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Top tackle 2009
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Our exclusive annual guide to the hottest new gear to hit the water, from rods and reels to lures and lines
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By Eric Forget (photos)
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Best Hard-Bodied Swimbait: Rock hard swimbaits
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The barkers at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey like to promote their circus extravaganza as the "Greatest Show on Earth." Clearly, they've never been to the annual International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show, better known as ICAST. No mere three-ring event, this massive exhibition is the place for the world's fishing gear makers to unveil their latest offerings. The most recent show in Las Vegas this past July, for example, boasted 350,000 square feet of new angling equipment, providing eye candy wherever you looked. Of course, Outdoor Canada was there to check it all out-and bring you the most outstanding new products for the year ahead.
AWARD-WORTHY
What do we look for when choosing the top new tackle for the year ahead? Three simple elements: value, quality and excellence. And to receive a Best New Gear Award, the equipment must also be innovative and designed for angling in Canada.
Best Soft-Plastics
Hollow Belly Pro Tube, Flippin' Tube and Split Tail
Berkley continues to advance the hot hollow-belly soft-plastic bait market with three new Powerbait Hollow Belly offerings: the four-inch Pro Tube, the 5.5-inch Flippin' Tube and the Split Tail, available in three- and five-inch versions. Each scented bait has realistic eyes, a dazzling array of lifelike colours and a hollow body that collapses for instant hooksets. The Pro Tube looks especially interesting because it's durable yet soft, and boasts a solid head for Texas rigging. The Split Tail, meanwhile, is the finest-looking fluke-style bait I've ever seen. Rigged Tex-posed on an extra-wide gap hook, it can do things a live minnow simply can't. Pure Fishing, (204) 857-3467; www.berkley-fishing.com
Best Hard-Bodied Swimbait
Rock Hard Swimbaits (shown above)
Castaic Bait Company has teamed up with renowned big-bass specialist Mike Long to design a series of incredibly realistic-looking hard-bodied swimbaits. Available in five different hand-painted patterns, the Rock Hard Swimbait features a triple-hinged construction for an unbelievably natural swimming motion. It also comes with Castaic's new Magnetic Hook Holder system, which holds the front treblehook to the lure's belly with a magnet. It's also available in floating, slow-sinking and fast-sinking models. While Long has already been whacking lunker bass with the lures, I'm salivating over its big-fish potential for other species, especially lake trout, pike and muskie. Castaic, (218) 824-3800; www.castaicsoftbait.com
Best Lure
Magic Swimmer
French lure designer Patrick Sébile's new Magic Swimmer is getting a lot of attention in the angling world these days. And when you see the uniquely designed free-swimming lure in the water, you'll understand why. It moves so naturally, in fact, that live baitfish have been videotaped swimming alongside it. And when you rip the lure, then throw slack into your line, you can make it twirl around 180 degrees to face its attacker. Talk about a big-fish turn-on. The Magic Swimmer is available in four sizes, from 3.5 to nine inches long, and 10 eye-catching colours. Sébile USA, (325) 437-8103; www.sebileusa.com
Best Environmentally Friendly Product
Stonze System
The new Stonze System from Pallatrax features weights made from actual stones, an environmentally friendly idea that landed the U.K. company the ICAST award for best terminal tackle. What I found most intriguing is the noise Stonze sinkers make when you bang them against other rocks. The sound is louder than that made by lead, or even tungsten, and it draws curious fish to your bait. And because Stonze weights are porous, they're ideal for soaking up attractants-fish have even been known to turn the sinkers over with their noses in search of the appetizing odour. Stonze are available in five shapes, as well as in-line models, and four weights. Pallatrax, (011) 44 01409 240042; www.pallatrax.co.uk
Best Braided Line
FireLine Tracer Braid
It's hard to believe Berkley could improve on its famous gel-spun fused FireLine, but it's done just that with the new FireLine Tracer Braid, which was voted best new fishing line at ICAST. "Tracer" refers to the alternating 2 1/2-foot-long sections of low- and high-visibility coloured line, making it ideal for line watching and detecting strikes. Plus, you can tie your hook or lure onto one of the smoke-coloured low-visibility sections to help trick easily spooked fish. While standard FireLine is ideal for spinning reels, the new Tracer Braid spools up better on baitcasters, ensuring longer and more accurate casts. And like its predecessor, Tracer Braid is incredibly thin, super-strong and ultra-sensitive. Pure Fishing, (204) 857-3467; www.berkley-fishing.com
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| 1. Best soft plastics, swimbait, lure, braided line, environmentally-friendly products |
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| 2. Best lure saver, accessory, jig, finesse lures, sinker innovation |
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| 3. Best combos, bass system, sonar, tournament tool, reel |
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| 4. Best boat accessory, spinnerbait, topwater, muskie rod, crankbait rod |
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