ORLANDO, Fla. — Since Mark Zona is kind of the Oprah of bass fishing (hey, they’re both on TV and both worked out of Chicago), he decided to share his favorite things from ICAST 2019.
While Oprah’s list was a staple around Thanksgiving for gift ideas, Zona’s list is more the new ICAST products he thinks will be flying off shelves.
Of course, a jig he personally worked on gets top billing. “You get a jig, and you get a jig” is his thought of the Trokar Ned Rig heads with Pro-V bend hooks.
“The Pro-V bend, honestly, is one of the best Ned rig heads I’ve ever used,” he said. “It’s a smaller head being tungsten, and the bend in the hook is something you just don’t find in that style jighead. These are really, really, really bad to the bone.”
From Trokar’s booth, head all the way across the ICAST showroom floor to Strike King to get some soft baits for the Ned heads.
“There’s the Ned Cut R Worm, the Ned Rage Bug and the Ned Ocho,” Zona said. “They really give an alternative look to the original Ned-style baits that have been out for years.”
To hold the jigs, Zona suggests the Bass Mafia Ice Box. “It’s absolutely phenomenal for smaller terminal tackle, like Ned rig heads or drop shot accessories,” he said.
As for line, it’s Seaguar Hi Viz Flash Green Smackdown braid. “It’s obviously awesome seeing your line to detect strikes, but this braid also casts incredibly well,” he said.
Before casting, Zona suggests a Humminbird Mega 360 Imaging unit. He said the improvement in clarity is out-of-this-world stuff, and he sure has no clue how they do it. “It’s all technical. The detail they’re coming out with now is just unbelievable. Everything is going to higher definition. It lets you see everything around your boat.”
To keep said boat on the go, Zona suggests the Power-Pole Charge, which acts as a boat battery manager. “If you have a battery that’s low, it will pull power and send it to that battery.”
As far as what to wear, Carhartt has come up with Force Waterproof, Breathable Jacket Bibs. “It’s light, breathable and dry,” Zona said. “The biggest thing is that you’re going to be able to fish in 100 degrees and not be insulated.”
A reel that gained his attention is the Daiwa Tatula Elite Pitching and Flipping Reel. “It’s very light, a very shallow spool,” he said. “It does not hold a lot of line. It’s just made for pitching and flipping. The aluminum frame body makes it light and stronger, and it has a giant handle. The best thing on a flipping stick is having that big grip.”
Micro football jig from Missile
John Crews, founder of Missile Baits, was out in the heat working the On the Water segment of ICAST on Tuesday, showing off a tiny but powerful new weapon.
“One of the big baits were releasing here is the Ike’s Micro football jig,” Crews said. “We’re doing that in quarter ounce and 3/8 ounce. We introduced the micro jig last year at ICAST, and it has been a very hot bait. We only go to 3/16-ounce size and it’s a more round ball head.
“This is a football jig, more for fishing deeper structure and more for spinning rod applications. It’s got a one-aught Gamakatsu hook and it’s got a teeny, tiny micro skirt and a little hole for a weed guard that’s included in the package.”
A package of two will retail for $5.99. Crews said he plans to have a whole bunch for St. Lawrence.
