ICAST 2023 Started off on Tuesday July 12th with the Annual ICAST CUP. This year I was paired with Walt Swafford and Hojin Chang of Scottsboro tackle company.
Much like last year in the best interest of fish care a 3 fish limit was established for weigh in.
The action started off quick for us with Walt catching a good fish at our starting spot. However, fate was not on our side as we spent the next few hours with not much else to back up that first quality fish.
I still had a fun time and thank you to you guys for your hospitality and conversation.
ICAST 2023 Kicks off with the ICAST CUP at the Big Toho Marina in Kissimmee FloridaHojin Chang, myself, and Walt Swafford ready for actionHojin proudly holding up Walts fishWalt Swafford showing off a Lake Toho beautyWalt focused and observing the current conditonsHojin combing his waypoints with Lowrance’s Active Target for fishHojin, myself, and Walt. Thanks for the hospitality guys
ICAST On The Water took Place on the North Concourse of the Orange County Convention Center.
I was happy to see that the event has seemed to have grown in size over the last few years. While it was disappointing to see a few of my favorite OEMs vacate the premises after a typical afternoon Florida thunderstorm passed through it was nice to see some folks stick it out and share some of their latest tackle.
Here are just a few items I found interesting:
New for 2023 is the Shimano Curado 200 M (201 XG model shown)New 2023 Shimano Stradic FM with Aggressive porting and Anti – Twist FinNew Mastiff Fluorocarbon from ShimanoReasonable price point from $23- $32 for 200 yd spools depending on line sizeShimano adds a slow sinking option to the Arma Joint lineup with the 190SSNew Seviin GF Casting Reel New SEVIIN GS Series Spinning ReelNew SEVIIN GX Series Spinning ReelNon Chalant Svivlo Draken 1 with proprietary CastGuard braking systemHonestly this was one of the most surprising reels I’ve casted in a long time. The CastGuard AutoThumb system really does help stop backlashes when casting quite unlike any other braking system on the market.New Kastking I Reel One was fun to play with and see your casting stats in real time with their blue tooth integrated appFishlab Bio Blade Spinnerbait with BBZ Mimic TailFishlab Bio-Blade Buzzbait with modular two-piece blade system
