Epiphany In the Aisles
Nov/Dec 2007 Issue
This past July in Las Vegas, the American Sportfishing Association held its 50th-Anniversary International Convention for Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST), an enormous fishing tackle trade show that features tackle manufacturers, media groups, sunglass manufacturers, professional fishermen and the lowly freelance writer trying to walk the beat to get a story on the new products being introduced. Guess which category I fit into?
This year's event was like many of the past shows: lots of new innovative gear – most of it worthy of putting in your boat, but some which made me wonder, “What form of hallucinogens was that company on when they came up with that?” Aside from the new gear, ICAST offers participants in the industry a place for them to meet, talk and build new relationships – or rekindle old ones.
I have participated in tackle shows since I was about 12. Growing up in southern California, every March I went to the Fred Hall show in Long Beach. It was and still is an institution. Back then, I was in awe of the new boats, tackle and most of all, the bass pros that dotted the booths throughout the rows of displays.
By the time I was in my mid-30s I was still hitting the shows but this time as a manufacturer myself. The first few years were great. I had a lot of energy, enjoyed meeting new people and enjoyed putting on seminars to help people learn more about the techniques associated with becoming a good bass fisherman. But as the years passed, the shows became a place where my feet and back would hurt after standing on the hard floors for 9 hours per day, and a place that took me away from my family. I had reached burnout.
After attending the 2005 ICAST show as a freelance writer, I decided the show-life wasn’t for me anymore. I wouldn’t make an effort to go unless specifically asked by a magazine or by one of my sponsors.
Fast forward to July 2007 – close friend and fellow Inside Line Staff writer Pete Robbins eats, breathes and lives to bass fish and to write about anything and everything in the industry. Earlier in the year, when in Japan, he had gone to the Yokohama tackle show and I was more than impressed with what he saw and who he got to hang out with. I was also there at that time for my regular job yet was unable to make the show – be it for work-related reasons or just my cynical attitude – maybe both.
He had never been to ICAST before and after our simultaneous Japan trips, he showed a lot of interest in attending the Las Vegas show. I’m always up for something early on in the planning stages but tackle shows, as I alluded to before, have become a bane of mine. Reluctantly I agreed to go.
Our mission at ICAST was to go and see the new merchandise, meet new people in the industry and brainstorm new ideas to write about. With only two full days, we had our work cut out for us.
At the show, we accomplished most of our goals. We met a lot of new faces, rekindled old relationships, saw a lot of new products and got some great ideas to write about. When I left, my greatest regret wasn't back pain, foot pain or burnout – rather it was that I'd been unable to commit to staying all three days to accomplish more.
In the end, ICAST 2007 was an epiphany for me. After doing only a couple shows the past two years, I arrived at ICAST with a feeling of excitement. That excitement increased as I walked the aisles and ran into people I hadn’t seen in years, people who I had only met via phone interviews and people I have idolized for years yet had not met.
Halfway through my time, it hit me – these shows are about relationships. Not just professional relationships but friendships. ICAST, or any large tackle show, even a tournament or bass club meeting provides a venue where all of your fishing friends congregate at the same time. At no other time will you have the chance to see, talk and maybe have an adult beverage with any number of friends new and old. If you let it be, it is one big party – not a place to feel cynical or jaded.
Thanks Pete, for dragging me to the show.