ICAST 2024 is officially in the book. For those of you who are wondering what the acronym ICAST stands for, it means International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. The event takes place once a year for a string of several days, and it is what I would like to call a marathon. This year, I was joined by fellow editors Dave Anderson from New England and Jim Hutchinson from New Jersey. Media Coordinator Jenni Ackerman came along for her first ICAST ever, and some other team members, John Debona from Jersey sales and Dale Nicholson from New England sales, also came out for the annual pilgrimage to Orlando. Fisherman publisher/owner Mike Caruso also came for what would be his 33rd ICAST event!
It starts out with the demo day on the pond in front of the convention center, where tackle manufacturers let attendees test out some of the newest rods, reels, lures, small watercraft, etc. While I enjoy this hands-on event of the show, the Florida heat is unforgiving, no matter how you look at it, and by the end of this first day, I feel like I’m going to melt into the pond itself. Thankfully, the folks that set up have the fans and mist machines on full blast at most of the tented booths, providing a little bit of relief from the heat and sun.
The editorial team then heads inside for various press meetings and then to the new product showcase, where manufacturers put up the latest and greatest in countless categories to try and win the Best in Category award. We went through the showing, voting on what we thought was most innovative in all categories. Some of the things we saw were also covered by the team through video coverage and we’ll excited to share it with all of you in the proceeding weeks/months.
The next three days consisted of a marathon of meetings, video coverage, and discovering more of the best that the fishing industry has to offer. I was impressed by several new reels coming out in the near future. Some super light stuff is in the pipeline for those light tackle enthusiasts, while some heavier-end reels will be released soon for those seeking a bit more substance. More than one manufacturer will be coming out with new electric reel models for those deep-drop fishermen. Of course, with the release of new reels, there was a slew of different types of rods that caught my eye. A lot that would cater towards the Northeast jig fishermen – think slow pitch and standard jigging. Some stuff on the heavier end also caught my eye.
For the lure fisherman, I was able to get a look at some new hard-body swimbaits and soft baits that will gain interest in just about any striped bass. You should be able to have a sneak peek at these, too, in the coming months through video content on our channels.
ICAST ’24 was a marathon event like all of the ones before it. Air travel is always a possible nightmare on the way home, and in the past, it’s been a real one! But at the end of it, when I step out of the airport back home, I can’t help but think that I’m looking forward to the next one a little less than a year from now.
For those of you interested in seeing what we saw at the event, remember to be subscribed to our enews letter for twice a week video updates from now up until probably next ICAST event. You can also find all of the released videos on our website or YouTube channel as well.
