ICast just wrapped up last week down in Florida. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the event, but I got to see most of it through the media’s eyes. Decided to make a Top 10 ICast picks of baits and equipment for WV Fishing and here is what I came up with. 

10. Bass Mafia Daingerous Swimbait

While there isn’t much opportunity to have killer days in WV with a swimbait of this style, I felt like this one could have a place inside the Top 10. There have been times when a swimbait of this style can play for a big bite or two in a tournament situation, but it is rather uncommon. Just hoping this swimbait proves to wobble and run correctly without the normal wiring harness we are used to seeing in this type of swimbait.

9. St Croix Legend Tournament Bass Series 

This one really stuck out with the new GRASP handle that almost looks like a pistol grip. They are now offering this rod with the GRASP handle on select Legend Tournament Series models of the rod which are intended for large swimbaits or umbrella rigs. Definitely thought this was a cool feature even though we don’t have much opportunity for big swimbait fishing around the state, but I would imagine it would make throwing those large baits much easier.

8. Plano Frog Box 

Now this was intriguing. For years I have tried different ways of storing frogs because number one you kind of dull up the hooks in a regular box over time by just sliding around in the box. Also, once the heat sits in the summer and those skirted legs seem to stick to the box and sometimes you can rip the skirt. So, I felt like this box was an all-around great fix for that.

7. Z-Man Hell RaiZer 

New topwater baits are always so appealing to me. Especially when you have a totally different design that most fish haven’t seen yet. The blade on the back of the bait in the videos I’ve seen kind of gives the bait a wobbling motion, but gives it enough weight to keep the blade fully submerged and the nose still out of the water. I have never seen anything like this before and I am sure the fish haven’t either, so I definitely think it’s worth giving a shot around our waters.

6. Strike King Filler Worm 

We have seen these types of worms before in the industry, but why I put them in the Top 10 was for the new and unique colors. There are some colors in the new Filler Worm that I haven’t yet seen before that I think could play a big part on a dropshot.

5. Humminbird Target Lock

I think we all seen this before ICast, but this one is going to change the game. Especially when you have the ability to lock on a target and the trolling motor and new target lock can keep you on the target. It’s going to be flat out a game changer and I fully suspect to see other brands jump in on it as well. Also, I can really see this being a huge player in places like Summersville or even on the rivers

4. Missile Baits Chunky D

While we did give #5 to the deep guys, I think this could be a great tool for shallow fishermen coming soon. It has a bit smaller body compared to the Missile Baits D-Bomb but has the flapping action as we see in other brands. I am personally a huge Missile Baits fan, so this one is going to be great to flip around.

3. Strike King Chick Magnet Jr.

Junior should say it all especially fishing in WV. We all know downsizing our baits around here in WV can lead to more bites and if you are a tournament fisherman more victories. I think this will play out a lot better than the traditional Chick Magnet just because of the size, but we shall see!

2. Frabill WITNESS Weigh Net

You might think why in the world is the #2 on the list, but I have good reasoning. This is going to be a time saver and in a tournament fisherman’s mind; time is everything. This will be an easy way to check the weight of the fish as soon as you get it in the net. I feel like this will be an easy way to know if you need to cull or not without getting out the traditional hanging scale.

1. Curado 200DC

This one is kind of no brainer at number one. I just know so many people who either already have a Curado DC or people who have never thrown a bait caster that should pick one of these up. The original Curado 150DC was a game changer allowing anglers to not have to worry about backlash and improve cast ability. The new Curado 200DC brings that same improvement except with a much larger spool allowing anglers to put more of their favorite line