ICAST 2007 Overview
ICAST was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on July 11–13, 2007. It celebrated its 50th year this year. The show is only open to buyers and media, not the general public. This is the show that brings together all the big names in the fishing business, 3 days a year, and allows them to showcase their new products which will be hitting the shelves at tackle shops within the next few months. Here’s some of the highlights this year…
Awards:
These are the best of show awards for 2007, as voted upon by buyers and media who attended.
| Category: | Company: | Product: |
| Best of Show | E21 | Carrot Stix Rod |
| Boating Accessory | Berts Custom Tackle | Berts Track System |
| Clothing: | Old Harbor Outfitters | Technical Shorts |
| Electronics: | Lowrance | LCX-38C HD Sonar |
| Eyewear: | Costa Del Mar | Man ‘O War Sunglasses |
| Fishing Acessory: | Pure Fishing | Berkley TEC Pistol Trigger Grip |
| Gifts: | MacDaddys Fishing Lures | Pink Ribbon Collection |
| Kids Tackle: | Outdoor Adventure Kids | Miss Fisherman Series |
| Fishing Line: | Pure Fishing | Stren Microfuse: Blue Glacier Fluorescent |
| Soft Lure: | Pure Fishing | Gulp Alive! |
| Hard Lure: | Emmett Stacy | Rollo Lures |
| Freshwater Reel: | Shimano | Stradic F1 Spinning |
| Saltwater Reel: | Shimano | Trinidad DC Reels |
| Freshwater Rod: | E21 | Carrot Stix |
| Saltwater Rod | E21 | Fusion |
| Rod/Reel Combo: | Pflueger | PFlex Fly / Spin Kit |
| Tackle Mgmt: | Shimano | Bristol Bay Portable Livewell Bag |
| Terminal Tackle: | Dee’s Diamond Flasher | Double Dees |
Most Wins: (Tied)
E21: 3 (Best of Show, Freshwater Rod, Saltwater Rod)
Pure Fishing: 3 (Fishing Line, Soft Lure. Fishing Accessory)
Shimano: 3 (Freshwater Reel, Saltwater Reel, Tackle Management)
Highlights:
Abu-Garcia: The Revo’s have been revised again and will be the lightest reel not made out of Magnesium.
St Croix: For 2007 St Croix revamped their Avid series rods this year. They now feature IPC blanks , which is the same technology used on the Legend Elite series. The reduced weight was a large factor for this change. The MSRP is around $180.
E21: The Carrot Stix rod that won ICAST 2007 Best of Show was spearheaded by Ken “Wizard of Rods” Whiting. The bright orange Carrot Stix Rod features a makeup of 30% Scandium metal backbone, and 70% carrot fibers that come from recycled brokers. The Saltwater rod, Fusion, is a lightweight rod geared for the salt fishermen and took Best of Show Saltwater Rod.
Shimano: This year Shimano has revamped a whole line of freshwater spinning reels, and added a new rod that trumps the Crucial. Thenew freshwater rod dubbed the Cumara is now the top end freshwater rod for the Shimano company. It features an IM-10 blank, and most a custom split reel seat design (as seen below). These rods also have an over the counter 1 year warranty. All information on the below products is already available on Shimano’s website.
The MSRP will be between $199.99-219.99 depending of rod application.
In addition to the rods, Shimano also released a line of spinning reels, pictured below are the comparison of the new Stella spool vs. the old one.
The newly revamped Shimano Stella, available in sizes, 1000,2500,3000,4000
with an MSRP of $599.99-699.99. Ouch!
Show winner for Best Freshwater Reel, the new Stradic F1 (pictured below).
This reel will be available in (1000,2500,3000,4000,5000,6000,8000)
with a price of $149.99-199.99.
This years Stadic has definitely changed it looks from the all pearl white coat it used to have.
The only baitcasting reel lined up this year for Shimano.
I can see a deadly Cumara and Core (pictured below) combo in the near future.
Sustain FE $249.99-299.99 (pic)
Stradic MGFB $229.99 (pic)
Saros $129.99 (pic)
