literally asking customers to "cull" all the first run
Cullshad swimbaits to address a production issue that is affecting swimming
action, and launches a process to replace the baits with properly manufactured
ones.
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Z-Man Ready to Launch Drew's Ultimate NED Finesse Rods at
ICAST
When it comes to fishing NED rigs the first bait
company that usually comes to mind is Z-Man, and with good reason. The TRD is a
globally renowned bait and this ICAST the company is launching their own
signature NED rods designed with Drew Reese, a finesse legend himself, and
co-creator of the TRD bait. |
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Drift Mode Enabled: Minn Kota Goes Brushless
with Upgraded QUEST Bow Trolling Motors
The arms race in the trolling motor wars has continued to heat up with
Minn Kota’s biggest lineup refresh in a decade and gets some interesting new
features including Drift Mode. The highest end Minn Kota bow motors have been
re-redesigned with a new dual brushless technology platform called QUEST
offering even more power and efficiency. |
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For the Culture – 7 Takeaways from Toxic Day 4
Toxic Day 4, or TD4, is the creation of Caesar
Chavez, the head honcho at Toxic Baits and is an event that brings together
custom lure makers and anglers from all over the country. Originally created as
a local swimbait show the annual event has grown and transformed into something
much greater...
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Fenwick is Back! A First Look at the Completely
Refreshed Lineup from Eagle to World Class
This coming ICAST Fenwick is looking to refresh of
their entire lineup, getting back to their legacy of innovation, and
re-introducing the brand to both loyal fans and a new generation of anglers. |
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