Cermele: Weird Reels & ICAST Beer Blasts

I planned on filling you guys in on some cool stuff I found here at ICAST, but unfortunately I’ve gone and drank too many beers.

Nah, just kidding. What you’re seeing are beer can bobbers, one of many “novelty” fishing items on the show floor this year. While a beer can bobber doesn’t really do anything for me, I was highly impressed by the shear number of brew brands offered in bobber form. Astounding, but let’s move on to something a bit more interesting.

Take a look at the photo at the bottom of the post. That is a new spinning reel from a company called Strike Tech. You’ll notice in the shot on the right, the spool is off-center. Here’s why: These reels allow you to swivel the spool at various degrees. What ends up happening as you turn the handle is the line winds on in one short stroke, then one long based on the angle you set the spool. This puts a side-to-side wobble in your line as you retrieve. That wobble imparts action to your lure automatically, letting you straight reel instead of working the rod tip.

So hypothetically, if you were reeling in a Spook, it would “walk” just from you reeling straight in. When you set the hook, the spool snaps right back to center for the fight. The company also recommends these reels for youngsters who are not yet in tune with the fine arts of imparting lure action. I played with the reels for a while. The drag seemed smooth, I couldn’t get the line to twist or loop and ranging between $35 and $90, the price seems right.

What do you think? Great idea or give it the gong? I’ll have more nifty ICAST finds for you next week. — JC