iCAST 2023
We’re officially coming to iCAST 2023! Yes, that right! Bates Fishing Co. is coming to Orlando and we’re bringing our reels with us this July, the 11th-14th. You can find us at booth #1448 between the Press Room and Restaurant area, so stop by and see what we and many others are believing to be the fishing industry’s best baitcasters for yourself.
In an industry often filled with fluff and the promises of new technology wrapped in language so ambiguous it may as well be cuneiform (What’s that?! My point, exactly), Bates Fishing Co. is coming to the fishing industry’s largest tradeshow with the promise that there’s No Bull, here. There’s Just Bates, and “just Bates” means that what we’re offering is a product that’s overbuilt and made to work…and last.
Our goal as a manufacturer is to utilize the best materials made in the best possible ways that tech affords us, and to assemble the products of those materials into what is the best-built, low profile baitcasting reel the industry has ever seen. Stating that this is a goal is to admit that we’re on a journey, here, and that what we’ve achieved thus far is not where we anticipate being a year from now, two years from now, ten years from now. We haven’t reached the pinnacle of reel manufacturing yet, but we’re trying, and we’re doing so by pursuing perfection through precision, which may very well be the best one word descriptor of our products. They epitomize precision at every level from our one-piece, CNC’d aluminum frames to our custom milled gears, all the way down to our titanium crank arms and laser-engraved cork handles and thumb bars.
NEW PRODUCT
Whether you’re a media member or retailer looking for new products, you can expect to see our full lineup of reels at the show. The GOAT, our most popular model, as well as Salty, El Jefe, Rosa, and Abe will all be present and available to cast. Additionally, we’re excited to release our newest project, the Hundo.
The Hundo is everything we’ve accomplished in reel manufacturing so far, plus some. It represents the fullness of features folks have come to love in our other reels, but in a smaller and lighter package. The Hundo comes in at 4.87 oz and features a gunmetal grey anodized aluminum frame, fully CNC’d from 6061-T6 bar stock on our 9 axis machine. And just to be sure there’s no gimmicks or simple metallic coatings, we’ve left a few of the machine paths roughed into the frame making the Hundo an industrial marvel. Beyond just a smaller, 100 sized frame, this reel boasts our new dual braking system along with a shallower spool so finesse fishermen can easily dial in lighter lines and lures. Now, don’t think for a second that lighter and smaller means less capable. The Hundo still provides a stout 14 lbs of drag, which is best in its class. We’ve also upgraded some internal components including lighter aluminum gears and improved bearings, which are a combination of 10 HAC Stainless Steel bearings plus 2 high precision NMB ball bearings, and 1 one-way Stainless Steel ball bearing.
Look for our Hundo in the New Product Showcase at this year’s show, and be sure and drop by the booth to give us your thoughts!