kjackson

"Live it up"--I like that. Fingers are almost down the bone, and I had an editor this morning tell me he'd messed up, and he needed his piece no later than tomorrow. J-Doc is afraid I will move down here and then make him squirm with fish pix. Nathan--There are three new body styles for walleyes from SK-- a Shad Rap-style, one more like the Cordell Wally Diver and then one like a deep-diving Reef Runner. Then, too, there are "new" walleye colors in the KVD jerk bait and the Series 5 crank bait. Okuma info will have to wait. I have a deadline to meet.

I'll have to check on that, Scott. It will be a bit later. Strike King has come out with a series of walleye crank baits-- a shad bait (also in the bass line) that took five years to develop, a Reef Runner/Tail Dancer bait and a couple of others. More later... internet here is kind of sketchy, and I'm in the middle of something that needs to be done.

I guess it depends on the size of the stripers and how far you're willing to chase one... think standard bait caster. and you've got the size right.

Saw this swim bait in action in the tank, and it swims a lot like the real thing. It has an internal mesh to keep it from breaking. The good thing, besides a price that is lower than some of the stuff coming out of California, is that it's offered in two smaller sizes--down to six or seven inches. Another item worth mentioning is a new Okuma line counter that is low profile and on the small side. Another plus is that it also is offered in left-hand crank. It should be perfect for trolling here for everything but stripers.

First, yeah it is an October delivery on the Flicker Minnow. And, yes, I did point out that it might be a burn for the company. The guy did kind of a shrug with an "Oh, well," look. I think they might figure that it is such a good product that the burn will be insignificant. Dunno, y'know. Since Tom Bedell sold the company, though, it has been doing some strange stuff. Often enough that's because you get managers in who aren't fishermen. On the itchy finger side-- while I didn't walk the show beyond what I needed to, there are some really sweet things that had me almost reaching for my Amex card. Edge Rods, designed by Gary Loomis, may well be the best rods to date. They seem incredibly sensitive and are very, very light. There is a G.Loomis rod designed for "twitching" jigs for coho salmon that I will have. It will be a dynamite rod for walleyes and bass. Then there was a rotomolded skiff--17 feet long, weighs in at 480 pounds and floats with a moderate load in three inches of water. Also Nucanoe's Frontier a menage-a-trois between a canoe, kayak and rowboat. And even for those on a budget-- the Berkley rods (in two new series) are what G.Loomis rods were 10 years ago, and at paper-route prices. Yakima Bait has the 3.0 Mag Lip coming out for those who like to troll...and there are a ton of wobble jigs and fun lures. It was a mid-year introduction, but the Northland Crawler Hauler will be a must-have. There is a video on youtube that shows it in action. And for slow-death fans, there is a new Mustad hook designed to be used with plastics. I'm thinking I might have a review on that next week. It would have been a treat to simply walk the floor without an agenda.

Here's an addendum to the Flicker Minnow-- talked to one of the Berkley guys, and he said that shipping won't be until October when they can fill 80% of the pre-orders. He said they could ship 40% in June, but the plan is to wait until they can fill 80. And here's a correction to what has been going on elsewhere-- Lindy announced a couple of months ago that it was introducing three "new" crankbaits--rebadged lures from other PRADCO companies with new finishes. A couple of days before the show, the cancelled the intro.

FWIW-- This is part of the Yearling series of baits--very similar to what was introduced last year but with the images the size of young-of-the-year hatch. There is the topwater walker, a popper, square bill, mid-depth crank and deep diver. May have missed one there, but you get the idea. Plus there are several color patterns to match the hatch.

Makes me wish I was back home! Nicely done.

The show is sort of winding down a bit, thank heavens. Thought I would post this for those who like to fish for predators. This is a display by a Danish company looking for a distributor. These are all swim baits... Other things I've come across: Mustad has a new version of the Slow Death hook intended for plastics instead of crawlers. Of course, Northland's Crawler Hauler hook, spinner and floater are here. Lots of crankbaits, articulated jigs, wobble heads (everybody has one) and rods, reels, etc. There isn't much new in top waters except for frogs and frog hooks, but then I've not been there yet. Lots of boats here-- Hell's Bay flat boats, big ocean boats, kayaks, fishing canoes, fishing paddle boards, etc.

You can see these and more on the FLW website. Go to ICAST coverage...

More from Z-Man. Note the skirt.

Here's something else for the Ned or Little varmint crowd: Shroomz head and the rigged TRD from Z-Man.

I've been on the run all day since 7:00 this morning and am still working. However, I thought that someone might be interested in this:

Freedom Lures is the manufacturer, and it says "fall of 2014". Another almost-jigging-spoon is the Rage Blade Blaster--at least I think that is what it is called now as there have been several changes in names recently. I saw it fished as a prototype last fall and was impressed with it. You can fish it like a spoon, a jig and a bottom-bumping crankbait. I think it is in the bassmaster link above. Probably should have added that a number of the new gear that will be on display next week aren't in production yet. Frequently, companies will bring prototypes to the show to see if there is interest. I've seen reels that didn't turn, lures that were simply mockups, and a lot of gear that was one-off.

Here's a link for another new product that looks like it might have application here--that assumes you think jigging spoons work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ePpdIleHE&feature=youtu.be I'm a sucker for jigging spoons; I've caught so many different species of fish in so many different places that it's a favorite type of lure. And this one really wobbles on the fall...it looks like I need a few to test.

Thanks. The 10XD scares me... but the good thing is you're not casting and retrieving as that could wear a person out. I've got some deep-diving stick baits that might work at that depth; I guess I'll have to give them a try. Have you tried any of the lighted lures? Seems like they might trigger a bite in low-light conditions, and UV-treted lures might as well. But what I know of stripers, you could put in a very small teacup.

Can't help with stripers as I've only caught one in Beaver, and that was a dink way out west. I was wondering what lures you're using to get down to 20 feet. Care to share? I have some that will hit that depth, but the little I've pulled them I've not caught a fish. I will get a few that can go deeper, but I think running a diver or a downrigger might be easier say with a spoon or a jointed minnow bait.

That gives you a brief idea of what's on display at the show. Add another 450 manufacturers, and you'll have an idea of the extent of the show. Not all are interested or selling to the bass market, but there are many who do. Rapala is big, and so is Strike King, and Z-Man, but there are a lot of others--Lowrance, Hummingbird, Luck-E-Strike, Mann's, Berkley, Owner, Gamakatsu, Denali, Powell, Bandit, Lucky Craft, and the list goes on. Bassmaster hasn't scratched the surface. It's a great show.

This just came in...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Kp4ex5Hj8&feature=em-share_video_user don't want this to be a commercial, but...it might be of interest.

Hey, for a small price... I'll be in the Berkley booth for a while and might even score a sample or two. But pix should be no problem as I'm carrying my camera and will have my laptop along. Don't know if I'll have wifi at the show, but I will after and certainly can post something once we get to Naples. Of course, Doc may get the images first...

Well, I won't be on the water for a couple of weeks now. But after that I can let you know. I've fished a couple of the shallow BX minnows, and they look like a herring swimming along. I could tell you more, but I got sidetracked chasing walleyes...

Quill-- But how about this--are you sure you don't need to try it? It's the new Rapala BX Wake Bait in a 13 size. Sorry about photo quality; I used my phone. Hojo--ICAST is restricted to exhibitors and their representatives, American Sportfishing Association members and working media. I think the IFTD side has comparable restrictions. The idea is that this is a trade show and not one intended for consumers. However, there is enough media at the show doing things like FLW is this year so that non-attendees can get a filtered view of new products almost immediately. I've been told since my original post is that FLW will start posting product info possibly as early as Tuesday evening. The New Product Showcase opens at 4pm EDT that day, so there should be some things online soon after. I'll attend a new event--X Tackle--being held at Lake X (Mercury's old test lake) on Tuesday, so I'll be contributing things from there in my assigned categories, assuming there is anything.

Thanks--the morning bite sounds like fun.

So do I, but...

It's in Orlando this year and next. Then it's back to Las Vegas.