ICAST is the vehicle for participating manufacturers to release news and information regarding planned products for the upcoming year. Many of the representatives of these manufacturers are also affiliated with other companies who have something in the works but weren’t quite ready in time to participate in the big event.

Many of these individuals have befriended us and can’t wait to see us at this or any other show so that they can give us a peak at what’s in the works. 90% of these peaks are off the record so we can’t share them with all of you until it is safe for the manufacturer in question to release said information.

This past year, we got a peak at a couple of items that we are free to share…

Coming soon from Bass Patrol - a swiveling hook jighead

This head will be released in multiple colors

Progress is quick with this new Bass Patrol offering. Just days before ICAST, we received a spy-cam image of the prototype for this jighead – unfinished and with a generic brand hook. At ICAST we were shown these intricate, finished colors and the heads featured what looked to be hooks by Gamakatsu. The last detail is still under negotiations, but that’s how quickly things are progressing. There’s no official release date but at this rate, we expect to see this product very soon on tackle store shelves and pegboards…. stay tuned.

For this next item, all we are allowed to share is the photo… no explanation of what to expect, and no explanation of when. Just look and develop your own conclusions:

what makes this product exciting? we know, but we can't tell you.

Stay tuned as we sift through more photos in an effort to bring you the unofficial word from this year’s ICAST.

TackleTour is in full ICAST mode as we are set to depart in just four short days to Las Vegas where we’ll be be pounding the showroom floor and our keyboards enroute to bringing you the best coverage we possibly can. Even with North America’s biggest tackle show of the year less than a week away, product continues to appear at TT headquarters as manufacturers compete for our time and attention.

Less than a month ago, we brought you our review of Paycheck Bait’s versatile Punch Skirt and just this morning, we received a box of new product from this aggressive young company, but are any of these items as exciting as their debut product?

Repo Man: It’s no secret that PayCheck Baits has garnered the rights to most all of the former Reaction Innovations non-soft bait products. First it was the flipping hook, now it’s the topwater bait. That’s right, the Vixen is back, but it’s undergone a gender change and is now known as the Repo Man. Packed with VMC hooks and available in six different colors, the Repo Man is shipping to retailers now with an MSRP of $16.99.

Baby Blue

Dead Man Walking

Blow Up

Sweaty Betty

Bone Crusher

Drag Stripper

Punch Stop: Finally, the punch stops are ready. These stops are larger than those Bub Tosh showed us during our on the water introduction to his product last July, and they appear significant enough to where you will not need to double stop your tungsten weight. If it ever warms up enough here in Northern California, we’ll be sure to verify, but it looks like the production version of the Punch Stop can handle stopping duties solo. The Punch Stop is shipping to stores immediately and retails for $3.99 per pack of 10 individual stops.

The Punch Stops Are Ready

And will retail for 3.99 per pack

Rubber Skirts: The answer to our first question of whether or not there was anything in the box as exciting as their debut product can be answered with a “yes!”. Although technically this last item is merely an enhancement of the original Punch Skirt, the fact that the Punch Skirt is now available in living rubber is pretty exciting. There are two colors, Nasty Nate (black), and Dirty Money (brown) and right out of the package, these skirts flare much more actively than their silicone counterparts -- a prelude to the same added bulk and pulsing action jigs made out of this same material have over the same silicone skirt counterparts. The new Round Rubber Punch Skirts are also shipping to stores now and will sell for $3.99 per two pack.

Rubber Punch Skirts!

These are a lot livelier than the silicone version

And just a tad larger too

But hang on, there is “One” more bait coming… Bub promises to show us this bait at ICAST. In fact, when we announced our “Search For One” theme this year, Bub must have been paying attention because this new bait is appropriately named “The One”. Any guesses as to what it might be? Well, if you paid attention to last year’s preview, you’ll remember there was one prototype bait Zander was throwing and got mugged with. Do you remember? Well, here’s a reminder:

Since the introduction of the Maxx-Rev Hard Body Frog lure in 2007, anglers from all walks of life have looked to Revere Maxx-Fishing, LLC, for the latest in innovative designs and commitment to quality to build the best hard body frog lures on the market. With the introduction of the Maxx-Rev lure, it gave anglers a new way to fish. And the rest of the Revere Maxx-Fishing line-up fell in place.

2009 gave way to the Maxx-Pop Hard Body Frog Surface Popper with the action of a struggling frog attempting to make its way to shore. Twitch the Popper and it projects sound waves through the water like a frog’s feet striking the surface. The Rex-Rip Hard Body Weedless sinking frog can be fished at any depth of the water column for those suspending fish or can just be dragged across the bottom to simulate the action of an actual frog digging.

Now for 2010, Revere Maxx-Fishing brings an amazing line-up to the angler with six of the most innovative Hard Body Frog lures:
First, the Rock Star Frog with a buzz bait-sounding prop.
Second, the Rex-Rip FW Hard Body Floating Weedless with the same 4/0 independent hooks for maximum penetration like the sinking model.
Third, the Maxx-Pop JP, a version of the original Popper but with jointed legs to guide it though the water.
Fourth, the Maxx-Rev DT, a diving frog that while trolling can reach 24-28-feet under the water.
Fifth, the Fat-Maxx Prop with a fatter body which means BIGGER fish.
Sixth, the Fat-Maxx Tri Prop, a Hard Body Frog with a triple propeller with the most action you’ll ever see on top of the water.
These frogs are truly the most realistic frog lures on the market with a price that any angler can afford.

Naturally we have a review already in the works on the new Velvick 3D by Rago Baits, but with the buzz surrounding Velvick’s Golden State Shootout Win on Clear Lake yesterday, I thought I’d put up some sneak peak looks at this bait designed especially for Clear Lake by both Jerry Rago and Byron Velvick. They’ve been at this for several years and finally all their hard work paid off. This bait features a line through design with an exposed treble, but when rigged correctly is virtually weedless. Here’s a closer look at the bait together with a closer look of the very bait Velvick was throwing during the tournament.

Looks like the swimbait revolution just received some serious reinforcements as it does every year when a big organization like BASSMASTERS comes out west. Who said swimbaits have to be a trout? Match the hatch with large baitfish in your area and you could very well experience some of the same success as Byron Velvick.

Better yet, want to get your hands on some? Try here:

MonsterFishing Tackle

and here:

TackleWarehouse

At about 4:15pm Pacific Daylight Time, a little over six hours ago, what most people anywhere near Clear Lake already knew became official: Byron Velvick had won the 2010 Golden State Shootout on Clear Lake. The California Native brought the trophy home in exciting wire-to-wire fashion. Of course, what our readers care about most may not necessarily be the fact that Velvick took home the prize, but rather, what new and yet to be released tackle was he using?

Already reported last night on TackleTour.com was the bait Velvick was using to build on his lead, the brand new Rago BV (Byron Velvick) 3D hitch bait designed specifically for Clear Lake by Velvick and Jerry Rago. In fact, we previewed this bait back in October of 2009: http://www.tackletour.com/previewragobassjam.html

Today, we caught up with Velvick after he signed his last autograph and the crowds had cleared for an up close look at his new rods, the Duckett Fishing Micro Magic sticks. Here now is an exclusive first peak at what’s brewing over at Duckett Fishing!

Introducing Duckett Fishing's Micro Magic Sticks

Each stick will feature an exposed blank reel seat, no foregrip, and split rear grip

Speculation was for a split reel seat similar to Duckett's former rod sponsor, e21, but instead, Duckett's new sticks will feature a standard, exposed blank seat

Cork is the material of choice for the split rear grip

Custom accent rings adorn the rod as well

But of course the big news comes in a very small package ...

Micro Guides

Congratulations Byron Velvick on an incredible job swinging for the fences and delivering!

The talk of the weigh-in by all the pros was the swimbait bite, but what will interest our readers the most is what we just showed you, Velvick’s new magic wand built by Boyd Duckett and Ken Whiting, founders of Duckett Fishing. He may not have been using these sticks exclusively, afterall, the new Micro Magic swimbait sticks are still in prototype stages, but Velvick tells us the rods are very close to completion.

Earlier this week when I finished the review of the Strike Pro Flex Crawfish this bait started up the common question “is that bait designed to catch fish or fishermen?” The product seemed to ooze the latter and yet I was proven wrong, and after putting in the proper amount of time into the product was able to catch fish using a variety of techniques on local bodies of water with resident crawfish. Will I fish it over a traditional jig? No, but I also can’t deny that in the hands of an angler willing to put in the time into the product it does work.

There are the select few products that may have completely repulsed mainstream anglers only to become popular after the “secret” got out, but for the most part products need enough initial adoption (or the backing of a big time pro) to become popular enough to become hot sellers. Take swimbaits for example. In the early days the pioneers carved these big ungainly lures out of wood and while most anglers rejected them early on they successfully spawned one of the biggest (and most often copied) segments of the bait industry. Nowadays there are countless companies out there saying they have a unique swimbait that hasn’t been seen before. Sure they do.

In an industry now dominated by giants it is getting harder for anglers to sift through all the marketing and get to the real heart of the question…. Will this product really help me catch fish? Is it a big turnoff for a product to be perceived as one that is designed to catch fishermen? Yes. Do anglers buy into fancy new products that spout off wild claims that promise pro-like performance in bag or box? Yes, even the best anglers do. It is really hard not to be skeptical when considering what features or claims are thrown into a product to garner attention from consumers but I think the good product is somewhere in the middle. It definitely must help anglers catch fish but it also should sport features that make it a product that anglers will enjoy fishing. The successful product is one that does a lot of fish catching and a little fishermen catching too, not only will it help you land more fish but it also makes realistic claims and delivers upon them. In this way more anglers will be motivated to try a product and discover just how good it really is, as the real test for any piece of tackle is how well it holds up to claims in the hands of the entire angling community not what is printed on the box or painted onto a lure.

So the next time you think “does it catch fish or fishermen?” The answer might just be “both.”

Here are the final prototypes of the new Spro BBZ-1 micro 2.5. Weighing in at a whopping 6 grams (1/4 oz) this heavyweight is sure to knock out every fish that swims. From panfish to trout in the early spring; to those hard to get monster bass and stripers that roam the waters in late fall targeting the smallest baitfish that swim. This little gem is the newest addition to the BBZ-1 line up. Once again Spro has taken fishing to the next level. Production has started and Spro will be ready by July, at ICAST 2010.

YUM Soft Plastics announces the introduction of F2, independently tested to be 30 percent more effective than the leading attractant. Six bait styles are infused with this powerful scent, and unlike other attractant-injected baits, YUM F2 retains its suppleness and “swimability.” They also don’t dry into hard, wrinkled and useless shrivels when left out of the package.

Attract. Enrage. Engage. F2, or Ferocity Squared, is a highly concentrated formula clinically tested by the Mississippi State University under the strictest scientific conditions. The result is documented proof that bass prefer YUM F2 by 30 percent. Additional advantages include its ability to be infused in traditional soft plastics in any shape, long-lasting effectiveness and continuous dispersal of scent.

YUM F2 is initially available in four new bait styles and two existing YUM baits. The new baits include the Wooly Bullee, a flippin’ style bait; the Mighty Bug, a six-legged creature bait in three sizes; the Sallee-mander, a 6-inch swimming lizard; and the Shakealicious Worm, a 6-inch shaky head worm with an undulating skirt at the head. YUM Dingers and Money Craws also have been infused with F2.

YUM F2 just took over the top spot in bass attractants. It’s documented. It’s been proven in the strictest clinical scientific testing. Bass prefer F2. It’s the most-effective attractant on the market. Look for F2 taking over your local tackle shop or at www.lurenet.com.

The Sebile Flatt Shad is vibrating up a storm of activity in both the fresh and saltwater fishing worlds. Word of their effectiveness for tournament and recreational anglers around the globe has started a feeding frenzy of its own.

Among recent additions to the Flatt Shad lipless bait lineup are the new, extra-heavy sinking version of the popular all-around-size model 66, and two brand new and bigger sizes, models 96 and 124.

The Flatt Shad model 66 XH-SK, measuring just under 3 inches, weighs in at 3/4 ounce, and that’s a full quarter-ounce more than its 1/2-ounce brother, the 66 SK (sinking). It casts like a rocket, runs perfectly true and stays upright on the fall.

New Flatt Shad model 96 is a 4-inch bait that comes in both sinking (SK) and extra-heavy sinking (XH-SK) versions. The SK version weighs 1-3/8 ounces and the XH-SK model weighs 2-1/8 ounces.

The largest of the Flatt Shads, model 124, is 5 inches in overall length. It, too, comes in the sinking (SK) version, weighing 2-1/2 ounces, and the extra-heaving sinking (XH-SK) model that weighs-in at 3-3/4 ounces.

All Flatt Shad models have a high-backed shape just like the favorite shad baitfish found in many waters, and their rounded profile produces excited, hyperactive movements for a unique, wicked swimming action. They can be worked horizontally with a direct retrieve, vertically jigged, or cast long distances in open water. The Flatt Shad’s design also allows them to come through cover better than other rattling, vibrating-style lures of this type.

The newest Flatt Shads come in a variety of Sebile color options including Evidence, Blood Red and the innovative new InSight 3D saltwater colors, depending on models. Visit SebileUSA.com.

New from Jewel Bait Company, The Rock is the perfect cross between a traditional worm sinker and the popular football jig, getting the very best traits of both items. It has a hole entirely through it just like any slip sinker does, but its football shape makes it look so different. And different it is.

The Rock has an angled hole and specialized surfaces to allow for two different rigging options. Run the line through the sinker in the direction that puts the weight’s flat surface on the underside and The Rock will roll and tumble over rocks and other obstacles like nothing else can.

Reverse the line direction so the sinker’s “shovel” side faces forward and The Rock stirs up the bottom when fishing irregular areas of sand, clay, pea gravel, etc. The versatility means that the Rock Rig is the ideal single solution for both Texas rigging and Carolina rigging.

“Who would have ever imagined that something as simple as a fishing sinker was going to benefit from computer-design technology using the principles of physics and mathematical calculations,” said Gayle Julian, Jewel founder and president. “The Rock still has the same ol’ job of getting a bait down to structure, but once there it truly becomes a fishing tool for today’s modern anglers.”

The Rock is available in 1/2 and 3/4 ounce sizes and is unpainted.  The 1/2-ounce size is sold four per pack, and the 3/4 ounce comes three per package. Visit JewelBait.com.

The new Gene Larew® Biffle Bug, in the Tommy Biffle Signature Series, is a combination stride or glide bait in a compact 4.25″ design. The body is slim yet wide, and covered with concentric “ridges” spaced evenly from its nose to where the tail starts. The first 3/4-inch of its 3-inch body length is solid for hook support, while the rest of it is hollow like a tube, borrowing a feature from the Biffle-O (patent pending) family.

The body cavity is oval to better hold a round rattle in place simply through natural compression. It works with most rattle styles and makes for an extra-loud sound chamber. Compressed foam and/or scent can also be added to the bug’s cavity.

The body has tentacles on each side, plus hyperactive swimming legs. These legs come from the Biffle-O Lizard and come alive with the slightest movement. Equally unique is the Biffle Bug’s tail. It is a thin, flexible tail configuration that is convex on the backside and cupped underneath. By design, the tail is wide at its base and tapers slowly over its 2 1/4-inch tail length to a rounded tip. The tail is always “breathing,” even at rest, and offers both form and function to every fishing technique imaginable.

With legs on, the Biffle Bug is the perfect swimming bait. It can be fished alone, used on a jighead, or serve as a trailer. It is also an excellent Carolina-rig bait, especially when a small piece of foam flotation is inserted into its body cavity.

Pinch the legs off and the Biffle Bug becomes the perfect glide bait. The cupped tail provides unmatched action to the lure’s descent. Biffle Bugs are packaged eight per resealable pack. Visit GeneLarewLures.com.

Hank Parker and Plano have enjoyed a relationship together for over 20 years. When the company asked the popular television show fishing host to design an organization system that takes all the things he wanted on the boat, and in a bag  … the end result is the FTO Elite Hank Parker Signature Series tackle bag.

The Hank Parker bags are feature rich. Rubberized non-slip bases keep the bag dry and prevent sliding around on the boat. Three protective structured pockets were designed to hold sunglasses, cell phones and cameras. There’s even a special pocket for lip balm for those long days in the sun, a personal request from Parker himself. Integrated tool and towel holders on either end keep the most often needed supplies on standby for quick and easy access. Additionally there is a rear zippered compartment with large mesh pockets inside that are perfect for holding packages of softbaits.

The 4826 Hank Parker Signature Series tackle bag includes four 3600 series StowAway® utility boxes and has an overall measurement of 18″L x 13″W x 11″H.

The 4827 Hank Parker Signature Series tackle bag includes four 3700 series StowAway utility boxes and measures 20″L x 14″W x 11.5″H.

The full-figured Sebile Crankster has been making lots of noise of late, but as an old rock song says best, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Joining the round-bellied Crankster family is a brand new SR “Shallow Runner” design represented by two models, SR 50 and SR 65. The numerical designations refer to lengths in millimeters, which means the two baits measure approximately 2 inches and 2.5 inches, respectively. Ironically, and amazingly, that’s also about how deep the two baits run, thus the Shallow Runner designation.

The Crankster SR can be waked on top, “bulged” just under the surface, or made to run 3-5 inches below just by the angler holding the rod tip up, down or somewhere in between. That means these shallow runners are perfect for swimming over the top of grass with the rod held high and then dropping the tip to fish the pockets and holes around the patches.

The Crankster SR 50 and SR 65 are available in six colorful finishes: Sea Chrome, Bass, Light Violet, Holo Gold/Black, Natural Mullet and Hot Yellow/Chartreuse. Visit Sebile.com.

The Gene Larew HooDaddy has found its way back into the top spot in tackleboxes across the country, mostly because scores of anglers are rediscovering the bait as one of the best big bass baits around. With the re-found popularity come six new colors to both the 6″ HooDaddy and the 4.5″ HooDaddy Jr.

All of the new colors are two-color laminates, including blackberry/sapphire, green pumpkin/Christmas tree, green pumpkin candy, dark watermelon candy, smoke neon/pumpkin pepper neon and dark watermelon neon/watermelon neon. The “neon” designation means the color includes red metalflake.

Both HooDaddy sizes feature concentric rings throughout their body lengths. The rings not only give the baits action and “noise” when making friction contact with underwater obstacles, they also boost the fish-hooking percentage. That’s because the hook’s point is brought all the way through the body and retained in the rings instead of the body, keeping it weedless but with less plastic to penetrate on a strike. All 35 colors of HooDaddys are manufactured in the company’s Tulsa, Okla. injection molding facility. Visit GeneLarewLures.com.

Plano’s SoftSider product line offers the widest selection of tackle bags available.  SoftSider tackle bags are designed to serve a wide range, from the beginner to the seasoned angler.

The 4472 Open Top SoftSider tackle bag’s sleek minimalistic design allows for quick and easy access to your tackle.  Included are four StowAway® utility boxes allowing you to organize and carry all your tackle.  A molded waterproof base protects the bag from early morning dew or water from the floor of the boat while a rain shield built into a back pocket that covers the entire bag and protects the contents from rain and overspray.  Additional storage is provided by the mesh pockets on either end of the back, the two zippered pockets on the front and the large full-length zippered pocket along the back.

The 4472 Open Top SoftSiderincludes four 3700 series StowAway utility boxes.  The 4472 Open Top SoftSidermeasures 14.5″L x 9.5″W x 8.5″H. VisitPlanoMolding.com.

The Sebile Spin Shad was named “Best New Hard Lure” of ICAST 2009. The new bait is the ultimate tail spinner, featuring heavy metal alloy Bismuth inside a molded baitfish-shaped body with intricate attention to detail. On the tail end and affixed to an inline swivel is the unique Sebile Shad Blade. The Shad Blade is a lure in itself, with a wide front, narrow tail and slightly cupped backside to allow it to turn at any retrieve speed from ultra slow to super fast.

The Spin Shad’s main treble hook is strategically positioned behind the widest part of the bait’s belly to benefit from the body’s protective deflection in and around cover. It can be made even more snagless by clipping the lowest hook from the treble, leaving the other two pointing upward and being even more protected by the body. The bait’s perfect balance and split ring positioning affords vibration and flash on the fall and during retrieve. It is available in 3/4 ounce and 1 1/4 ounce sizes. Visit SebileUSA.com.

Where’s the beef? In the Larew® 12″ El Salto Worm
The Gene Larew El Salto Grande 12-inch worm has been beefed up in response to anglers’ wishes and the new diameter is definitely A+ worthy. Its diameter has been increased by about 15 percent and the beefed-up body is a good look to go along with its long and fleshy tail, which remained unchanged.

The El Salto Grande is available in 13 colors, many unique to the soft plastics category, including Montezuma’s Revenge, Margarita on the Rocks, and Siesta Buster. True to its Mexican-namesake heritage, the big worm has been hot for big bass over the last two weeks on the Mexico-Texas border lake – Lake Falcon. Texas guide Dannie Golden caught two fish around the 11-pound mark in recent days.

For more information about El Salto Grande and all Larew products, visitGeneLarewLures.com.

The brand new Jewel Swim Gem swimbait jighead eliminates several problems common when rigging and fishing soft swimbaits. Its unique boomerang-shaped head envelops the bait’s nose to make head and bait come together as one in a realistic looking, streamlined baitfish appearance.

The lower half of the boomerang is slightly longer than the top and distributes the weight to under the swimbait’s nose.  Doing so keeps the bait upright on the fall with the hook always properly positioned, while also providing stability so the bait doesn’t roll during retrieve.

The upper half of the head provides weight and balance. Together the top and bottom form the ultimate swimbait head, meaning that Swim Gem-rigged lures can be slow rolled or burned, and even utilized as effective bed fishing lures. Also unique is Jewel’s proprietary “J Lock” bait keeper system.  The J Lock securely holds soft plastic in place by piercing through the top of the swimbait and then clipping onto the hook’s shank.  This prevents the nose of the swimbait from being torn after several bites and does not interfere with hook setting.  A tough powder coat paint finish keeps the head looking good for catch after catch. Visit JewelBait.com.

Product is flying in faster than we can keep track here at TT HQ. 2010 is going to be a very busy year. Some exciting product we recently received hails from overseas and the prestigious manufacturer, Evergreen International. Here’s a pictorial sneak peak at what we have in our queue for the coming year.

After getting word from a friend that he was headed to a fishing expo in Central France I asked if he could spare a few pics for the tog. He obliged and sent some over…From the looks of things bigger baits are making their rounds for the multi species anglers in France.  Skeet Reese was in attendance while  Patrick Sebile was here in the states…go figure. My friends magazine did an interview with Skeet…we’ll see about squeezin’ him for that later. You guys can check his mag out at www.predators-fishing.com for some monster freshwater fish.

Thanks for the pics Renaud!