The International Convention of Sportfishing Trades aka ICAST, is hailed as the largest sportfishing tradeshow in the world. It happens every July in Orlando, FL. For those of us in the kayak fishing world ICAST serves to remind us just how big a space the wider fishing industry occupies. The American Sportfishing Association produces ICAST and advocates on behalf of anglers. A study released in the ASA report, Sportfishing in America, an Economic Force for Conservation looks at the sport-fishing industry as a whole, which generates a very impressive $48 billion in sales, creates a $115 billion impact on the nation's economy, and supports more than 828,000 jobs.

In the list of Top Ten list of angling states, Virginia hits a respectable #10

Kayak Fishing, while a booming industry, is still a small piece of that pie, and yet, kayaks have won Best In Show at ICAST for the past 2 years! So, that puts a show like ICAST firmly in our wheel house.

In 2014, Old Town Canoe & Kayak won Best In Show for the Predator Minn Kota Kayak.

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Last year Best In Show went to Eddyline Kayaks for their new C-135 Stratocaster YakAttack Edition Kayak.

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So, will a kayak win Best In Show again this year? If the rumors and hype are true, there will definitely be some strong contenders. Already, Old Town Canoe & Kayak released footage of their new pedal driven kayak, the Predator PDL. It looks pretty slick.

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The ICAST buzz is red-lined at 10, and the industry hype says this will be the year of the pedal drive. Who else will be debuting sweet new rigs fresh off the design floor?

Stay tuned to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages next week to find out, as we jump feet first into the waters around Orlando Florida for ICAST 2016.

We might just get some fishing in too. :)