So You're Headed to Your First iCast?

ICAST 2023, the sportfishing industry’s biggest trade show, is rapidly approaching, and many of you are headed there for the first time. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There are so many products and so many shiny objects, that even if you were let loose in the building alone you’d get vertigo within about 20 minutes. Add in the fact that just about everyone in the fishing industry – the world’s best tournament anglers, people you’ve only seen on TV (“Jefferson? I thought he just flew in for games?”), and uber-powerful people who could buy and sell those first two groups, even if you’ve never been there – will be present.

I won’t be there. It’s not that I don’t want to go, or haven’t had invitations. In fact, the most painful part of just about every June and early July for me is the onslaught of emails saying “See you at ICAST!” or “Will you stop by our booth?” and then having to inform them that I won’t be there. It’s a conscious choice, man. As someone who is just a few years from retirement, still largely controlled by someone else’s calendar, at this point my fishing “career” benefits more from going to Alaska in a few weeks than spending a handful of days in Florida. It’s not an easy or pleasant choice, but it’s the right one.

Nevertheless, I have been previously, and I’ve been to Classic Expos and Safari Club shows and I can offer you some pretty good advice. If you’re trying to establish yourself in the industry, this is a big opportunity. It’s literally fish in a barrel – as noted above, just about everyone you need to know will be within a mile of you.

Don’t mess it up.

Go in there with a plan, looking like a professional (Remember that deal about dressing for the job you want? It’s pretty accurate in this situation), ready to shake hands, kiss babies and make contacts. It may not be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it is effectively a once-a-year opportunity.

Every year at the Classic I see people in the media room hobnobbing, eating free food, and producing exactly…nothing. It’s a social event for them. That will be true of ICAST for some people, too. They’re there to glad hand and drink booze on someone else’s dime. It’s ok to take the free meals and free drinks (don’t get too publicly or embarrassingly drunk – the industry is small and memories are long), but don’t make that the purpose of the visit. You are there to get stuff done. Have a plan of people you need to see, things you need to produce, and both short- and long-term goals. Be prepared to modify it on the fly. Be realistic about it – if you’re expecting to spend hours in deep conversation with KVD or Bill Dance, you’re going to be disappointed when they get whisked away to another obligation before you can ask question number two.

And don’t go in thinking about what you’re going to get. Think about what you can provide. If you’re building for the long term, next year’s visit will be a chance to add a second floor to the foundation that you started in 2023. Have fun. Take it all in. But don’t lose a year.