Are We Living in a Post ICAST World?

I didn’t go to ICAST this year, just as I haven’t been in over a decade. It’s not that I don’t want to be there—I surely do—but with finite vacation time from work and no one willing to pay my way, it’s just not worth it. I know that quite a few companies were not there. In some cases, they were still on COVID-related travel restrictions. In other cases, they were so far behind on products already in their lineups that there wasn’t much sense in bringing out new items.

I suspect there was also a third category: Companies that are moving away from the show altogether.

In the early internet era, it made sense for everyone to be there. It was the yearly gathering for all new product introductions and a chance to meet and greet with buyers, reps, influencers (before the term was coined) and media. The web shrunk that world and took away some of that thunder, but it certainly didn’t end the show. Then the Bassmaster Classic Expo grew, and some product introductions were moved to a different time of year. Not all marketing budgets could withstand those two major efforts, plus all of the other things that they needed to do in the course of the year. I’m sure there are comparable expos and/or opportunities in other types of fishing.

So is the era of the massive fishing trade show dead? Or is its footprint just reduced? Or might there be some way for it to come roaring back? I’m neither wise enough about the industry nor prophetic enough about the economy to make a meaningfully-informed judgment, but it seems like the show is at a serious crossroads.