I love trade shows. I've been to quite a few, but most of them have been Internet-related. This one was about fishing and nothing but fishing. Still they are all about the same thing: cool new products, fancy booths in cavernous convention centers, and sales guys and gals wearing cool shirts embroidered with nifty logos. ICAST -- The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, in case you were wondering -- was all of that, and it was a lot of fun. I was there to talk with folks about a variety of issues. For example, why is there no single place on line where someone can find all the products listed by all the major sportfishing manufacturers. Now wouldn't that be nice.
I saw and heard a lot of memorable things, so here's my quick (and completely random) rundown, with illustrations from the very basic camera on my iPhone:
Treasury Secretary Geither, please get the latest from ICAST. Same day Geithner was in the nation's capital proclaiming that the economy is on the mend, ICAST had a surprising 7200 attendees on its opening day. In recent years, they've not gotten much beyond 7000. Maybe when the going gets tough, the tough go fishing.
And the coolest booth is...I have to say it was a toss-up between Shimano and Fin-Nor. Shimano's massive gold-finished deep sea reels are a statement on their own, and the large floor area of their display was well appointed with beautiful photography and that a lot of naturally colored wood in their displays -- very minimalist, very Japanese, very appealing.
Fin-Nor, on the other hand, played up the "legendary" in their tagline "Legendary Tackle Since 1933" with a giant wall mural of sepia-tinted images from the early days of big-game fishing, complete with great fishermen whose names I should know and HUGE fish. I gaped at it for the longest time.
Does anyone know how many scientists it takes to design the predator drone of lures? Well, Biopulse has three, who together comprise the world's leading experts on fish "taste and smell systems," fish "sound perception," and fish "visual systems." They have designed what one of their sales folks called a "frankenlure" that is, well, really something. The Pentagon should call these guys if the Taliban ever come at us underwater.
And the best photography is...Let me confess that I will almost always gravitate to great still images over video. There were a lot of displays playing very interesting, beautiful video, but I was really taken by the lure photography at the Rapala booth. It's luminous even in the snap I took with my iPhone.
The award for scariest pitch goes to, no surprise I suppose, a hook maker. You want to be scary if you are a hook maker.
What I heard over and over again..."I had no idea there were this many lure companies." I am surprised at this. Aren't lures the printer cartridge of the fishing world? You can never have enough. But there were a lot. Some the lure displays approached art, like this one from Halco, The Australian Lure Company. I wish I had a better picture.
What I want for my birthday...I saw it in the new product showcase, and I felt the craving build, and then it won the best of show award. Guess everyone felt the same thing. It's Hobie's new Mirage, which is not strictly speaking a kayak, according to the Hobie rep, it's more like a self-propelled PT boat, complete with GPS, sonar, a livebait well, and enough rod holders to address most anything with fins. The rep showed me picture of a guy hauling in a small sailfish and told me they go after sharks too. I'd be happy with a bass.
What I'll probably get...Rescue tape. This requires no explanation. We all need more of it.
Last of all, an important honorable mention for the little guy, like Luscious Lure, who turns up at ICAST with something a bit off the wall. Who knew that trout went for old-fashioned spoons painted with retro mermaids.
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