Boating Accessories - Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc.
Product: Minn Kota Ultrex
What could be a better setup at the bow of a bassboat than a Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor and a Humminbird Mega Down Imaging sonar? How about an Ultrex with the Down Imaging transducer built right into the foot. Epic clarity, no extra wires. MSRP $2,449.99.
Boats and Watercraft - Jackson Kayak
Product: 360 Angler
Boats are kind of a side show at ICAST. If you really want a boat show, you go to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. But the paddle/pedal stuff you see at the ICAST shows is truly amazing. Consider this odd-looking but supremely functional platform from Jackson Kayak. You can pedal it or run it on electric power. Twin hulls with tons of internal storage. Tons of stability. MSRP $3,499.
Eyewear - Costa Sunglasses
Product: Baffin
So Costa kicked plastic. They even kicked some of it right into the recycler and popped out frames made from the carcasses of old commercial fishing nets. We love the idea. Baffin frame featured here. More, please. $219.99.
Footwear – Rivers Edge Products
Product: Fish Sandals
Leave it to fishermen to invent a sandal that looks like a bass (or a trout, or a redfish). Leave it to the fishing media and retailers to vote it best of footwear category. Careful wading around the lake or lagoon in those. Lotta toothy critters, and at $14.95, those sandals aren’t made of Kevlar.
Giftware – Number 6 Brands
Product: Cauldryn Coffee
You want it, you got it. Hot coffee, boiling water for cooking: Just dial up the temp you want and there you have it. Price $129.99.
Lifestyle Apparel – AFTCO/American Fishing Tackle Company
Product: Hexatron Performance Fleece
Sorry for the crummy photo—this is actually a ridiculously comfy performance fleece. ThermoHex dobby fleece provides some mid-layer warmth for those cool fall days (not that Florida will see any till November, but still). MSRP $79.
Technical Apparel – AFTCO/American Fishing Tackle Company
Product: Hydronaut Heavy-Duty Waterproof System
The name kind of says it all: 100-percent waterproof, 2-layer nylon shell with airflow hood, internal sleeve cuffs, adjustable straps, reinforced pliers pocket and knees. Basically battle-gear for whatever kind of weather you want to push yourself into this year. Find an extra bunk on the Time Bandit? Go for it. MSRP $478.
Fishing Accessory – YETI
Product: YETI Tundra Haul
Cold and rolled, it’s a YETI on wheels. How much Sherpa service could you buy at the MSRP of $399.99? We have no idea, but we want the Tundra. We just do.
Fly Fishing Accessory – YETI
Product: YETI Panga Backpack 28
For the guy who’s rolling the company’s Tundra Haul (see above), his mission is basically incomplete until he straps on this waterproof, rugged, comfortable backpack. Or, pack it solo on a cross-beach or deep Glades mission. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to haul. MSRP $299.99.
Fishing Line – PowerPro
Product: PowerPro SuperSlick V2 Brand
PowerPro re-engineered its SuperSlick with a new 8-end, dense weave construction with EBT coating. Smooth, silent, strong: Everything you want in an inshore braided line. MSRP $20.99 for 150-yard spool.
Kids’ Tackle – AnythingPossible
Product: Kid Casters DUDE PERFECT Fishing Kit & Casting Game
Okay, if you don’t know Dude Perfect, you’ve been living in a hole in the ground. And they’re about to drop a bobber (or some other projectile) on your head. To get kids revved up, the Anything Possible company rolled a Fishing Kit and Casting Game based on the popular YouTube stunt channel. It’s a 29-inch rod with 6-pound line, trick-shot plug and wooden game board. Bring it. $19.99.
Tackle Management – Tak Logic Lure Lock
Product: Lure Locker
The ElasTak liners grip lures and hooks to keep your gear organized and protected. The complete system here has five boxes with a locker to carry them. MSRP $19.99 for a single box, $99.99 for the Lure Locker Tackle System.
Terminal Tackle – Rapala
Product: VMC NEKO Skirt
Add weight and lively, leggy action by squeezing one of these babies into a soft bait for neko-style or wacky rigging. Two pack will sell for $2.99.
Freshwater Hard Lure – Westin
Product: Freddy the Frog
Durable ABS topwater frog with jointed legs, strong single hook, and hand-painted colors. We’re guessing Kermit was taken. MSRP $29.99.
Saltwater Hard Lure – 13 Fishing
Product: Octopi
13 Fishing does 13 Fishing. Distinctive, hard to pin down, useful like you’d never imagined. It’s a Florida company, too. They make stuff like weighted octopus baits in 2- to 12-ounce models with lifelike features and assist hooks. Grouper candy. MSRP $11.99.
Freshwater Soft Lure – LIVETARGET
Product: LIVETARGET Hollow Body Crawfish
Craws are epic bass baits and not just a northern deal, either. Loads of them in Florida lakes and backwaters. This mimic has a hollow body bait set on a jig, with ultra-realistic touches and snag-proof design. Can’t wait to try for snook in the creeks next spring; linesiders gobble crawfish like there’s no tomorrow. Bet you didn’t know. MSRP $9.99.
Saltwater Soft Lure — LIVETARGET
Product: LIVETARGET Fleeing Shrimp
Shrimp flee. They just do. Wouldn't you? LIVETARGET gets it, and built this anatomically correct lure with flippy, translucent legs and antennae that face the right way on the retrieve. It's also got scent built in. Three pack for $9.99.
Saltwater Soft Lure – LIVETARGET
Product: LIVETARGET Fleeing Shrimp
Shrimp flee. They just do. Wouldn’t you? LIVETARGET gets it, and built this anatomically correct lure with flippy, translucent legs and antennae that face the right way on the retrieve. It’s also got scent built in. Three pack for $9.99.
Fly Reel – SEiGLER Reels
Product: Seigler MF Fly Reel
Level drag! On a fly reel! That’s ambitious. Just under 11 ounces, this baby has what Seigler describes as a “massive clutch pack of carbon fiber and stainless steel”—equating to potential of 30 pounds of drag. Enough to slow a bluefin? Maybe, but will you be ready? MSRP $1,000.
Freshwater Reel – Shimano American Corporation
Product: Curado DC Baitcasting Reel
What else can you pack into a baitcasting reel? How about a microprocessor that watches your spool and puts on the brakes to prevent backlash—while maximizing casting distance. What’s next? GPS-target acquisition networking with your sonar and plotter? $249.99
Saltwater Reel – Shimano American Corporation
Product: Tekota 500 Levelwind Reel
One bad-ass levelwind for offshore casting of all types, from jigging to throwing mondo swimbaits. Brass gears, compact palming side plate, 240 yards of 50-pound PowerPro. $209.99.
Rod & Reel Combo – Lew’s Fishing
Product: Team Lew’s® Custom Black LFS Combo
Lew’s went over-the-top with this one: one-piece aluminum reel with graphite sideplates, bearing-supported pinion gear, Speed Dial line indicator; HM50 Pro Grade Carbon Blank with Nano Technology, Nanolite guide inserts and Vibration Transfer Ring. Price $279.99.
Fly Fishing Rod – St. Croix Rods
Product: Mojo Trout
One of the most under-stated, useful pieces in this year’s awards gallery, the St. Croix Mojo series speaks of quiet high mountain streams but might throw in a few gulps from fat Florida bluegills, too. Moderate-fast action for smooth casts and light tippets. Eleven models at MSRP $200.
Freshwater Rod – St. Croix Rods
Product: Legend Glass
Timeless look built to modern specs: S-glass blank built on IPC mandrel technology. Super light and moderate action, perfect for small-profile baits. MSRP $260.
Saltwater Rod – St. Croix Rods
Product: Mojo Yak
How about a purpose-built rod series for the kayak fishers? St. Croix knows how to check off the boxes: Premium graphite SCIII blanks with reduced tip weight, short butt, grippy Winn handle, dependable Fuji reel seat. MSRP $150.
Best of Show
Electronics – Garmin USA
Product: Garmin Panoptix LiveScope
Out on Lake Tibet, near the ICAST Show, Florida Sportsman got a live tutorial on this incredible fish-finding technology. We’ll have a story about it soon, but for now: This forward- and down-looking sonar shows high rez images of fish, bait and structure—and most importantly, it shows the live stuff moving. Fish comes into the sonar, you see it moving your way, or chasing your lure. Crazy cool. $1,499.
