Fishing Tackle Retailer

The mission? To create the ultimate flutter spoon, which would maximize flash and vibration for working structure, achieve the perfect flutter, and send back a powerful live sonar return for targeting suspended fish.

The elongated body of the Sonar Flash Spoon creates intense vibration when lifted and a wild fluttering action on the fall, along with sending back a bold live sonar return. Two #2 nickel willowleaf blades, attached by split rings along opposite edges of the Sonar Flash Spoon, truly set apart this spoon by delivering extra splashes of flash to imitate small baitfish.

A premium front swivel prevents line twist and allows for the freest fluttering action. A sticky sharp and strong #2 treble hook ensures that fish get hooked and stay hooked.

The Sonar Flash Spoon comes in two sizes – 3 3/4 inches and 4 3/4 inches – and five baitfish-imitating colors: Sexxy Shad, Sexxy Purple Shad, Shattered Glass, Nickel and White.

War Eagle Delivers Sonar Flash Spoon - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry The launch of the War Eagle Sonar Flash Spoon screams, “Mission Accomplished!”

MUSKEGON, Mich. – Fly fishing embraced the raw promise of bamboo apparel over a decade ago, drawn to the native comfort and honest sustainability of a plant-based layer. But those early iterations were delicate, lacking backbone and easily losing their shape and logging water when the sky opened.

With the launch of the Slipstream Bamboo Hoodie (Solid Colors and Vintage Camo), Whitewater Fishing has fundamentally elevated natural fiber performance, fortifying it for the fly arena. To crush those legacy roadblocks, Whitewater engineered a purpose-built garment for the grinding environments of rushing rivers and sunbaked saltwater flats. This fishing shirt taps into the native, uncompromised power of premium plant fibers to deliver an elegant casting experience, proving that going natural doesn't mean sacrificing technical dominance and durability.

Whitewater Fishing's New Slipstream Bamboo Hoodie - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Whitewater Fishing and the new Slipstream Bamboo Hoodie elevate natural fabric performance for long-rodders.

FOOTHILL RANCH, CA – DAIWA has added a tactical edge to its premier braided line collection with the introduction of J-BRAID Grand x8 Ocean Splash. This striking blue-and-white camouflage design is intended to visually disrupt the line's profile across the water column, offering offshore and coastal anglers a distinct advantage when targeting line-shy pelagics and nearshore predators.

Controlling the Controllable

Dedicated anglers are relentlessly calculated. While we can never predict or dictate the behavioral whims of a fish, we can absolutely control every other variable in the equation. To maximize opportunities on the water, anglers obsess over technical details and seek out every microscopic edge possible to swing the odds of success in their favor. J-BRAID Ocean Splash is that tactical edge.

Engineered precisely for these make-or-break oceanic scenarios, the Ocean Splash features perfectly timed, alternating segments of deep blue, aqua, and crisp white.

Daiwa J-BRAID Grand x8 Ocean Splash: Blue, White, and Boldly Invisible - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry DAIWA® deploys Ocean Splash camouflage to the legendary J-BRAID® Grand x8 lineup.

LADSON, S.C. — Few anglers have spent more time dissecting shallow‑water environments than Capt. C.A. Richardson. For more than 30 years, Richardson has lived and breathed inshore fishing as a guide on the Florida Gulf Coast and Louisiana Delta, a tournament pro during the heyday of redfish circuits, an educator and speaker, and the long‑running host of Flats Class TV. His work has taken him from the grass flats of Texas’ Laguna Madre to the oyster‑rich estuaries stretching up the Eastern Seaboard.

Inshore fishing revolves around soft plastics, and the jighead ultimately determines how effective those baits will be. The right jighead keeps a paddletail swimming without rolling, slips through grass instead of fouling, settles upright on the bottom, and crawls across oysters with fewer hang‑ups.

If anyone knows what makes a jighead perform across so many different environments, it is C.A. Richardson.

Z-Man Flats Class™ JigheadZ™: The Inshore Jighead Perfected - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Z Man® and Capt. C.A. Richardson Collaborate to Advance Saltwater Jighead Design.

Ontario, Calf. - Building on the success of the Safyre platform, Okuma Fishing Tackle introduces the new Safyre Baitcast Reel, designed for anglers seeking dependable, well-balanced performance without stepping into overbuilt or overcomplicated gear.

Designed to complement the Safyre family of rods and spinning reels, the new baitcast model brings the same focus on refined performance, thoughtful design, and accessible value to low-profile casting applications. Whether fishing finesse techniques or working heavier baits through cover, the Safyre baitcast reel delivers the control, strength, and smoothness anglers need to fish confidently across a wide range of conditions.

At its core, the Safyre baitcast reel features a lightweight, corrosion-resistant frame and sideplate construction that provides a solid, stable feel without adding unnecessary weight.

Okuma Expands Safyre System with New Baitcast Reel Built for Balanced Performance - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Precision, control, and durability come together to deliver performance-driven value.

Caldwell, ID – More than a decade after the S2 Slider's patented handle-extension design first launched, nobody in the landing net category has topped it. EGO's S2 Slider won ICAST's Fishing Accessory award back in 2010, and while other nets have picked up awards since, that's mostly a function of the rules — a model can only be considered once, not a sign that anything's actually surpassed the S2 Slider's design.

If ICAST ever created a legacy innovation award, EGO would be the shoo-in.

Sixteen years is a long shelf life in an industry that reinvents a "revolutionary" net design every season. Most of those nets solve one problem and create two more — a hoop that's great for bass but wrong for panfish, a mesh that's tough on line but tougher on the fish being released, a handle that's either too short for boat work or too long for the kayak.

The S2 Slider was built around a different idea: instead of picking one net and living with its limits, build one system and swap the parts.

Ten Years In, Nobody's Built a Better Mousetrap - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry EGO® Fishing marks a decade-plus of its patented S2 Slider landing net system — still unmatched.

The asymmetrical profile is highly intentional, crafted to create an off-balanced shimmy that mimics nature. But that’s just the start. Everything about this next-generation finesse worm is engineered for multi-purpose performance.

An enlarged head holds nail weights for a Neko rig securely and resists tearing. At the opposite end, a bulbous tail features a unique action tip that responds to the slightest bait movement and offers an irresistible micro-action even as the Gadget Worm is settling. A perfectly placed 360-degree indention simplifies centering an O-rig for wacky and Neko rigs.

The Gadget Worm was designed as the ultimate Neko rig worm, but the same profile, movement, and features make it an exceptionally diverse finesse worm and an outstanding choice for shaky heads, drop shots, finesse Texas rigs, and more.

YUM Develops Next-Generation Finesse Worm - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Don’t be deceived by the YUM Gadget Worm.

As the longtime sponsor of the annual ICAST New Product Showcase, Fishing Tackle Retailer is proud to present the 2026 category winners, along with the industry's most coveted honor—the Best of Show award.

The 2026 New Product Showcase featured several notable changes, including a reduction in categories from 41 in 2025 to 37 this year. Longstanding categories such as freshwater and saltwater rods, reels, hard baits, and soft baits remained unchanged. However, the Fly Rod and Reel Combo category was consolidated into the broader Rod and Reel Combo category. Likewise, the former Fly Fishing Waders and Wading Boots category was eliminated, with waders moving into Fly Fishing Technical Apparel and wading boots shifting to the Footwear category. The previous Fly Tying Vises, Tools, and Materials category was also streamlined into Fly Tying Tools and Materials.

ICAST 2026 Best of Category Winners Announced - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry The New Product Showcase embodies the sportfishing industry’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit and rewards that ingenuity with awards in several categories.

Most finesse jigs fall onto a side when stopped, and this creates a major problem for natural appeal. Great Lakes Finesse excels at solving problems that hinder the performance of other finesse offerings, and they have done so again with the GLF Skirted Ned Head.

The innovative, easy-lift head design prevents the Skirted Ned Head from rolling on its side, with it instead standing upright with the trailer and fine-cut skirt wavering enticingly. Matched with a Snack Craw, Juicy Hellgrammite or other premium finesse plastic, the Skirted Ned Head is ideal for casting to boulders or other specific fish-holding targets and working the bottom slowly or even dead-sticking the bait to entice strikes from the finickiest of fish.

Wire-tied for durability, the fine-stand skirt is precisely trimmed to a dual-length finesse profile but left slightly long to allow for customization.

Great Lakes Finesse Perfects Skirted Ned Head - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Ned rigging demands slow presentations, at times with the bait left in place in a key location, so any offering’s stationary behavior becomes critical.

Built around the same floating, scent-infused LIVEflex material found throughout the series, both new baits combine flexible realism with the durability needed for long days on the water. The buoyant material helps create a natural posture when the bait is at rest, while the infused scent gives fish another reason to commit—especially in clear water, current, and pressured conditions.

The 2½-inch LIVEflex Hellgrammite accurately imitates one of the most important creek and river forage species. Its segmented body, detailed appendages, and defensive posture closely match a real hellgrammite, also known as a dobsonfly larva. The profile is especially effective for smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, trout, panfish, and other gamefish that regularly feed on aquatic insects along rocky creek and river bottoms.

Rebel Expands LIVEflex Line with New Hellgrammite and Tadpole Profiles - Fishing Tackle Retailer - The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing Industry Rebel Lures is expanding its LIVEflex soft-plastic lineup with two new nature-inspired profiles designed for multi-species anglers.