These times call for innovation, and Mark Zona and Strike King did as much for a live Instagram presentation Wednesday to introduce a new soft plastic for virtual ICAST 2020.
Zona went into the history of the Ned rig before providing details on the new Strike King Rage Ned Craw, a soft plastic that’s already given him plenty of action. The live webcast, listed on ICAST’s Online Schedule, started at 10 a.m. Wednesday and went for 20 minutes.
With the world’s largest fishing trade show forced to the internet because of the coronavirus, the reveal was broadcast from Zona’s Man Cave near his Michigan home.
“I like this. I like the vibe of hanging in the barn,” Zona said in his comfortable, humorous manner.
He even put twin sons, Hunter and Jakob, to work, one on the camera and the other relaying questions from fans.
Zona started with some history of the Ned rig. He first learned about it while fishing on Table Rock Lake with creator Ned Kehde.
“He asked if knew what Ned rig was,” Zona said, answering no. “He showed me.”
At first, Zona thought little of the odd head, reminding him of his initial thoughts of the wacky rig some 20 years earlier. But Kehde developed it for the Midwest’s pressured lakes, and Zona learned soon enough of its abilities that he now calls a real “bite-getter.”
“He caught four or five behind me where the lightbulb went off. Maybe there’s some power behind that thing,” thought Zona, who now utilizes it plenty on both Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show and Zona LIVE on Bassmaster.com
“One of the things, and all of you Ned rig fanatics know this, it’s known for numbers,” he said. “It’s like a drop shot. It’s going to catch numbers. Whether you’re in a tournament or out with the family, you’re going to get action when you throw a Ned rig. The other thing is, it’s an alternative finesse tactic … and it does catch big ones.
“Historically, Ned rigs have been very, very, very dull in action. They’re very subtle. That’s one of the things that makes them so good on pressured fish … and in very cold water.”
What Zona found particularly cool was that Strike King incorporated its Rage plastics action in a Ned bait. The Ned Rage Craw seats tightly to the head, has a ribbed cylinder body and the craw arms with flanges provide added action.
“That right there is a finesse weapon,” Zona said, holding one. “The great thing about this is, it gives them a different profile, different look and a ton more action. It sits high in the water. Basically those claws are waving at you. It’s little bit harder plastic, where you’re not going to just catch one or two per bait.”
The Strike King Ned Rage Claw comes in 12 colors and will be available in October.
Missing opportunities at ICAST
Micah Frazier wouldn’t say he’s missing being at the world’s largest fishing trade show, but he knows business can happen there, especially for a recent winner of a Bassmaster Elite Series event.
He admits he’d rather be in Orlando shooting the breeze with his fishing buddies instead of being kind of cooped up at home, although he has enjoyed the extra time with his wife and son. After winning at St. Lawrence 11 months ago, Frazier does think he might have been able to pick up another deal or two.
“You make so many connections at ICAST. Luckily I’ve got a really good group of sponsors behind me now, so I can’t think of any without reaching into a different category of product that I would really want to pursue,” Frazier said. “There’s always those little niche products you could add to your portfolio, and that kind of thing goes down at ICAST.”
What he and most the other Elites have been doing this week is supporting their sponsors online, with various social media posts and video presentations. Frazier has received some new products from Abu Garcia and Pradco and did posts for them. He also had a Zoom video conference with Tackle Warehouse, but spoke of one he thinks might help him on the upcoming swing in New York.
“Yum has a new craw that’s going to be awesome, the Spine Craw,” he said. “That’s one I’m really excited about. I think it could even be player at Champlain on a Carolina rig. It’s something I’ve got my eyes on trying.
“Abu Garcia has some great rods and reels. The Zenon reel, and they’ve got a new Winch series of cranking rods that are coming out. It’s just a dedicated crankbait blank that they’ve created, a composite-type setup. It’s something more dedicated to just cranking, which we haven’t had in the past. Then they have the new Veritas series of rods with the Powerlux technology. It has a closed-cell foam grip, which is pretty cool.”
