At ICAST, We’ve Got You Covered
It says a lot about the growth of fishing and the fishing tackle industry that the first national fishing tackle show was held in the ballroom of Chicago’s Sherman House Hotel in 1958. And it wasn’t a very big ballroom. In fact, a few of the exhibitors simply rented nearby suites and showed their wares there. About 20 of the 30-some-odd companies that exhibited in that first show – then called the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association Fishing Tackle Trade Show – still exist, and their names resonate in the fishing world: Zebco, Bagley, Frabill, Plano, Berkley, PRADCO, South Bend, Wright & McGill and Yakima Bait Company among them.
How times have changed. This year, when what is now called the ICAST Show opens in Orlando Wednesday morning, July 16, the product of 480 companies will be on display in a show that encompasses 500,000 square feet of the Orange County Convention Center. More than 9,000 attendees, including exhibitors, have pre-registered for the three-day show. Almost 3,000 tackle buyers – everybody from mom-and-pop shops to the big-box stores – are on their way to ICAST, along with 820 media representatives.
Of that latter group, a sizeable number of FLW writers, photographers and videographers will be on hand to preview the 2015 fishing tackle that will be available beginning this fall. Rods, reels, lures, tackle storage systems, electronics, mechanical anchors, fishing clothes, sunglasses – if it has anything to do with fishing, we’ll cover it with timely, informative reports from the floor of ICAST.
Here’s what you’ll see:
Video Reports from the Floor
Our team of videographers includes Jason Harper and Billy Cannon, Rob Newell and Noelle Bonard. They’ll be walking the floor and visiting the booths of FLW sponsors and other booths manned by some of FLW’s top pros: 2014 Angler of the Year Andy Morgan and defending Forrest Wood Cup champ Randall Tharp among them. You’ll see and hear about exciting new products that will help you catch more fish, or at least make your time spent on the water more enjoyable.
New Product Reviews
Our writers, including Kyle Wood, Jeff Samsel, David Brown and Keith Jackson, likewise will be reviewing new products in various tackle and accessory categories and, with the help of our editors and creative staff, will be posting articles and photos throughout the show. And photographer Shane Durrance’s updated photo galleries from the floor will also play a big part in our dedicated ICAST coverage.
What are the latest, greatest lures and technique-specific trends coming down the pike? Stay tuned beginning next week to find out.
FLW Live – 2015 Tour Location Reveal
The FLW booth will be a hub of activity as well. We’ll be live-streaming interviews with pros and some of the movers and shakers in our bass-fishing community. Also, everyone is waiting for the big news from FLW, the Thursday-evening announcement of where our tournament sites are going to be in 2015. The press conference, set for 4 p.m. ET, is also going to be streamed live, and you can be sure that plenty of FLW pros will be there to hear the news and give their reactions.
It all begins Wednesday morning, right here on FLWoutdoors.com.