Big Rock East Crowns New Product Winners

Raleigh, N.C. — When retailers gather and vote on the best new fishing products for the coming year, it’s a special event. When they gather at one of the industry’s largest distributor shows — the 2017 Big Rock Sports East Show — it’s even more important, more valuable and more predictive of trends in the market.

At the industry’s biggest trade show — ICAST — the New Product Showcase is dominated by media, so the results are a great barometer of what’s captured the media’s attention and what may be getting a lot of exposure. But at Big Rock East, the New Product Showcase may tell the story of which products will be made most available in stores around the country. And retailers are careful to buy what they think they can most effectively sell. That’s important because a media darling can turn into a marketplace dog … and vice versa.

Fishing Tackle Retailer readers will be familiar with many of the winners since they also took honors at ICAST or were recently featured in stories about new gear.

In the Fishing/Camping/Marine Categories, the New Product Showcase winners were

Freshwater Reel — Shimano Sahara Spinning

Saltwater Reel — Penn Slammer III Spinning

Fishing Rods — Lew’s MACH Speed Stick IM6

Freshwater Lures — Lunkerhunt Link

Saltwater Lures — Westin Coco The Crab

Rod & Reel Combos — Lew’s Mach II Baitcast Combo

Fishing Accessories — Cobra Garage Door Storage Rack

Terminal Tackle — Gamakatsu Big Cat Circle Hook

Fishing Line — Daiwa J-Braid 4 Carrier

Beach/Camping/Outdoor — Calcutta Renegade Cooler

Marine — Humminbird Helix 10 CHIRP MEGA SI GPS

Overall Best of Show — Penn Slammer III Spinning