The largest fishing tackle trade show, ICAST, was held this past July in Orlando. It’s the venue where the tackle business showcases its finest wares and brings out new products to lighten the wallets of fishermen.
Here are a few of the highlights from the tackle show, a couple of which I got to play with in advance.
Teflon Slick…
Abu Garcia’s Revo series of spinning reels keep getting better the older they are. That’s not to say that the reels improve with age, but rather that every year Abu improves features and tweaks the design to improve performance just a bit more.
That’s certainly the case this year.
One of the advantages of being older than dirt is that one can appreciate the improvement in tackle—for instance spinning reels. I’ve used spinning reels since the earth’s crust started to cool, or so it seems some days. I’ve used spinning reels back when most fishermen called them “coffee grinders” because of the noise of the rotor.
I caught trout (and about every other species of fish) in lowland lakes of the west side of Washington. I fished streams in the Cascades back when red-band trout flourished in the upper Yakima basin. I’ve used them for bass and walleyes on the east side when we lived in Spokane, and I’ve used them in the salt for rockfish and coho in Puget Sound. In fact, last fall I used a spinning reel to catch four blackfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico out of Venice, La., the largest of which ran 40 pounds.
So I can appreciate a spinning reel that exceeds industry standards.
These days, to live up to what is considered “standard,” a spinning reel needs a rock-solid anti-reverse gear so that there’s no distracting slop when you set the hook. It also needs a good drag, a crisp bail closing, and gears that will stand up to hard use.
The Revo MGX20 that came in a surprise care package from Abu Garcia far exceeds what I consider industry standard for a spinning reel. In fact, it may be the best spinning reel I’ve used to date.
The first thing I noticed about it was the entire process of opening/closing/reeling/drag-testing is that the reel is Teflon smooth—it’s slick, fast, quiet and so non-intrusive in the fishing process that it’s like it is part of your hand.
The second thing I noticed is that the reel—I have the smaller 20 size—is its weight. It is very light for a reel of its size, but that is not due to skimpy construction.
The MGX20, the top-of-the-line Revo spinning reel, is engineered to be light and strong. It has a ported spool and rotor base. Even the carbon-fiber handle is ported. The greatest reduction in weight comes from the use of carbon fiber in the body, as well as the spool. The newly designed X-MAG gearbox also is lighter than previous versions.
While it is light in weight, the reel is strong. Part of that is through the use of carbon fiber materials, but it’s also part design. The new MGX reels showcase the X-MAG gearbox and the AMGearing system. Both are available in the reel I was sent, as well as the Premier, STX and SX Revo reels. The S model doesn’t have the new technology.
Do I like the Revo MGX? Yes. Will I use it? Yes. Do I recommend it? Yes. Will I take it tuna fishing? No—it’s too small.
Also, it should be noted that the Revo family of spinning reels has several levels. The MGX is the most expensive, but others, including the Inshore models (great for saltwater use in Puget Sound) don’t cost quite as much.
For more information, go to: www.abugarcia.com.
Best Value…
G. Loomis is one of the iconic brands in the Pacific Northwest, which is natural because founder Gary Loomis lives there and started the company still based in Woodland.
Under his direction, the rod-building company designed and built steelhead and salmon rods that perfectly matched the needs of fishermen. Certainly, that’s still the case today. However, for many fishermen the only problem with the rods was the cost as these top-of-the-line rods were pricey.
However, that’s changed. The rods are still top-of-the-line, but now with the introduction of the E6X series of salmon and steelhead rods, the cost is such that most fishermen can afford one or several in the right actions.
And there are 19 models from which to choose. There are eight casting and nine spinning models, plus a float rod in spinning and a light plug rod.
The rods range from 8-feet, 6-inches to 10 feet in length with the only exception being the 7-foot, 6-inch Hot Shot (or plug) rod.
The latter is my favorite because lately I tend to pull plugs and crankbaits for a variety of species in a lot of different situations. The E6X 9000C HSR bears a strong resemblance to a rod that was the gold standard for guys backtrolling Hot Shots back in the day. It has a very light tip that shows the lightest interruption in the plug’s movement, yet it’s got enough butt to muscle in any steelhead you’re likely to hook, including a heavy spring native.
The HSR 9000 rod also was a secret weapon for a lot of walleye pros who used it as the ultimate rigging and vertical jigging rod, again because of the very sensitive tip. For that use, they had the rod built as a spinning rod.
With the other 18 models, there is enough variation to handle almost any steelhead situation and all but the big-water/big-chinook salmon chores.
The reason that the rods perform so well is what G.Loomis calls Multi-Taper Technology. During the design process, the rod engineers focused on line control and accuracy as well as balance and light weight. The goal was to build a rod that let anglers concentrate on feeling the bite, not wondering if that tug was a rock or a fish. The intent was to make a quality rod that would come in at a “comfortable” price.
They’ve done that.
As a side note, for those steelheaders who might desire an action or length different from that which is offered, say for something like twitching jigs for coho, G.Loomis also brought an inshore series to the ICAST show this year (think shallow-water fishing on the Gulf).
For more information, go to: www.gloomis.com.