New fishing products we wish we had

Updated: August 17, 2005, 6:33 PM ET

New fishing products we wish we had

ICast Show exhibits all sorts of new gear and gadgets for the savvy angler

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By Ron Schara
Host of ESPN2's "The Outdoor Beat"

The world's makers of fishing stuff — those folks who seek to shorten our time between bites (in exchange for a profit) — gathered last week in Las Vegas, Nev., for an annual unveiling of angling innovations called the ICast Show.

For any angler, it's a walk through a giant tackle box. Imagine, hundreds of exhibits of fishing stuff you need, and fishing stuff you don't need but want anyway.

Indulge me while I offer a few impressions:

A new flood of soft-bodied lures are coming your way. We're not talking worms and grubs here. Improved molding technology has opened the way for soft-bodied lures that are lifelike, castable, effective and resistant to the teeth of a northern pike. Storm Lures has a soft-bodied crappie lure that is almost real enough to fillet.

Tackle box trays are going through an extreme makeover. You know the trays where you lift one lure and 10 others cling to it? New tray shapes by Falcon (www.falconrods.com), Plano (www.planomolding.com) and other tackle-box makers are now designed to prevent such tangles, thank heaven.

Expect more fishing tackle for kids. Rods and reels come as cartoon characters.

Signs of fishing passion: Hey, what every angler needs, a decorative toilet seat, adorned with assorted fishing lures. Or, how about a giant fishing lure that doubles as a roadside mailbox from River's Edge (www.riversedgeproducts.com.)

High-tech alternatives include one unusual fishing ploy, the ProwlerCat. It's a small floating, unmanned, remote-controlled, jet-powered boat, weighing less than 6 pounds (www.vilcofishing.com). The remote boat will carry your fishing line from shore to deep water where you can order the boat to release the line. Or you can use its jet power to troll. What happens if the battery dies or the jet intake gets plugged with weeds? You could be the first angler in your neighborhood who has to swim.

Innovative fishing ideas? Stowmaster of Lake Mills, Iowa, (www.stowmaster.net) took the idea of collapsible landing nets one step further with a hoop that also folds for ease in storage in the boat. The net reassembles quickly, of course, to land the big one.

Is there something new in treble hooks? The Rapala folks (www.rapala.com) think there is. On selected DT Rapala lures, you'll find a trailing red-colored treble with one hook shank much longer than the other two. Rapala chief Tom Mackin said the new design was amazingly effective in field tests on Mississippi River smallmouths. An expanded line of X-Rap lure sizes also was awarded best of show for the lure-series category.

The Minnesota makers of electric trolling motors, MinnKota, answered the wishes of walleye seekers in big-water boats. A new engine-mount MinnKota with single or tandem motors will be heading to market with upward of 200 pounds of thrust for use in rough water (www.minnkotamotors.com).

On the eating end of a fishing experience, Legendary Northwoods, a Racine, Wis., company, had a taste-testing booth with fresh-fried fish, pickles and you name it, all very tasty and prepared with their dry breading (www.legendary northwoods.com). Three flavors are available, Original, Mild Cajun and Panfish Lite. The best oil-frying temperature, said chef Craig Reiger, is 350 degrees.

In the field of fishing glasses, there's a new innovation by Ono's Trading Company that will be dearly appreciated by the older hooks in a boat. I'm referring to Polarized sunglasses with lenses that include bifocal features for eyes that no longer can focus up close (www.onostradingcompany.com). Happiness to this fisherman is tying fishing knots that I actually see.

Ron Schara may be reached at ron@mnbound.com.

Schara's 250-page book, "Ron Schara's Minnesota Fishing Guide" (Tristan Outdoors; $19.95) is available by clicking here or by calling 888-755-3155.

July through September, Ron Schara's short feature "The Outdoor Beat" airs at 7:55 a.m. ET Sundays on ESPN2. Click here to view this week's show descriptions.