GEAR

CANADIAN ANGLERS ARE IN FOR AN EXCELLENT YEAR ON THE WATER WITH THESE AWESOME NEW LURES, RODS, REELS, LINES AND ACCESSORIES

EVERY YEAR, I can’t wait to check out the latest gear unveiled at the major angling trade shows—and look for interesting new trends in the process. One of the most exciting recent developments is the increasing reach of Canadian-made tackle. Just a few years ago, it was shocking to see a product from Canada capture attention at the likes of the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, or ICAST. Today, though, the spotlight shines brightly on several innovative upstarts from the Great White North, and they’ve made my list of 2023’s best new tackle for Canadian anglers.

FOR PRODUCT PRICES AND AVAILABILITY, PLEASE CONTACT THE RESPECTIVE MANUFACTURERS. ALSO SEE PAGE 57 FOR OUR ROUNDUP OF NEW FLY-FISHING GEAR.

Best Wakebait Rozante Perj 95f

How cool is this? The newest wakebait from Duo Realis features three segments attached by ball-bearing swivels, allowing the body to rotate and twist from side-to-side like a struggling minnow on the water’s surface. Equipped with three razorsharp treblehooks, the 3¾-inchlong, half-ounce lure comes in five realistic colours. If this wakebait works anywhere near as well as the terrific spybaits from Duo Rea-

Gen Ii Concept Z Sld

On most baitcasters, you have to open a side plate or fiddle with knobs to change the brake tension, so it’s not often used. On this reel, however, the brake is easily adjusted via a thumb slider positioned perfectly next to the spool. This allows you to adjust the tension on the fly so you can cast into the wind one minute, then with the wind the next. Novices will appreciate this feature, as will pros who constantly switch between heavier and lighter baits. 13 Fishing, www.13fishing.ca

Best Chatterbait Slobberknocker

Featuring a blade pivoting on an axle running through the jig head, the one-of-a-kind Slobberknocker is unlike any other chatterbait. The unique design delivers a consistent vibration, while also ensuring the bait runs through heavy cover. Completing the package is a supersharp Fusion19 hook and a handtied silicone skirt infused with Berkley’s PowerBait scent. Available in 12 stunning, chip-resistant finishes, the Slobberknocker is sure to be a runaway winner. Berkley, www.berkley-fishing.com bucktails jigs is a deadly way to catch walleye in and around weeds, and this Mepps offering is made for just that. It comes in quarter- and ⅜-ounce weights—the only two sizes you need for this particular technique—and eight chip-resistant colour combos, all with a touch of flash. Black and red is my all-time favourite bucktail colour, but when the fish are targeting perch, the chartreuse, orange and yellow patterns reign supreme. Brecks Inc., www.mepps.ca

Lunkerhunt’s latest offering marries the fish-catching action of a crankbait with a blade bait. The square bill up front gives this cool-looking hybrid the diving, deflecting, rolling action of a crank, while the bladed back half delivers the vibration. Fish have never seen, felt or heard anything quite like this three-inch lure. Weighing a halfounce, it comes in eight colours. I can’t wait to throw it for trophy smallmouth bass this coming fall. Lunkerhunt, www.lunkerhunt.com

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Best Electronics Mega Live Targetlock

Winner of ICAST’s Best of Show award for electronics, this system is a game changer for anglers running a Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor. Mounted to the motor’s shaft, the device keeps your forward-facing MEGA Live beam fixed on a specific desired loca tion, even as the boat changes directions. Previously, the beam pointed in whatever direc tion the trolling motor was facing. It’s pretty amazing technology. Johnson Outdoors, www.humminbird.com

BEST FROG

ULTIMATE FROG

Most topwater frogs sport silicone skirts to mimic legs, but not this Kermit. It has actual legs that launch out in a realistic kicking motion when you jerk the bait forward, then pull in under the body when the lure’s at rest. The result is a frog that floats, dives and kicks like the real thing. Available in either a popper model with an internal rattle, or a silent finesse version, it comes in eight detailed colours, as well as in two- and 2½-inch sizes. Livetarget Lures, www.livetargetlures.com

BEST PANFISH/TROUT SOFT-PLASTICS

MICRO FINESSE BAITZ

Z-Man has revolutionized softplastics with its neutrally buoyant, virtually indestructible ElaZtech material. Now it’s available in the Micro Finesse BaitZ series for panfish and trout anglers. I spent a day fishing with a single StingerZ, and after landing more than 50 crappies, the bait still looked unused. The series also includes the LarvaZ (above), Micro TRD, Tiny TicklerZ and Shad FryZ, in 10 colours. These baits are simply amazing. Z-Man Fishing Products, www.zmanfishing.com

Unrigged Swimbait

I’m a sucker for swimbaits because they catch everything that swims, so when I saw Bass Mafia’s latest offering, I was instantly hooked. Designed by Chris Zaldain, a Bass master Elite angler renowned for his swimbaiting skills, this anatomi cally accurate soft-plastic features an oversized paddletail for maximum vibration. Made for rigging on jigs or hooks, it comes in sixand eight-inch sizes and five handpainted patterns, complete with for ward-looking holographic eyes. Bass Mafia, www.mafiaoutdoors.com

BEST PANFISH JIGS ¼ OZ TUNGSTEN

At long last, there’s now a panfish-style tungsten jig big enough for trophy-sized crappies, yellow perch, stocked trout and fussy walleye. Tungsten jigs this heavy simply didn’t exist until Big Sky Flies in Medicine Hat, Alberta, designed its custom mould. Half the size of comparable lead-head jigs, they sink quickly and balance perfectly with bigger soft-plastics and natural baits. Sporting a size 4 hook, they come in six gorgeous colour patterns. Flies & Jigs, www.bigskyflies.ca

BEST COOLER P88-MK

Winner of ICAST’s overall Best of Show award, this sturdy Alaskamade cooler features three compartments allowing for simultaneous hot and cold or dry and wet storage. It includes a compartment for Pacbak’s 18-volt battery-oper-

Best Landing Net

Witness Weigh Net

With Frabill’s latest landing net, there’s no excuse for not getting an accurate weight of your catch. After netting a fish in the tangle-free Micro-Mesh webbing, you simply turn on the built-in scale, hold the net in a vertical position to cushion the fish and check the weight on the LED read-out. There’s even a 30-inch ruler on the handle for measuring the length of your catch. No wonder the net was named the Best of Show fishing accessory at ICAST. Frabill, www.frabill.com

Best Spinning Reel Stella Fk

If you want the Rolls Royce of spinning reels, check out the Stella FK. Along with incorporating Shimano’s existing top tackle technologies, it’s the new features that really set this reel apart, such as the InfinityXross gear toothing, DuraCross drag and Anti-Twist Fin line tensioning. The first time you turn the handle, you’ll see why it won ICAST’s Best of Show award in the freshwater reel category. It’s available in five sizes, from 1000 to 5000. Shimano Canada, fish.shimano.com

Best Mapping Tool Lakemaster Vx

I rely heavily on my current Lakemaster map chip to help me find fish, so I was excited to see the new VX version. It offers three chart presets, shallow-water offset and Smartstrike. With the latter feature, you input your target fish species, the season and the weather, and it then highlights places on the map that should hold fish. I’m most excited, however, about the new customizable depth-range feature that lets you shade contours in four different colours. Johnson Outdoors, www.humminbird.com

Best

Flipping Lure

Flutter Nymph

Designed by California bass pro Bill Siemantel, the 4¼-inch Flutter Nymph is perfect for finesse flipping and pitching, while the 3½-inch version should prove deadly on a Ned rig in open water. When the mayflies are hatching, smallmouth bass and walleye are going to devour these four-winged, paddle-kicking creature baits. They come six to a package, in a choice of eight colours to cover a multitude of fishing scenarios. FishLab Tackle, www.fishlabtackle.com

BEST MADE-IN-CANADA LURE CHASER GOBY

Following in the footsteps of his father Shawn Galea of Advanced Taxidermy, Ontario’s Chase Galea has designed the most anatomically correct soft-plastic goby imitation imaginable. Bound to crush giant lake trout, bass, walleye, whitefish and pike, the four-inch Chaser Goby comes in six stunning colours. Pin this splay-finned devil on a jig or weighted hook, fish it close to the bottom, and hang on. Other soft-plastics are also available. Chaser Hand Poured Soft Body Baits, www.chaserhandpouredsoftbodybaits.com

Best Spinnerbait Speed Freak Spinnerbait

Freedom Tackle founders Michael and Nick Tamburro have done it again, this time designing a unique keel-headed spinnerbait that won’t blow out, no matter how fast you burn it. Equipped with a willowleaf blade and Freedom’s new Kilter Blade, it also promises unprecedented flash and vibration. Other features include premium swivels, razor-sharp hooks, silicone skirts and lifelike colours. The Speed Freak comes in quarter-, half- and ¾-ounce sizes.

www.freedomlures.com

Best Bass Rods Legend Tournament

BASS SWIMBAIT RODS

St. Croix has added three sturdy swimbait sticks to its technique-specific family of rods. They feature numerous advancements, but the most obvious is the GRASP reel seat. It’s designed to keep your wrist in a more natural position, reducing fatigue when fishing big, water-resistant lures and heavy swimbaits. There are three models: a seven-foot 10-inch heavy action, a sevenfoot 10-inch extra-heavy and a whopping eight-foot six-inch extra-extra-heavy. St. Croix, www.stcroixrods.com

BEST BIGFISH HOOKS

BLADED

1X STRONG ROUND BEND MUSKY TREBLE

Bass, walleye and trout anglers went gaga last year doctoring their lures and jigs with VMC’s new bladed trebles. At the time, I wrote that VMC needed to give pike and muskie anglers the same option—and someone was clearly paying attention. The bladed trebles now also come in size 5/0 with a choice of Colorado, Indiana or willowleaf blades, allowing anglers to precisely customize their toothy critter baits for more flash and vibration. VMC, www.rapala.ca/vmc

Best Fishing Line Promix Braid Neon Lime

When the fish are biting softly, you can double your chances of a hook-up by closely watching your fishing line for subtle movements, a task made easier when the line is coloured. I field-tested this new high-vis Sufix line last year, and it was still as brightly coloured at the end of the season as it was on opening day. Super-sensitive, lowstretch and abrasion-resistant, ProMix is available in all of the popular strengths, from six- to 80-poundtest. Sufix, www.sufix.ca

Best Youth Rods Grasshopper

Kudos to Kistler for designing a premium fishing rod for kids. Instead of using an economy blank, cheap foam handle and inferior guides, this four-foot, six-inch, one-piece stick is a scaled-down version of Kistler’s top-of-the-line adult-sized baitcasters—complete with the same premium components. Available in medium and medium-heavy actions with a fast tip, it’s perfect for the upand-coming pro in your family.

Kistler Custom Fishing Rods, www.kistlerrods.com

Best Ice Rod

Ice Rod

Technique-specific rods are popular with open-water anglers, and these Meegs rods aim to become equally popular on the hardwater. They’ve been designed by wintertime whitefish and lake trout specialist James Meger to perfectly present nose-heavy jigs, those lethal lures that attract fish and trigger bites by tapping into the bottom silt. Sporting full cork handles and fashioned

Best Knife

R12 HEAVY-DUTY LITHIUM FILLET KNIFE COMBO

Rapala’s latest fillet knife is lighter, stronger and longer-lasting than previous battery-operated models, promising 80 minutes of continuous use. It cuts at twice the speed and with three times the torque of an electric kitchen knife, promising to quickly plow through thick crappie and salmon bones. Equipped with a bright LED beam for low-light tasks, it comes complete with two lithium ION batteries and a charging base. I’m putting one of these right in my boat. Normark Canada, www.rapala.ca OC

ALSO SEE PAGE 42 FOR FISHING EDITOR GORD PYZER ’S FRESH TAKE ON HUNTING FOR MUSKIES.

BY WAYNE PHILLIPS