Playing the Long Game

I don’t remember precisely when the Senko was introduced or if Yamamoto was at ICAST that year. I know it was developed before I became affiliated with the company circa 2005, and while I wasn’t officially in the industry at that time, if it had made a big splash I would have been aware of it.

The bait’s intro, wherever and whenever it occurred, was underwhelming. Its long-term impact, however, was not.

Think of that when you assess this year’s ICAST introductions. I’ve heard from numerous friends that they were underwhelmed by the offerings, not necessarily that they were bad, but that there were no true “game changers” (yes, I know, it’s the world’s most awful term). There were some innovations, some variations on a theme, and to the dismay of some onlookers some near-exact copycats, but at least in the press nothing that indicates a monumental change or shift. There may have been a true diamond in the rough that didn’t get much ink or pixels, or that some dude is developing in his garage right now, but it got swallowed up.

That said, we saw some trends in action – big baits, as well as bait finesse, a wealth of tools related to forward-facing sonar. I’m sure some of them will find a way permanently into many of our boats. Just remember that for every duck bait or bat imitator that came along and raised eyebrows, there’s a Senko that looks like “nothing found in nature” that no one would give a crap about – until the person in the back of their boat started kicking their butt with it. Better, it seems, to be a well-heeled tortoise than an overworked hare.

One more thing: While we hear constantly that tackle sales are down considerably from the pandemic years, you wouldn’t know it from the way people are getting after it. The ASA, as you would expect, trumpeted that a “stellar ICAST signals continued growth in recreational fishing.” More importantly, when I got to the ramp the following Saturday morning there were over a hundred gleaming boats there for a random local tournament, locked and loaded with anything they thought would help them catch a bass. I know it’s anecdotal, but that tells me that the state of our sport is strong – and I’d be willing to bet that at least 95% of them had a few bags of non-award-winning Senkos in those boats, if not on the decks.