Live from Orlando, Florida — July 2026
There's no easy way to take in ICAST all at once.
Look one direction and there's a wall of new rods and reels. Turn around and somebody's demonstrating a fish finder, a trolling motor, or a fishing kayak. Keep walking and you'll find enough lures, jigs, and soft plastics to fill every tackle box in northeast Texas — and probably a few garages too.
But we didn't come all the way from Powderly to window-shop.
We're here for the folks fishing Pat Mayse, Lake Fork, Bois d'Arc, Texoma, Tawakoni, Hugo, Broken Bow, and every pond and creek in between. We're walking the floor, asking the same questions y'all ask us at the counter, and figuring out what actually deserves a spot on our shelves.
What Is ICAST? The Quick Version
- ICAST stands for the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades.
- It's the world's largest sportfishing trade show — 2026 is its 68th year.
- It's held every July at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. This year's show runs July 14–17, 2026.
- It's put on by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
- Around 13,000 people from 75 countries attend, with hundreds of exhibitors and roughly 950 brands on the floor.
- Over 900 brand-new products are entered in the New Product Showcase — the gear that will fill tackle shops over the next year.
- It is NOT open to the public. Only tackle retailers, manufacturers, and fishing media get in the door.
That last point is the whole reason for this post. You can't buy a ticket to ICAST.
Your local tackle shop is your ticket inside.
Why Brannan's Being Here Matters to You
- First look at next year's gear. We get hands on new rods, reels, and baits months before they hit shelves. Tuesday's demo day even puts new gear on five acres of water right outside the convention center — you learn a lot more casting a reel than reading about one.
- Straight answers from the source. We talk face-to-face with the folks who design this stuff — about release dates, availability, and what problem the gear is actually supposed to solve.
- Early orders. The hottest new releases get allocated during and right after this show. Shops that show up get first in line. That means new gear lands in Powderly instead of you waiting on a big-box restock or a backordered listing.
- A hype filter. Some of this stuff is the real deal. Some needs more time on the water. Some is an old idea wearing a new hat. Our job is figuring out which is which before it costs you money.
Taylor Slagle, co-owner of Brannan's Bass Shop, put it this way:
"We're committed to making Brannan's Bass Shop the premier fishing tackle destination in northeast Texas. Every trip to ICAST is an opportunity to discover innovative products, strengthen relationships with industry-leading brands, and ensure our customers have access to the best gear available."
The Big Story: Urchins Everywhere
If one bait has made itself impossible to ignore this year, it's the urchin — those spiky, fuzzy soft plastics that went from "what in the world is that" to winning tournaments almost overnight. They're so popular that major retailers created a whole new bait category just for them.
And this show confirms it: just about every brand in the building has brought their own version, along with new jigheads, rigging systems, and even storage boxes built just for urchins. When companies start designing tackle boxes around one bait, you know something's going on.
"Urchins, urchins, and more urchins — that's one category we're especially excited to see. Every brand seems to be introducing their own version, and we can't wait to find the products that will make the biggest impact for our customers." — Taylor Slagle, Co-Owner, Brannan's Bass Shop
Here's the thing though: our customers don't need more choices. They need better choices. We're sorting through the urchin flood to find the sizes, colors, and rigging setups that make sense for our timber, our grass, and our pressured fish — and a full Brannan's urchin guide for local waters is coming to this blog soon.
A Sneak Peek at What Else We're Seeing
We're keeping the full breakdown for the post-show report, but here's a taste of what's stopped us in the aisles:
- Bladed jigs built like truck axles — including a new heavy-duty ChatterBait that Z-Man says tested over 40% stronger than the original, made for exactly the kind of grass and timber you fight at Fork and Bois d'Arc. There's a micro version too, small enough to pull double duty on crappie and white bass.
- Downsized topwaters for schooling fish — if you've ever watched fish bust bait just out of range on Texoma, a couple of these new baits were made with you in mind.
- Little finesse crankbaits from a name you grew up throwing — light-line versions of a Southern classic.
- Live sonar and kayak power keep climbing — Garmin, Lowrance, and Humminbird all brought updated electronics, and kayak anglers are finally getting real attention with GPS trolling motors sized for small boats.
- And a few surprises we're not spoiling yet. Some of what we saw needs a second look — and at least one thing on our list, we want to fish before we say a word.
Not Every Shiny Object Gets a Shelf Tag
There's real innovation at this show. There's also sticker shock, copycats, and a few products solving problems nobody's ever had on a Tuesday evening at Pat Mayse.
Our rule is simple: if we wouldn't tie it on ourselves, recommend it to a friend, or explain honestly why it's worth the money — it doesn't make the trip home.
We've been doing this since 1983. We're not here to bring home everything. We're here to bring home better information, stronger relationships, and better options for the people who walk through our door.
What Happens Next (Don't Miss This Part)
The show wraps Friday, and this post is only part one. Once the team is back in Powderly and has compared notes, we're publishing the full report:
- The new products that impressed us most — and our honest take
- What Brannan's ordered for the shop, and when it should arrive
- What we passed on, and why
- The complete urchin bait guide for northeast Texas lakes
Here's your part: is there a new lure, rod, reel, sonar system, or suspiciously fuzzy piece of plastic you want us to investigate? Message us on Facebook or tell us at the counter. We're already walking the floor — might as well put a few more miles on the shoes.
And you don't have to wait on the new stuff to gear up. The tackle that's catching fish on our lakes right now is on our shelves and at brannansbass.com — picked the same way we're picking gear at this show. When the ICAST releases start arriving this fall, folks on our email list and Facebook will hear it first.
— The Brannan's Bass Shop Team, reporting from ICAST 2026
Brannan's Bass Shop has been family owned and operated in Powderly, Texas since 1983, serving bass, crappie, and catfish anglers across northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, and southwest Arkansas. Stop by at 10081 US Hwy 271 N, Powderly, TX — open 6 AM to 6 PM, seven days a week — or shop online anytime at brannansbass.com.
ICAST 2026: Quick Answers
What is ICAST?
ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades) is the world's largest sportfishing trade show, held every July in Orlando, Florida and produced by the American Sportfishing Association. It brings together manufacturers, retailers, buyers, pro anglers, and fishing media to debut the new fishing products coming to stores over the next year.
When and where is ICAST 2026?
ICAST 2026 runs July 14–17, 2026 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
Can the public attend ICAST?
No. ICAST is trade-only — limited to fishing retailers, manufacturers, and media. That's why Brannan's Bass Shop attends in person: to bring that inside access back to our customers in Powderly, Paris, and northeast Texas.
What is the ICAST New Product Showcase?
The New Product Showcase is where exhibitors enter their newest products — over 900 each year — and credentialed buyers and media vote on awards. It's the closest thing the fishing industry has to an official "product of the year," and it previews the gear coming to tackle shops over the following year.
What are urchin baits?
Urchin baits are compact soft-plastic lures covered in small spiky appendages, giving them a fuzzy, sea-urchin look. They shine in finesse presentations and have exploded in popularity with bass anglers over the past two years — enough that major retailers now list them as their own bait category. Watch this blog for Brannan's full urchin guide for northeast Texas waters.
When will products from ICAST 2026 be available to buy?
It varies by manufacturer. Some new releases ship within weeks of the show, but most arrive between fall 2026 and early 2027. Brannan's places orders during and right after ICAST so new gear reaches our shelves in Powderly as early as possible.
How does Brannan's decide which new products to stock?
Popularity alone doesn't earn shelf space. We weigh quality, price, availability, how well the brand supports independent dealers, and most of all whether the product fits the fishing our customers actually do — bass, crappie, and catfish on lakes like Pat Mayse, Lake Fork, Bois d'Arc, and Texoma.
How can I follow Brannan's ICAST coverage?
Follow Brannan's Bass Shop on Facebook, join our email list, and watch this blog. Our full post-show report — the gear we ordered, the gear we skipped, and the urchin guide — drops shortly after the show ends.