Tackle & Gear Reviews

Our first weekly video installment from ICAST 2019 showcases the winner of the "Best Saltwater Rod" of the season at this year’s international tackle event in Orlando, FL, St. Croix’s Avid Surf.

Coming this fall, the new Plano "Edge" storage trays provide a unique and easy way of storing terminal tackle, hard baits and lures, while maintaining compatibility with your other Plano storage systems.

In June, The Fisherman’s Mike Caruso joined Capt. Jimmy “The Greek” Koutalakis, and Chris Gatley and Fred Radcliff of PENN, Berkley and Abu Garcia aboard On Time Charters out of Cape Cod, MA. Their mission was to test the newest colors by Berkley Gulp.

Fish Lab Tackle is fast becoming known for high quality baits and their lifelike swimming actions. With the introduction of their Mad Eel line of soft plastic swimbaits at this summer’s ICAST Show, they have added to their growing reputation in a big way.

Judging by the response at this winter’s shows, where The Fisherman raffled off three pairs of Unsinkable Sunglasses at each…

Fuji has long been the standard by which all guides are judged. Their Gunsmoke finish has been around a long time and has become a trademark of high end bass rods due mostly to the premium quality SiC ring.

The new Plano Rustrictor Stowaway tackle boxes are one of those must-have, indispensable angler’s tools.

At ICAST 2019 the folks from Daiwa premiered a whole host of new products for 2019/2020, from new fluoro, to new jigging rods and spinning reels, and brand new upgrades and colors on the popular SP Minnows.

Daiwa’s LT Series of spinning reels includes a trio of models featuring new, lightweight Zaion housing.

Introduced late in 2018, Furuno has raised the bar on multi-function, stand-alone and black box VHF radios with the introduction of their FM4800 and FM4850 radiotelephones.

Back in the “good old days,” saltwater gamefish did not seem to be as leader shy as they are today, especially with the down cycles and added pressures on our coastal fisheries.

Just in case you didn’t know, Maxel Fishing Tackle has been manufacturing high quality big game trolling and deep water jigging reels since 2003. Their experience as sub-contractors producing aluminum parts for some of the biggest names in the fishing business has honed their manufacturing skills and expertise. They specialize in manufacturing quality reels for big game trolling and deep water jigging fishermen who take their sport very seriously and insist on the finest quality at reasonable costs.

Introduced at last summer’s ICAST Fishing Tackle Show, Okuma’s next-gen Azores Blue spinning reels were born and bred for heavy use in the unforgiving coastal saltwater environment.