Top 5 New Fly-Fishing Products At ICAST 2025
By Sam Wike
For many, many years, the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show served as the fly-fishing industry’s number one meet and greet, and the essential place for retailers to submit pre-season orders. These days, the Fly Tackle Dealer Show is DEAD.
What’s that mean for fly-fishing shops around the world? It means we’re lacking an annual meeting point for new products, networking, marketing discussions, and fly-fishing culture building. However, what does exist is ICAST, a massive trade show that’s focused on all fishing styles (mostly conventional) and is held each July in Orlando, Florida.
Most fly-fishing suppliers and retail shops don’t attend the show, partly because they are located in the West and Pacific Northwest and traveling to Olando in July not only tests the budget but occurs during a shop’s busiest season. That means visiting with the big suppliers, such as Simms, Sage, Winston, Scott, SA, Umpqua, etc., is not an option. Still ICAST does present a lot of interesting products that any fly-fishing retailer would be happy to learn about. Here are five that stood out when I attended ICAST last week. You’ll find these products in-house and online at House of Fly later this summer and fall.
St Croix's Tannic Fly Rods
About a year ago, St. Croix called HOF asking what they could do to get into our fly shops and sell some rods. We love St. Croix rods, but we also feel like they lack the marketing effort needed to build enthusiasm in the fly-fishing community. We talked with Zack Dalton, lead rod designer at St. Croix, and discussed a series of rods specifically built for smallmouth bass, pike, and musky. St. Croix is located in Park Falls, Wisconsin, smack dab in the heart of warmwater country. We knew Zack, who is an excellent fly caster and a hard-core fly fisher, would be the guy who could design and thoroughly test a warmwater-specific rod series. Zack called us over at the show this year and showed us what he built . . . and we must admit it’s awesome. We threw some heavy lines with this rod in the casting pond at ICAST and thought it had a great action. It easily loaded up heavy lines and big flies and I even got in trouble for my backcast hitting a table where people were meeting. This rod is sub $700 and made in Park Falls and will be available in 6-12 weights. The series is split in to the "B" series for bass in a 6-9wt and all of them are 9 foot except for the 8'10" 8wt. The second series is called "MP" for Musky and Pike which is available in a 9 foot 10 through 12 weight. The "MP" series also has an extended rear and fore grip for fighting fish and launching large flies.
Rambler Angler & Blade Co. Kai 7100 Fly Tying Scissors
I do geek out on fly-tying tools, so the Kai 7100 scissors were easy for me to get excited about. After I was asked to just open and close these to “feel the difference” I went and grabbed the rest of the HOF crew. These scissors are made in Japan with high carbon “molybdenum vanadium stainless steel” and a Rockwell hardness rating of 60. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, I’ll fill you in: these scissors are stronger and lighter than most fly-tying scissors and they are one of the smoothest scissors I’ve ever used. We learned that by demanding that Rambler break out the material bag right there on the show floor. In addition, these scissors aren’t serrated so they are easily sharpened. The parent company of Rambler, Wolf Industries, is one of the only scissor factories left in the USA. They also make a scissors sharpening system that we hope to test in some of our fly shops. These scissors come in at about $60, which is about half the price of several comparable competitors.
Here's the Rambler Kai 4" Pro Tying Series and probably the most universal for fly tyers -- Rambler Kai 4" Pro Series
Also check these out because they are awesome for cutting hair and larger synthetics - Rambler Kai 6" Pro Series
Scientific Angler’s Launch Pad Drift
Steamer anglers rejoice. We’ve seen these pads on the bows of saltwater flats skiffs, but nothing had been developed for fishing off a drift boat or raft. The same problems of wind, current, and fly lines going all over the place exist in the Rockies and elsewhere, too. The Launch Pad Drift was created to fit better into the available space on a drift boat or raft. The Launch Pad is made with silicone and built in the USA, just like the saltwater versions. It comes with lash points for rafts. There are small indents to create pools of water in the bottom of the pad, which holds the line in. The spikes are meant to face the angler so that the line holds tight when stripped in, but still flies out easily on the way out. This pad is 12” x 16” in size.
Trxstle ARC System Roof Rack
We have mixed feeling on roof rack rod carriers. The early models didn’t take care of the rods well, and then for a time we all felt most people just had them to let people know they’re a big-time of an angler. However, roof racks are practical, and nobody likes to break down a rod when going spot to spot. Trxstle, a company from Helena, Montana, has developed a new style of roof rack that is accommodating for all styles of rods ranging from 7-10’, and can hold four-plus rods (probably more like six-plus if they are fly rods with reels). The ARC system is a full aluminum outer shell, which slides while mounted, and has dividers on the inside to keep rods from hitting each other. The locking system appears to be secure, and the lid is held open by gas struts. Overall, we all agreed we would want one on the top of our rigs . . . so we can fit a slug of rods in our truck during our next road trip, and so people can see that fly fishing is the coolest.
Epropulsion eLite Electric Outboard Motor
Is this a fly-fishing product? I think so. But either way I was immediately impressed by this outboard. First off, these products are now affordable at $1,200. Second, this eLite weighs 15 pounds, which makes it useful for people with rafts, micro-skiffs, drift boats, and kayaks. This unit charges on a USB-C cord which is, literally, the same system that charges your earpods with. The eLite model also has a built-in extension handle so you can stand up and drive. The motor easily unlocks with a simple cam mount and folds up for easy storage. Run time is 45 minutes at full speed and 1.5 hours on half speed. We think this is a simple, lightweight option to add to smaller watercraft and we are excited to run it on our Bote Rovr Skiff and NRS Fly Project Slipstream.
Summary and Other Awesome Products
Overall, we had a great trip to Orlando and there are many more products to mention in the future.
Temple Fork Outfitters launched a really nice Extra Fast action saltwater series called the Moment. We got to cast it on the pond with their crew and it is light in hand and will be a great option. They also launched a new series of fly rods and reels called "Dispatch". This is an upscale kit for the angler that knows they are going to dive in and wants to level up from entry level fly fishing starter kits. We think the Dispatch reel looks pretty rad. Epic fishing was there, a company born in New Zealand that is well known for it's glass rods. However, we couldn't help but notice the hubless click fly reel and their new Titanium fly rods. We have some more research to do here before we stamp these as approved but they look and felt great. As a bonus, the man in the Epic booth was Brian Bennet the legend behind Moldy Chum. We also met with Yeti, Duck Camp, REC Components, Seaguar, Gamakatsu, Cortland, Costa, Bajio, Cling, and many others.
Last but not least we met with Oros. Let's just say it won't be for the #dryordie. And yes, we will have them, because we love all kinds of fishing. They have taken their technology that we all love, the inline tighting system that they use on their indicators and made a flexible bead for pegged bead fishing. Yes, it's true, it's not a rumor and it's not April fools. More information coming soon.