Our 5 Favorites From Day 1 - Major League Fishing

Our 5 Favorites From Day 1

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ICAST - Hard Bait - Strike King KVD 8.0 – Rumors swirled about the crankbait that Greg Hackney used to win the Pickwick Lake Tour event this season, and after the tournament he finally revealed it to be the Strike King KVD 8.0 square-bill crankbait, which the fishing public gets to see for the first time at ICAST this week. The lure weighs 1 1/2 ounces, is 5 inches long and runs 7 feet deep. $7.99 StrikeKing.com Photo by D.W. Reed II. Angler: Greg Hackney.
July 16, 2014 • the editors • Archives

The first day of any ICAST show is a marathon for members of the outdoor media who prowl the floor in search of the hottest new fishing products. No one can see it all in one day; there’s simply too much out there. But based on what FLW’s team of reporters uncovered during its first day on the floor, we put together our list of the top five new products.

Stay tuned on day two for more great new gear, and another top-five list.

1. Strike King KVD 8.0 – This jumbo square-bill crankbait was secretly used by Greg Hackney to win the Walmart FLW Tour event on Pickwick Lake, and it has finally been released to the fishing world on the floor at ICAST. The 8.0 weighs 1 1/2 ounces and is 5 inches long, but best of all is its 7-foot running depth, which allows it to get deeper than most other square-bills on the market. It’ll be a key lure during summer tournaments when gizzard shad spawn on main-lake flats and bars, where crashing and clanging through mussel beds can draw strikes from bass keying on big baitfish. Check it out at StrikeKing.com.

2. Team Lew’s Lite LFS – Lighter and lighter is the annual trend in rods and reels, and the new Team Lew’s Lite LFS is the newest in the ultra-lightweight arena. Thanks to EVA foam knobs, a carbon fiber handle and carbon fiber side plate, the Lite LFS weighs a feathery 5.7 ounces. The result is reduced user fatigue, especially with lures that require heavy angler-applied action, such as jerkbaits and topwaters. See more at Lews.com.

3. Kahara KJ Crank – Is it a crankbait or a frog? Truthfully, it’s both. The Kahara KJ Crank has a hollow soft-plastic body like a frog, and features the same double hooks as most hollow frogs, but a square plastic diving lip gives it a wobbling crankbait-like action that allows you to take it to deeper depths and crash and burn through just about any type of cover. No grass, wood or other fish-holding target is off limits to the KJ Crank. See more info at OptimumBaits.com.

ICAST - Rods - Shimano Poison Adrena - Created with collective input from bass experts at Shimano and Jackall, Poison Adrena rods feature Spiral X construction of the blank, with Shimano Infinity Carbon Tape rolled inside and out. The C14 material reel seat and carbon handle create exceptional sensitivity, helping you feel everything at the other end of the line. The series includes 10 casting rods and two spinning rods. $399 to $429 Fish.Shimano.com

4. Shimano Poison Adrena – Every season, rod companies roll out some cool new blank technology or material, but few have done what Shimano accomplished with the new Poison Adrena. Rather than build a blank and support it from the outside only, Shimano figured out how to apply its Infinity Carbon Tape to the blank both inside and out. A unique carbon reel seat and handle connect with the rod to transmit every tick, bump and bite from the line to the hand, so you won’t miss anything. Visit Fish.Shimano.com for more.

ICAST - Electronics - iON CamoCAM - The new iON CamoCAM is both cool looking and functional. It packs all the regular features of an iON, like being waterproof without a case, but is skinned with Realtree XTRA camouflage and includes a special mount to easily affix the camera to a gun barrel or net handle. The CamoCAM will be available this fall at Walmart and on Walmart.com. 5. iON CamoCAM – When fall rolls around and you think about putting down your rods and picking up a bow or shotgun, you can now take your iON with you and know that it’ll blend right in with all your other cool camo gear. The iON CamoCAM has the same waterproof body as the standard iONs, but it’s wrapped with Realtree XTRA camouflage. A cool new mounting attachment allows you to clamp the CamoCAM to a rod or gun barrel for capturing even better point-of-view action. See it at iONCamera.com.

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