Let me say first off that I’m sorry this is a day late. I’ve been getting ready for this year’s ICAST show out in Las Vegas, and am I ever excited. You see, in some years most of the new stuff consists of small changes to existing products. This year is different.
Everything I’m about to say can be researched on Bassmaster.com and on YouTube. I say that because I can’t get all the details into this column. I also want to say that there’ll be lots of other new stuff from other manufacturers that you might want to check out. All I’m doing here is hitting the high points of what I know about. Following ICAST on the Internet will be good for your fishing.
At least four companies have new products coming out that are going to knock your socks off. I’m especially proud to say that I had the privilege of helping develop them. Here goes:
Berkley has a new plastic bait called the Havoc Backslide. It’s a clear water finesse bait that slides backward when you pause it. So, instead of messing around with weights in your boat, you can get the same result right out of the package. And, it’s done with two plastics that have different densities. There’s no metal. That gives it a more natural action.
Rapala has a really neat new crankbait lip design, too. It’s called the Scatter Rap. This design makes the bait look like it’s hunting, or maybe crippled, on the retrieve. It’s being offered in several of the old bait styles — different sizes and colors, too — as well as some new stuff.
Another thing that’s really caught my attention is the new vibrating jig from Molix. The Lover was first introduced last year at ICAST, but they’re going to feature it again. I’ve been working on, and fishing with, prototypes of this bait for mroe than two years. I can tell you it’s getting better all the time.
The last thing I want to talk about is Fishidy. I honestly think this style of information storage and retrieval is the future of serious fishing.
As most of you know, I’m a preparation fanatic. I’ll put my collection of paper maps and notes up against anybody’s. But, the thing is, it’s a hassle to go through all that stuff. Fishidy has helped solve that problem by creating a place where you can store everything, electronically.
So now I can use their maps, or mine, and put all my scanned materials in storage on their site. So I can look at the maps, my notes, past tournament information, old fishing articles from Bassmaster Magazine and whatever else I have in one place. That saves me a ton of time and confusion when get ready to compete.
Next time we’re going to talk about something I rarely mention. It’s the one professional accomplishment that I haven’t been able to achieve. It’s killing me, if you want to know the truth. Do you know what it is?
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, Mikeiaconelli.com.
