Tackle Tactics » LATEST-NEWZ » AFTA Trade Show 2018 Pt. 1

AFTA Trade Show 2018 Pt. 1

Each year fishing tackle manufacturers / wholesalers travel from around the country to Queensland's Gold Coast Convention Centre to set up their display stands, before welcoming your favourite tackle stores from around the country to check out the range of products on offer, including exciting new releases that will become available over the coming months.

In part one of our AFTA wrap up we spend some time on the Tackle Tactics stand, looking at new products from the likes of TT Lures, ZMan and Fish Inc. Lures, before checking out what's new from Okuma Australia in part two of the AFTA wrap. We hope you enjoy this sneak peek at the AFTA Trade Show and what's to come from some of Australia's favourite brands.

TT Lures

There were a few?of new releases from TT Lures at the show, firstly a new colour addition in the NedlockZ Series Jigheads, a mushroom style jighead designed and built for the 'Ned Rig' finesse fishing technique. The Chartreuse addition will be perfect for anglers looking for a more in your face, reaction colour than the natural Green Pumpkin and Black colours. What makes this addition even more exciting is the selection of 'Ned Rig' plastics released by ZMan at the show. Due: Available Now!

Another product that received some new colour additions for the show is the Metal Series Hard Core casting slugs. This popular slug has been effective on everything from salmon, tailor, mackerel and other pelagic species in the salt, to bass in the fresh. These slugs are compact for their weight, making them perfect for those finicky feeding tuna, while also ensuring they cast like bullets. Available in 20, 30 and 40g, with new colour additions being Chartreuse and Pearl Blue Back.

TT Lures have a history of winning the Best in Show Award for 'Best Terminal Tackle', again taking the award in 2018 for the SwimlockZ Series Jigheads. SwimlockZ have been designed for fishing large soft plastic swimbaits, with a tapered head design that shifts the bulk of the head weight below the hook to keel the plastic and control the torque of the plastic that often sees them riding on their side. Built on brutally strong, heavy duty Mustad black nickel chemically sharpened hooks, SwimlockZ feature TT Lures 'head lock' grub keeper to lock your soft plastic in place and a stainless steel connection point moulded into the underside of the head to secure stinger hooks or a blade for adding flash and vibration. Initially available in 8/0, 9/0 and 10/0 hook sizes in 1/2oz, 3/4oz, 1oz and 1.5oz weights. Due: Sep 2018

ZMan

A new colour addition from ZMan created plenty of interest, with the mega-popular Motor Oil colour now available with a fleck, adding flash to its powerful UV reactive qualities in the new Midnight Oil colour. A silver fleck changes colour as it moves deeper into the plastic, appearing copper and gold, with this subtle flash enough to catch the eye of predatory species. If the response from the Tackle Tactics Pro Team is a means of gauging how pumped anglers are about this new addition, you better grab a packet if you can get your hands on one! Due: Aug 2018

Skirted jig fishing has grown in popularity among bass tournament anglers and now spread into social fishing, being an effective tool for targeting shutdown bass and fish holding in heavy structure, thanks to its weed / brush guard, active silicone skirt and UV reactive eyes. Designed by US Bass Elite Pro and jig fishing specialist David Walker, ZMan CrossEyeZ Power Finesse Jigs transfer perfectly to Aussie bass with their smaller profile design and quality 2/0 Mustad UltraPoint, black nickel, chemically sharpened hook. The streamlined design is perfect for casting, pitching, skipping and swimming, with other features including durable, colour matched head paint schemes, hand-tied, 100% silicone skirts and a wire trailer keeper that effectively locks on ZMan and other brand plastics. Due: Available Now!

ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ also created plenty of interest, with bream, bass and yellowbelly anglers immediately trying to knock off any available samples on display at the show. This little craw combines the biological realism of a craw with the buoyant ElaZtech material to create a dynamite, 10X Tough, 'claws up' presentation that imitates a crayfish, crab and other crustaceans with deadly effect. Realistic features include the look of a tucked under tail, combined with a flat belly for a natural gliding descent, along with 3D eyes, segmented thorax and lifelike legs and antennae. Bulbous, buoyant claws provide additional movement and float away from the body when at rest, creating a natural defensive pose that fish can't resist. Whether fleeing or defending, the TRD CrawZ is triggering strikes. Due: Aug 2018

The new ZMan 4" Scented Jerk ShadZ is sure to fire up anglers chasing everything from flathead and snapper, to tuna and mackerel. This bitesize jerk bait profile is 10X Tough, allowing you to take on all species, while also feeling real and having plenty of tail action thanks to its super-soft and flexible, ElaZtech construction. Pre-scented with Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent, the 4" Scented Jerk ShadZ will be available in a stack of popular colours, including Pearl, Electric Chicken, Bad Shad, the Nuked series of colours, Motor Oil and Sexy Mullet. Due: Aug 2018

A Ned Rig favourite, the ZMan 2.75" Finesse TRD has become a phenomenon in the US, with cricket score catches of bass. In Australia this little stick bait is set to follow suit in the bass scene, while also transferring to a wide variety of other species. With no appendages the 2.75" Finesse TRD hinges rapidly from fleeing horizontally on the retrieve to standing upright on the pause in a natural defensive / feeding pose, thanks to the buoyant ElaZtech material. Fish have no hands, so the only way they can investigate what this creature may be is to grab it in their mouth and this fleeing or defending action continually attracts fish and triggers strikes. A deadly combination when paired with a TT Lures NedlockZ jigheads. Due: Aug 2018

For those chasing larger species, such as snapper, mulloway and barra, while still wanting to utilise the Ned Rig System, the 4" Big TRD is the perfect plastic. Again its shape represents so many different food sources, including baitfish, worms, prawns, crays that have shed their shell and more. The lack of appendages allow the plastic to sink into the strike zone quickly, while the super-soft and flexible ElaZtech material allows the plastic to move seductively when hopped and twitched. There's something about this plastic that makes us believe we are going to see it hanging out of the mouths of some big fish very soon. Due: Aug 2018

The final addition from ZMan at the show was another Ned Rig System plastic, that is also sure to catch plenty rigged on a standard jighead, the 4" Hula StickZ. Another stick bait style plastic, the Hula StickZ is a finer profile that has the addition of tentacles that dance and send out subtle strike triggers on the retrieve. The buoyant, 10X Tough construction gets the tail up and in the face of the fish on the pause, while this versatile plastic can be retrieved in any manner from high speed to super-slow finesse retrieves. We have no doubt that anglers can get this Hula dancing. Due: Aug 2018

Bagley

One new addition from Bagley and what a ripper, the Deep Diving Shad 07. This quality, deep diving hard body crash dives and will hit the magic 20' mark on light braided line, making it a winner straight out of the box for bass and yellowbelly anglers. The colour range will ensure it also has plenty of other applications though, including rock wall mangrove jack, deep edge barra, drop off flathead and more. Fitted with black nickel, chemically sharpened hooks, the Deep Diving Shad 07 is the jelly bean that you definitely want to have in your tackle box. Due: Available Now!

Length: 2.75" (7cm) / Weight: 1/3oz (9.5g) / Depth: Up to 20' (6m)

Fish Inc. Lures

Fish Inc. Lures stepped up at AFTA 2018 with some new products and colour additions that turned heads, including the new Blue Fusi, Purple Fusi and Footy Trout colours in the Hooker sinking stickbait range. The new 110mm Hooker comes rigged with Owner trebles and is a bitesize version of the popular 160mm Hooker that will have anglers fired up to chase salmon, tailor, tuna and other pelagic species, while also lighting up the reef flats with its action and profile. For those chasing GTs and other large predators, the 180mm, 170g sinking Hooker will tick the box, with its heavy duty ABS construction and the through wire design found on the Fish Inc. stickbait range. Due: Nov 2018

One for the jig fishos, the new Fishajig range of jigs stand out from the crowd thanks to their zinc construction. Zinc is harder than lead, ensuring the Fishijig stands up to tough environments and brutal battles, maintaining both its shape and action more effectively. Zinc is also lighter than lead, which may sound strange to anglers fishing deep water, however this allows a larger profile size, with reduced jig weight, with interesting applications for anglers. Firstly jigging can be more fun, with large profile jigs able to be fished on lighter gear, with less work from the angler. It also allows more hang time for the jig, a larger profile to be fished more effectively in shallower water and anglers can even pick up the 30g Fishajig and jig their local river and estuary bridges and deeper holes for a wide range of species, effectively imitating a garfish or yellowtail pike in profile. Due: Nov 2018

The last of the Fish Inc. Lures additions is the range of Egilicious squid jigs, which will be available in 3.0 and 3.5 sizes in 12 exciting colours. These squid jigs have been constructed from high quality materials, expertly designed and rigorously tested. Tight cloth to minimise wear and damage, realistic 3D eyes, genuine Owner hooks and a unique tail design that is 3 degrees higher than your standard jig, to minimise snagging and fouling, are just a few standout features. The only downside of the Egilicious squid jigs is that we can't get our hands on them until November 2018... but we have been enjoying fishing the samples ;). Due: Nov 2018

Mepps

With Tackle Tactics now distributing the world renowned Mepps brand in Australia, it was awesome to see a big range on display at the show. Mepps inline spinners are the 'World's #1 Lure' accounting for more record captures than any other lure worldwide. From the tested and proven Aglia to the cutting edge UV reactive features of the Aglia-e Brite, Mepps offer anglers a myriad of inline spinner solutions, with other models including LongCast, TW Streamer, Winner, Black Fury and more. Not just a trout lure, Mepps have already landed bass, jungle perch, sooty grunter, saratoga and more since their arrival in the Tackle Tactics stable of brands. Check out Mepps for yourself at - http://tackletactics.com.au/Mepps-Lures. Due: Available Now!

Other new additions at the show included a stack of new ZMan headwear, from BeanieZ and Visors to Structured Trucker and Flat Bill CapZ.

We hope you enjoyed this quick wrap up of new gear for AFTA 2018 and we look forward to seeing the fish that you can get stuck into on the gear. Check out part two of our AFTA wrap, detailing some of Okuma's exciting new additions for 2018. Fish on!

Cheers,
Tackle Tactics