As is the case each year, ICAST serves as a launch point for an array of new products across many categories in the fishing industry. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
August 08, 2025
By Jim Edlund
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Each year, the ICAST Show is the place to spot new gear for the upcoming year. In-Fisherman magazine and contributing editors always make it a point to attend and talk to all the companies and get a feel for what’s going on in the industry.
Once again, this year the show was exciting! Here are 15 products I think will find a place in the boats and tackle boxes of lots of anglers coast to coast in the coming months. From bait management to lures to tools, electronics, and apparel, here’s just a sampling of the cool stuff I noticed at the show worth a closer look, in no particular order.
Dhukr Tool Introduced at ICAST year, anglers have waited a long time for a field tool that helps in emergency situations of hooks meeting flesh. Developed by a longtime Florida emergency room staffer and passionate angler, this tool occupies a space in the world gear long vacant. This year, the company came back with two new smaller tools, one version for clipping to any O-Ring like on a fishing vest (perfect for kayak anglers) and a diminutive version for fly anglers for removing smaller size hooks. I immediately bought the larger tool last year and am now awaiting release of the medium version shown below for when I fish from the bank or kayak. Note: In a fair world, the original Dhukr tool should have won ICAST Best of Show last year.
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The D Hukr took is designed for those unplanned situations in which a hook becomes lodged in someone's skin. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
VMC Minnow Shaker Jig Given the popularity of shaking minnows with FF Sonar, seems everyone is looking for a better jig head. VMC listened and recently released the VMC Minnow Shaker Jig with a 45-degree line tie and what appears to be a no-fail dual monofilament hook keeper that will keep any plastic pinned right where it needs to be for multiple fish catches. A razor-sharp high carbon steel hook and holographic eyes seal the deal. Available in 7 weights for just the right rate of fall in whatever depth you’re fishing. Media seemed to agree with the merit of this jig as it was recognized as the best new product in the Terminal Tackle category.
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Evergreen J-J Minnow Popular in Japan, anglers have been fishing this hard bait for highly-pressured bass feeding on minnows. Small enough to fish with BFS baitcasting gear or spinning gear (2.75 inches and 5/32 ounces), the company says it’s excellent for pitching near shore, under overhangs, and into shallow water for colossal bites when bigger baits fail. While intended for bass, my guess is the J-J Minnow would catch anything that swims, from bass to crappies, white bass, walleyes, and more – and fish feeding on small minnows either shallow or near top over deeper water. It’s a shallow runner, tracking a mere 18 inches deep to mimic baitfish flittering near the surface.
Great Lakes Finesse Ned Bug Great Lakes Finesse has been creating quite a buzz over the past couple years with some amazing smallmouth bass baits like the Micro 2” Juvy Craw, underspins, marabou, and lots of other finesse-sized lures. They showed up at ICAST 2025 with an appendage-adorned 2.3-inch Ned Bug , their take on the classic, but resembling the marriage of a crawfish, hellgrammite, and leech. Features a slit in the head that conceals most of a classic Ned Rig jig head and bends nicely to create solid hookups. It can be fished naked—as is—or with a small jig skirt behind the jig head for added creature appeal on tough smallie bites. Can’t wait to fish this one!
The Great Lakes Finesse Ned Bug is the next in line of compact profile soft plastics aimed at smallmouth anglers. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
Turtlebox Ranger A relative newcomer to the fishing/outdoors accessories scene, Turtlebox showed up loud and proud at ICAST 2025. We saw their wares last year and were impressed with the portability, sound quality, and price of their portable outdoors loudspeakers, but even more so this year with the introduction of the small and ultra-portable Turtlebox Ranger which is ideal for any boat, kayak, canoe, shore fishing, you name it. The unit is IP-67 waterproof, drop/crush/dust-proof, features Party Mode (for pairing with other speakers) and TWS mode, and magnetic side mounts. It features 12 plus hours of battery on a single charge and is submersible in 3 feet of water for 30 minutes if you happen to drop it in the drink while loading your boat. For you tech heads, it features a Class D digital amplifier with DSP tuning, 2-inch woofers, a 25.2 Wh Lithium battery, and kicks out up to 105 decibels of your favorite fishing tunes.
XBraid X-9 Full Drag Braid A sub-brand of DAIWA, this line has us wondering how it could be better than other 8-carrier braids we’ve used over the past couple years. Apparently, XBraid’s 9-strand braid line features a revolutionary 8-around-1 construction that yields even a rounder profile. This braid’s exceptional shape retention eliminates the occurrence of flat spots or pinch points anglers might encounter with lesser braids. With 8 strands densely woven around a 9th core, the company says it will stay rounder longer and provide the edge needed for trip and trip landing fish. Also features color changes every 33 feet for deep water bait-tracking accuracy. So, what about the diameter? 10 pound is .006 inches or the equivalent of 2.5-pound monofilament. Comes in 8- to 65-pound test.
The XBraid X-9 Full Drag braided line has a different color every 33 feet so anglers can track their bait when fishing deeper water. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
Whitewater Spindrift Hoodie (Duck Camo) As far as apparel goes, this time of year it’s all about UV protection. A solid solution? Whitewater’s Spindrift Hoodie which features lightweight, breathable stretch polyester (helps accommodate the belly) with UPF 50 protection; built-in hood for added sun protection; quick-dry moisture-wicking treatment; and anti-microbial treatment. An attention grabber at the show, every angler under age 40 was admiring their new vintage duck camo version. Definitely a summer (and fall) must-have.
Daiwa Ballistic MQ LT Winner of ICAST 2025 “Best of” Freshwater Reels, DAIWA showed up at ICAST with a re-engineered favorite of the previous generation Ballistic spinning reel called the Ballistic MQ LT , the “MQ” designating a new monocoque body and the “LT” for light and tough.
This new version features a magsealed body which means the reel’s internal components are now protected with a magnetized oil seal on the main shaft of the reel’s rotor, so no worry about dust, water or debris. And the monocoque body is one-piece eliminating the need for screws and further reinforcing the strength, rigidity, and water-resistance of the reel body. And the whole reel is pretty lightweight considering all the advancements. Available in 1000 to 4000 sizes and no more expensive than the previous generation.
St. Croix Rods Legend X2 When St. Croix demonstrated the flex of this rods blank on the floor I kept thinking of the old Ugly Stik commercial where the rod was basically flexed in two. Not that you’d want to try that with carbon material, but the curve was super impressive leading me to believe you could land any size fish on this stick without compromise. But that’s not really even the focus of the rod. This rod is for the angler seeking the lightest and most sensitive rod imaginable, a feat they’ve accomplished with SCVII carbon, even thinner and denser than SCV for improved carbon alignment. Plus, it’s 12% lighter and 27% more sensitive. They’ve also incorporated something called a VEIL scrim for better durability and impact resistance. The Legend X2 family features 22 models (11 casting, 11 spinning). Super high-tech and a flagship rod among St. Croix’s other great rods.
Z-Man Swag LT Available this coming fall, it seems Z-Man has further refined its game creating lifelike soft swimbaits. While intended for big bass, the Swag LT reeks of multi-species appeal further drawing attention for striper, redfish, walleye, and pike action. The magic really lies in it’s out-of-the-box easy rigging with Over/Under Line-Through harness for dorsal or belly rigging, depending on the angling situation. Also features a keeled tail, internal rattle, and twin hook keeper. Comes in at 5 inches and ¾ ounce.
The Z-Man Swag LT will appeal to multispecies anglers, not just bass junkies. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
Whisker Seeker Solar-Powered Bait Shack Cooler Not sure about you, but I’ve always had an issue keeping aerators running on bait coolers. Standard lead acid batteries run out when you least expect it (and are expensive). If you’ve run into aeration problems keeping costly minnows alive, Whisker Seeker may very well have developed the answer: a solar-powered bait cooler!
Another “Best of” ICAST winner in General Tackle – Fishing Accessories, voters seemed impressed too. As far as features, it features three aeration pumps, a powerful lithium-ion battery, large solar panel, and spacious 22-quart cooler design with removable plastic bait basket. After an initial charge, the company claims that the solar trickle charge will keep bait alive for days, even in cloudy or overcast conditions.
It’s not cheap, but neither is live bait. Seriously, I might have to look into one of these to replace all my other difficult live bait management systems in the garage!
RLVNT Sunglasses Is it just me, or does it seem like there are easily a dozen fishing sunglasses brands out there? It makes it hard to navigate the landscape, especially when you want to invest in that one good pair instead of constantly buying gas station glasses on fishing trips for 20 bucks.
A sister company to Mad Scientist Tackle, RVLNT is based in Minnesota and has some serious science behind what they’re doing with fishing eyewear. The deal breaker for me? Besides being polarized and photochromic (lenses adjust to light intensity via Chameleon Tech), Chamelon Tech models feature something I don’t think any other company offers and that’s called ScreenVu, a unique lens design that allows reading your graphs, forward-facing sonar, phone, what have you, with the glasses on, instead of having to take them off. Plus, they come in some really cool frame styles. The company released two new frame styles at ICAST, BUCK and Rogue, both available in three frame colors and 8 different lens mirror patterns.
Humminbird XPLORE Winner of ICAST’s “Best of Show” in the Electronics category, the 2025-launched Humminbird XPLORE family had lots of people talking, especially those who’ve already installed them on their boats. Users describe an unbeatable user experience with easy-to-navigate screens and functions via its touchscreen interface and vastly, vastly improved forward-facing imagine in combination with MEGA Live 2. Yes, Humminbird hit a home run with XPLORE, which comes in 9-, 10-, and 12-inch sizes.
The user experience and array of new features and functions built into the new Humminbird XPLORE helped it win the Electronics category New Product Showcase award at ICAST. (Photo: Jim Edlund)
Rugged Road Cooler I don’t own one of these Rugged Road Coolers, but I do have a couple rotomolded coolers and a couple run-of-the-mill white fishing coolers. Rugged Road coolers seem to be the perfect marriage of the two. First, I lifted them at the show and they’re superlight (unlike rotomolded coolers). Second, they’re designed for durability. And lastly, the company claims they’ll keep ice or frozen materials cold for days – just like a much heavier roto-molded coolers. What’s not to like? Lighter, cheaper, durable, and awesome results. Sounds good to me.
Z-Man Llama Tubez Seems like big smallies are pressured everywhere… The solution, as many anglers are discovering, is going smaller with finesse. Even fish that used to slurp up mainstay 3.5- to 5-inch tubes will get skittish. Enter BASS Pro Seth Feider, who just introduced his line of 2-inch Llama Tubez designed to match with 1/16- to ¼-ounce Llama Tubez Jigheads. From what Feider says, the fishing has been outstanding since he’s sized down. Now he wants to share that with the masses.
