I stopped to see Ron Stallings at the
TTI Blakemore booth to see what they had going on that was new, and wow, check it out:
Road Runner with
Fle-Fly Go Go Minnow = "Go Go Runner".
What's neat about this is, the curly tail runs sideways and not up and down. This is so there is less chance for it to interfere with the blade action, or for it to get caught on the tip of the hook. How cool is that. Great idea from two of our wonderful sponsors.
Next I visited Jack Wells at the
BnM booth. In looking at the new "retro" rods he had I learned something I never knew. Did you all know that BnM stands for Broom and Mop Company. How funny is that. We've been fishing with broom's all this time and I never knew it.
Jack showing off the "Little Jewel". If you look real close it actually does say "Boom and Mop Company"!
Now here's a new rod I wanted to hear a little more about, and I especially wanted to feel it's action. I'm talking about the new BnM heavy duty power trolling rod, the
Pow-R-Troller. Jack showed me it's stiffness, and in the process he actually hit someone with the PST he was comparing the rod to. The Pow-R-Troller is very stiff and will hold up super well when pushing cranks with 3 oz weights. Can't wait to try some out.
When leaving ICAST I seen my good friend Ron Wong on the bus ride back to the parking area. Small world. Ron is a great writer/photographer/fisherman and cook. You may remember his Hush Puppy recipe I made mention of here in this story:
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/conte...ard-well-kinda
After ICAST I made it to the BnM and TTI Blakemore dinner party which is always a special event meeting old friends and making new friends as well. I had the honor of sitting next to David Baynard of
Driftmaster. Super nice guy, and very entertaining as well.
Speaking of entertaining, on my other side were the girls behind the scenes at BnM Poles, Janice and Virginia. A couple super ladies who have been with BnM for many years. They helped me see clearly why BnM is run so well. We had some great conversation. So if you all need any BnM help, let me know, I now have the inside connections! lol
Then came the sobering side of the event. There was not a dry eye in the room when Ron Stalling talked about his brother TJ, who had passed away earlier in the year. TJ was a close friend to everyone here including myself. TJ brought me into this industry with open arms. I had no contacts or connections back in the late 90's when I started Crappie.com and TJ showed me the ropes. It was heartening to see all the other people here that he also touched as we went around the room to tell our stories. TJ influenced a generation of fishermen and industry experts in a truly positive way that will take years to fully comprehend.
This picture of TJ was taken at last years "after ICAST" dinner party. I love this picture because TJ's humorous and lighthearted nature shows through so well in it. We will all miss you TJ.
And then we all said our good byes. I was happy to get in a selfie before the night ended with two fishing greats, Jimmy Houston and Tommy Skarlis.
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