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ICAST Best of Show Competition Shines Limelight on Longstanding and New Companies Alike
by Janet Tennyson

July 15 , 2004—Shimano American Corporation won the Overall Best of Show Award, and Best of Show for the reel category, in the ICAST 2004 New Product Showcase awards competition for its Chronarch B Series Reel. The company also took top honors for the new Bagio Fishing Traveler Case in the Tackle Management category.

This year’s New Product Showcase winners also included four first-time ICAST exhibitors—Bikini Lures, Fishworks, Hawg Pockets, and Target Fisherman. Two companies—Airrus Rods and Shimano—won Best of Show awards in the rod and reel categories respectively for the third year in a row.

Nearly 200 companies entered angler equipment and accessories into the New Product Showcase, sponsored by Fishing Tackle Retailer magazine this year. The showcase is the flagship feature of the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, or ICAST, the sportfishing industry’s premier trade event produced by the American Sportfishing Association. The 47th annual show was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, July 14-16. Selling out in February, the show ultimately hosted nearly 400 exhibitors—more than 60 additional exhibitors over last year—and floor space that was 15 percent larger than last year.

“The New Product Showcase is the best part of ICAST,” said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “Every year it’s amazing to see all the creativity and ingenuity our member companies have used to add curiosity, excitement, and discovery to the adventure of fishing.”

Making up a special section of ICAST’s 250,000-square-foot show floor, the New Product Showcase gives the industry’s latest innovations special visibility during the show, with nearly 6,500 representatives of the sportfishing community attending.

Buyers and media judged several hundred products based on their level of innovation, execution, workmanship, and practicality to select Best of Show honors in 11 categories, as well as the Overall Best of Show winner.

Category Overall Best of Show Rod Reel Terminal Tackle Line Hard Lure Soft Lure Tackle Management Kid’s Tackle Boating Accessory/Electronic Fishing Accessory Clothing/Giftware	Company Shimano American Corp. Airrus Rods Shimano American Corp. VMC Pure Fishing Bikini Lures Pace Products Shimano American Corp. Target Fisherman American Rod & Gun Bassmaster Hawg Pockets Fishworks	Product Chronarch B Series Reel Tradition Series Chronarch B Series Reel David Fritts Scorpion Treble Hooks Vanish Transition Solaris Fatshad LA Slider Bagio Fishing Traveler Case Target Fisherman LMS 480 Sonar and i Finder Combo Hawg Pockets lure guard Clipperton Walk Shorts

For the next three years, ICAST will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with the dates coinciding with the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s Marine After-Market and Accessories Trade Show (MAATS). ICAST is scheduled for July 20-22, 2005; July 19-21, 2006; and July 18-20, 2007.

The American Sportfishing Association is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, uniting more than 600 members of the sportfishing and boating industries with state fish and wildlife agencies, federal land and water management agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups, and outdoor journalists. The American Sportfishing Association safeguards and promotes the enduring social, economic, and conservation values of sportfishing.

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