Here are the five latest fishing trends on display at the Great American Outdoor Show
The Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg is a mecca for those who are looking for the latest trends and tackle.
The event that runs through Sunday highlights a variety of outdoor sports and here are some of the new products and advice you will find there related to fishing:
1. The best place to fish in Pennsylvania.
Rod Bates, owner of Koinonia Guide Service and Tony Cicero, one of his fishing guides, believe the Susquehanna River in eastern Pennsylvania has become a top fishery in the state.
Bates has been guiding anglers on the river since 1999.
“When the fishery was really good, and it’s good now, but when it was fantastic nationally known, we were getting a lot of folks from out of state,” he said.
He said it’s cyclical. There are years when they have more local people booking trips.
“Right now, there’s a nice blend of people coming from out of state and the locals,” he said.
They fish for smallmouth bass and catfish on the wide river. Sometimes they catch walleyes and muskies, too.
It’s a year-round fishery and he said they already caught a variety of species here in 2024.
Cicero said, “It’s probably the most productive small fishery on the east coast. It’s world class.”
More: More than 4 million trout are coming to a lake or stream near you
Cicero said the river is unique with its depth, rocks, grass islands, weed islands and the mountains beside it. In the shallow areas where the water is only a few inches deep, they have jet boats to get through to the best spots.
“It’s just a real neat place to fish,” he said.
2. No boat? No problem. Try kayaking.
Rachael Thurner-Diaz, waterways conservation officer in Adams and western York counties, has been seeing an increase in the use of kayaks to fish.
“To get into fishing and boating, an easy way and very accessible way is to get into kayak fishing," she said, "which goes in tandem with spin casting and warm water fisheries.”
Kayaks can be used on all types of waterways where boating is permitted including those that only allow non-powered or electric motor water craft. They also are good for shallow waterways or deeper lakes. She said for several hundred dollars, you can have a kayak that’s ready to go fishing.
3. Getting that kayak to the water.
If you own a kayak, you may have trouble getting it in or out of your vehicle
Kayak Loading Solutions of Pennsboro, West Virginia, has created a system that loads kayaks onto the back of a truck with the push of a button. The aluminum rail system has two winches to raise or lower your vessel to the ground.
"This is the first system that actually loads your kayak for you,” said Jeff Wilson, the owner of the company.
“There is a lot of load assists out there but you still have to physically load it. This takes people who are retired, but still get around good. They used to love to fish but it’s getting too hard to load or unload their kayaks and this puts you back out in nature," he said. "If you can push a button, you can load or unload your kayak."
The system costs $4,995 and holds two kayaks. A version that fits on a trailer will soon be available, too.
4. New way to trim your fishing line.
When it comes to trimming your fishing line, anglers have plenty of options, including knives and finger nail trimmers. Line Cutterz of Texas and Minnesota has come up with a line of convenient trimmers that attach to your fishing rod, your boat or zipper pull to your fishing vest.
Darran Greene, director of sales, said there are boat and clothing manufacturers adding them to their products.
“We are now in 14 countries, thousands of independent shops and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) deals,” he said.
The designs range from $14 to $16.99.
5. Check out the Ghost Drag.
Todd Clayton, of Jarrettsville, Maryland, developed a Ghost Drag to help spinning reel anglers fish with bait with their bail open. The plastic drag attaches near the reel and holds the line in place until the fish swims with it.
“We allow the fish to run freely with no tension before you close the bail and set the hook,” he said.
It’s a patented product that sells for $20.
“We have anglers all over the country using them. From sail fishermen, striper fishermen to lake trout fishermen,” he said.
“We’re the next best tool in any tackle bag. It’s a simple concept, but it’s time proven."
The Great American Outdoor Show is billed as the world's largest outdoor show. It's held indoors in Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Five latest fishing trends, including the top spot in Pennsylvania
