ICAST 2023

Elite favorites at ICAST 2023

Catch up with a few Bassmaster Elite Series pros to see what new products they are most excited about at ICAST 2023!

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Photography by
Kyle Jessie
As the doors opened for the first day of ICAST 2023, we caught up with a few Bassmaster Elite Series pros to see what new products they were most excited about.
Derek Hudnall – St. Croix Seviin Series Reels
“The meaning behind Seviin is special to St. Croix,” Hudnall said. “These reels are fantastic. You want a reel that you can cast a long way, has a strong drag and overall smooth operation and that’s exactly what the Seviin GF Casting Reel is.”
“With the spinning reels, we have the GS Series and the GX Series. This is the GX Series that has a lighter frame and is incredibly well constructed. There’s two ball bearings behind the drag system which allows the drag to be super smooth.”
Bob Downey – Rapala RapStack 3600 Open Foam Tackle Tray
“We’ve got an entire lineup of boxes in the Rapala Rapstack family but this box is perfect for storing all types of hooks or even smaller jigs.”
Rapala Crush City Clean-Up Craw
“This is an extremely versatile bait that I’ve already weighed a ton of fish on during the Elite Series season,” he said. “I’ve caught them flipping it on a Texas rig, as a swig jig tailer and even on the back of a buzzbait.”
Rapala Mavrik 110 Jerkbait
“The weight transfer in this bait allows you to make extremely long casts,” he said. “I’ve caught a ton of smallmouth on this bait and even caught some of the fish I weighed in at the Classic.”
Koby Kreiger – Minn Kota Ultrex Quest
“The most impressive thing to me about the new Ultrex Quest is the extreme power and quietness – it’s a beast that’s going to get you to the fish a lot faster and more quietly.”
Drew Cook – Big Bite Baits Scentsation Quarantine Craw
“The Quarantine Craw is kind of a jack of all trades bait,” he said. “It’s perfect for throwing on a Texas rig, ned rig or even as a trailer on a finesse jig.”
Big Bite Baits Scentsation Stick
“I’ve had this bait for a few years now before they released it this year and I’ve done a lot of damage on it in Elite events when the bite gets tough.”
David Mullins – Shimano Curado 200 M Casting Reel
“The Curado 200 M has the same features as the Curado 150 MGL, but in a bigger frame,” he said. “For a 200 size reel, it’s not too bulky either. It’s light, smooth and everything you want.”
Alex Wetherell – Shimano Expride Rods (new models)
“There’s seven new models in the Expride series that fill in a few of the holes that we had in the series,” he said.
Wes Logan – ARK Fishing Wes Logan Signature Series Swim Jig
“It’s a compact swim jig with a hook that has a 5/0 size gap and 4/0 heavy duty shank,” he said. “I hand picked 12 colors that cover everything you need across the country.”
Luke Palmer – War Eagle Pro Football Jig and War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Flipping Jig (new size)
“The new War Eagle Pro Football Jig has a little bit of a different head design that allows it to come through hard bottoms without getting hung up.”
“The Jiu-Jigsu Jig has been great, but the 5/8-ounce was too heavy in certain situations, so the new 1/2-ounce model allows you to fish this jig in shallower situations.”
Jason Christie – Booyah Finesse Covert Series and Booyah Poppin’ Pad Crasher 4 Pack
“The big deal with the 4 pack is that it’s convenient for anglers,” he said. “Anglers that are unsure about what colors to throw can buy the 4 pack that has colors that cover all different situations.”
“The Finesse series is the little brother to the original Covert Series,” he said. “It’s a downsized version that’s perfect for tougher fishing, when the baitfish is small or when you’re fishing in a body of water that has smaller fish.”
Matt Arey – Lunkerhunt Compact Popping Frog
“This is a smaller version of our Popping Frog,” said Arey. “It’s 2-inches and weighs 1/2-ounce but the legs are already trimmed, with the small compact body and up-turned hooks it allows for better hookups.”
Bernie Schultz – Shimano Poison Ultima Spinning Rod and Shimano Stella
“The Poison Ultima is the new flagship rod from Shimano,” he said. “The Poison Ultima is ultra-light, yet extremely strong. The rod has more contact points, giving the angler more sensitivity.”
Don’t Die Lithium Battery
Chris Zaldain – Bass Mafia 6” Loaded Version Swimbait
“This swimbait is perfectly symmetrical with a line-through harness and a magnet that holds a 5/0 flipping hook,” said Zaldain. “There is a shallow version for six feet or less, and a deep water version for 15-20 feet.” 
Nichols Bass Mafia Big Larry Spoon
“It has the twirl and the side-to-side flutter which is what triggers big bass into biting offshore,” said Zaldain. “It’s not only an offshore bait, pitching this bait to docks and targets offers a completely different profile to shallow fish.”
Scott Canterbury –  Dirty Jigs Compact Swim Jig
“It is a lot more finesse than a big swim jig, but it has a good Gamakatsu hook in it for landing big fish,” said Canterbury. “You can fish it Alabama style with a craw or northern style with a swimbait trailer.” 
Joey Cifuentes – Berkley Nessie
“It’s an extremely versatile bait,” said Cifuentes. “I love fishing it around and under docks, your hook isn’t going to come out when you skip it.”
Berkley Dime Crankbait
“It’s a plastic bait that does everything a balsa bait does, but better,” Cifuentes said. “The weight transfer system allows you to cast it well while still maintaining the action of a balsa bait.” 
Alex Redwine – Blackfish Zephyr Jacket
“It’s going to shine most in those summertime pop-up rainstorms,” said Redwine. “It’s a slightly thinner material which is much more breathable for the summertime.” 
Jonathan Kelley – Ark GS5 Spinning Reel
“The drag on this reel is super smooth,” said Kelley. “ A lot has gone into this reel during its development, making it one of the best spinning reels you’re going to see in this price range.” 
Greg Hackney – Strike King Gravel Dawg
“You can crank it at a high rate of speed around rock, gravel, wood and riprap,” said Hackney. “Much like an old-school Wiggle Wart, It’ll shine when you’re looking for a bait where you want to crush the bottom.” 
Brandon Palaniuk – Simms Glades Hoody, Simms Driftless Wet-Wading Pants
“This shirt features a super soft UPF 30 material that is lighter than a traditional sun-shirt,“ said Palaniuk. “It’s a great year-round shirt as a base-layer.” 
“These pants have a four-layer stretch fabric that’s designed to dry very quickly,” Palaniuk said. “It’s Simms’ most comfortable wet-wading pant.” 
Hunter Shryock – Abu Garcia Xenon X Spinning Reel
“The Zenon X is an expansion of the Xenon family of spinning reels, the X offers the same features as the other Zenons, now at a more affordable price.”
Shane LeHew –  Abu Garcia Pro Casting Rod 7’1 LeHew MH Skipping Rod paired with the new Abu Garcia Revo SX
“This rod is great for skipping jigs and creature baits,” says LeHew. “These new Revos are super smooth, have great casting distance and are lightweight so you can fish with them all day.” 
Justin Atkins – Fenwick Rods Revamp
“This is a completely new launch with Fenwick,” he said. “It’s what we’re calling ‘family flex’ which means that throughout the series from the Eagle to the World Class Bass you can find the exact same action and models in each series.”

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