TW's Staff Picks for ICAST 2026

As excitement and anticipation build for this year’s 2026 ICAST show, the TW Staff is always curious to see the latest innovations in tackle, gear, and accessories from some of the most notable manufacturers in the bass fishing industry. Year after year, ICAST continues to be the premier sportfishing tradeshow and the ultimate gathering of new bass fishing products, industry leaders, and professional anglers. To help wade through the new rods, reels, line, baits, electronics, and more, this article highlights the TW Staff’s ‘best’ ICAST products by type and showcases the standouts in each category.

Aiming to set the bar for value-driven performance as bass fishing expenses continue to soar, the St. Croix Triumph Series blends premium components and unbeatable prices into a family of casting, spinning, travel, and rod-reel combos. Built around St. Croix’s premium SCII Carbon blanks for strength and sensitivity, the TW Staff looked beyond other expensive rod offerings at this year’s ICAST to shed light on a complete set of utility and travel bass rods that won't burn a hole in your wallet. Featuring premium-grade cork handles that provide a comfortable grip, the St. Croix Triumph Series accommodates a variety of techniques and applications through multiple different models, lengths, and powers to fit all kinds of fishing preferences.

Enhanced with Shimano’s flagship I-DC5 technology, the Shimano Calcutta Conquest DC 200 Casting Reel was viewed as the best ICAST 2026 casting reel release by the saltwater and swimbait anglers in the office. The Calcutta series has been a long-standing favorite of ours as a compact round saltwater reel, but the Conquest 200DC also positions itself as a top-shelf round reel for freshwater anglers targeting trophy bass by making repeated casts with heavy swimbaits. Featuring an upgraded I-DC5 magnetic layout that applies smoother, more consistent braking, the Shimano Calcutta Conquest DC 200 Casting Reel is the ultimate choice for throwing large glide baits or working topwater plugs and swimbaits.

Powered by Daiwa’s AirDrive Design Concept and premium Zaion materials, the Daiwa Tatula Elite MQ Spinning Reel delivers silky smooth rotation to maximize performance with tournament-winning finesse tactics. In hand, this spinning reel feels incredibly lightweight thanks to the premium monocoque Zaion V body, and each turn of the reel handle provides effortless rotation with the same Zaion rotor found in the Daiwa Exist G LT Spinning Reel. Perfect for fishing finesse lures and power-finesse techniques to target fish around cover, the Daiwa Tatula Elite MQ Spinning Reel includes a Long Cast ABS spool that extends your casting distance and is perfect for fishing with braided lines. A special shoutout also goes out to the Daiwa Tatula MQ Spinning Reel as slightly more cost effective option with many of the same Daiwa flagship reel technologies.

Designed to deliver stable gliding action while being highly responsive to angler input, the Rapala PXR Stryda 180 Glide Bait chops side-to-side energetically and creates S-shaped gliding movements on a steady retrieve. Featuring an innovative Screw Driver Weight System that allows for a variable sink rate, this single-jointed glide bait allows anglers to make on-the-fly adjustments with an interchangeable tungsten belly weight that can be easily screwed into place. Packed with all the best qualities anglers look for in a high-quality glidebait, the Rapala PXR Stryda 180 Glidebait includes swiveling hook hangers, razor-sharp VMC RedLine treble hooks, and a durable soft plastic tail.

Chosen by the TW Staff for its unique dumbbell profile and lifelike three-dimensional molded limbs, the Imakatsu Dumbbell Crab Elastomer 22mm features an innovative urchin core shape that allows for versatile rigging methods. Perfect for drop shots or weightless rigs when rigged through the center, the Dumbbell Crab can also be readily paired with a small #4 offset hook for weedless rigging around vegetation and cover. Delivering overwhelming drawing power and tournament-winning results overseas, the Dumbbell Crab brings a slow rate of fall, long-distance casting, and powerful water displacement to sight fishing or live sonar presentations.

Blending the erratic movement of a topwater hard bait with the snag-free ability of a hollow body frog, the Snag Proof Zoo Wag features a streamlined body and unique cupped mouth that creates a wealth of surface disturbance. Designed to be highly effective with a slow and steady retrieve, the Snag Proof Zoo Wag creates a tantalizing wag that wakes and gurgles across the surface to attract reaction bites when walking frogs are less effective. The Snag Proof Zoo Wag adds aggressive surface waking action to your topwater presentations to make itself a unique complement to any angler’s hollow body frog arsenal!

As the first company to bring TPE thermoplastic to fishing applications, Z-Man debuts their all-new Sinking 10X Tough Elaztech superplastic to complement the legendary original formula to unlock a second performance profile within the Elaztech family. Built to deliver natural sinking action, added density, and expanded versatility, the TW Staff was excited about the Z-Man Kingpin Worm as long-standing fans of throwing a stick bait when the bite gets tough.

The density is built directly into the polymer rather than coming from salt, so sink rate remains consistent, and the material retains its full strength and elasticity, avoiding the brittleness and premature tearing common in salt‑filled soft plastics. Advancing the soft-plastic bass fishing industry with a proprietary sinking superplastic formula, the Z-Man Kingpin Worm has a firmer composition to improve hook retention with Texas rigs and enhances performance around vegetation, wood, and other cover.

Crafted to increase hook-up ratios with urchin baits and fuzzy dice, the Gamakatsu Ball Rig Hook utilizes a fixed weight clip to provide anglers with an easy way to attach a drop shot or Gika rig weight to their presentation. Built with Tournament Grade Wire (TGW) for excellent strength and durability, the Ball Rig Hook features a nano alpha coating that offers 2X better hook penetration and 4X more corrosion resistance. Available with or without a dual titanium wire weedguard, the Gamakatsu Ball Rig Hook allows anglers to quickly adjust the sink rate and provides an effective and efficient way to rig fuzzy dice, urchin baits, and finesse soft plastics.

Designed to increase space in your boat compartments and effectively store any urchin-style bait that utilizes a wire form in the packaging, the Spro Coike Keeper Storage Accessory is the ultimate solution for safely storing and transporting your expensive urchin baits. Made of a precisely cut high-quality foam, the Hideup Coike Storage Accessory fits snugly inside Meiho MH-VS-3043 and Gamakatsu 3700 storage boxes to ensure your expensive plastics maintain their action and remain in prime condition. Perfect for securing each bait with the included wire form, the Spro Coike Keeper Storage Accessory takes the hassle out of properly storing urchin creature baits with numerous appendages.

Developed in collaboration with our close friend and West Coast hammer Ken Mah, the Buckeye Lures Dumpster Diver Jig penetrates thick cover with a design inspired by grass fisheries like Clear Lake and the Delta. Built with a heavy-duty Mustad Ultra Point that provides rapid hook penetration, the Dumpster Diver Jig boasts a no-flex construction that allows anglers to deliver heavy hooksets with plenty of power to remove fish from nasty cover. Complete with a Double V bait keeper to lock soft plastic trailers firmly in place, the Buckeye Lures Dumpster Diver Jig has a unique pointed head shape and thick double weedguard that allows anglers to fish a jig in areas that were previously inaccessible.

Built to improve castability and provide strength for flipping, pitching, and hollow body frog fishing, the Sunline Katan Cast Braid X8 Braided Line features an ultra-smooth surface that offers better handling, reduce guide friction, and extended casting distance. Sunline Katan Cast X8 Braded Line is made with a premium 8-strand construction with a rounded body and improved flexiblity to ensure less twisting, stiffness, and backlashes. A resounding favorite among TW staff members who love fishing grass and vegetation, the Sunline Katan Cast Braid X8 Braided Line delivers high abrasion resistance and shock absorption to deliver confident hooksets and remove fish from cover.