By Mike Frisch
I recently attended ICAST, which is billed as the world’s largest trade fair for sportfishing. Held in Orlando, Florida in July of each year, ICAST is a time and place where most of sportfishing’s leading companies come to introduce and display their newest products that will be available the following year. For me, ICAST is a chance to see the newest in fishing rods, reels, and lures among other items. As always, the 2023 version of ICAST had lots of exciting new things to see and I came away anxious to get my hands on some of the new gear. Here is a look at my favorite new hard bait, soft plastic bait, and fishing rod from what I saw at ICAST.
Gravel Dawg 10
Strike King is a leader in producing crankbaits for bass fishing for both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The new Gravel Dawg 10 is built with the company’s bite-sized 1.5 profile and features a wide wobble, hunting action. The bait is said to grind through rock, wood, and grass better than other medium-diving baits. It dives to 10-feet and comes in a variety of “bassy” colors. This bait should be dynamite for throwing along deep weedlines in lakes across the Midwest for largemouth bass and should also produce smallmouth bass in good numbers when thrown to rock-strewn cover.
Rage Hawk
The Rage series of baits are famous for their Rage Tail action that attracts fish and triggers strikes. The new Rage Hawk is a compact bait of 2.75 inches featuring two Rage arms extending from the bait’s sides. Its compact size should be perfect as a snack-sized bait around finicky bass. It does fit a 5/0 hook for increased hook up ratios. This bait should be the perfect complement to some of the bigger Rage baits when the bass are striking short or in a foul mood.
Custom Lite Rods
Lew’s made a big splash at ICAST 2022 when they released a premium spinning reel called the Custom Lite. For 2023, they introduced a new line of Custom Lite Rods designed to pair with the spinning reel and their Custom Lite Baitcast reels. There are 28 rods in the series so there is a rod for just about every fishing situation. The rods are built using highly sensitive and lightweight HM85 graphite blanks and feature premium reel seats. I was able to see and hold just about every model in the line-up and I can attest to their lightweight design and premium features. I am very anxious to add several of the new models to my fishing rod arsenal!
Every year I go to ICAST with the thought of “what gotta have lures and other equipment will I see?” While some years I come away more excited by what’s new than other years, every year I do see some items that I just gotta have. This year was no different and I must say, my excitement level for the new crankbait, soft plastic bait, and rod line just detailed above is very high. Simply put, I can’t wait to get my hands on them and start fishing!
As always, remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series on the Sportsman Channel and several other networks as well. Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com to see all things Fishing the Midwest.
