ICAST 2023 is underway. Thousands of buyers, media, and industry professionals have flocked to Orlando for the 66th year of the largest sportfishing trade show in the world. The week-long celebration of ICAST begins with the highly anticipated ICAST Cup. This thrilling event takes place on the beautiful Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, launching from the shores of Lake Toho. Teams composed of industry representatives are paired with media representatives for an exhilarating four-hour bass-fishing competition. The winners take home the coveted ICAST Cup traveling trophy for display at company headquarters until next year’s ICAST Cup, and each member of the winning team will receive a commemorative trophy to keep. Proceeds from the event benefit KeepAmericaFishing, ‘leading the fight to preserve your right to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. As the voice of the American angler, KeepAmericaFishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish.’
This year, a strong field 46 teams set out from Kissimmee Lakefront Park in search of a 3 bass tournament limit large enough to hoist the Cup and earn bragging rights for the year. Some of the team captains were comprised of current, and former, top professional anglers. Team PDS Equipment, captained by Christian “Goggles” Bellomo topped the star studded field. Steve Weist and Trevor Bates, with the help of Captain Goggles, set a 17 pound, 3 ounce 3 bass limit on the scales to take home the hard sought after hardware.
Weist (L), Bellomo (C), and Bates (R) show off their winning stringer
“We probably caught 30 fish today,” stated Weist. “We rolled up on our first spot and doubled up right off the bat.”
“Our key fish came on two key baits,” stated Bellomo. ” A Strike King 3/4 oz Lipless Gold trap and a Texas Rigged Black/Blue Speedworm. I found a really nice grass patch at the south end of the lake one day in practice and we just focused on that patch for the day.”
“The big key was feeding times,” added Bates. “They would get fired up and we’d catch three, four, five, really quickly. It didn’t seem to matter what bait you put in there.”
Team Bull Bay Rods, comprised of Jake Stines, Corey Ash, and media representative Pete Gluszek, took home a second place finish. The trio weighed a 3 bass limit that hit 15 pounds even, anchoring their bag with the Big Bass of the day, an 8 pound, 10 ounce Florida TrophyCatch.
Third place went to Team Stinky Balls, comprised of Aiden Wolf and Scott McDonald, who weighed a 3 bass limit for 13 pounds, 8 ounces.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Team Rusty Hooks Tackle (Jimmy Wilson, Shane Linberger, & David Winters) in fourth place with 12 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by Team Boat Outfitters (Donnie Ewers, Christian Greico, Anastasia Patterson) in fifth place with 12 pounds, 6 ounces.
Top 10
| Place | Team Name | Angler 1 | Angler 2 | Media Representative | Big Bass | Weight |
| 1 | PDS Equipment | Steve Weist | Christian “Goggles” Bellomo | Trevor Bates | 17-03 | |
| 2 | Bull Bay Rods | Jake Stines | Corey Ash | Pete Gluszek | 8-10 | 15-00 |
| 3 | Stinky Balls | Aiden Wolf | Scott McDonald | 7-01 | 13-08 | |
| 4 | Rusty Hooks Tackle | Jimmy Wilson | Shane Linberger | David Winters | 12-07 | |
| 5 | Boat Outfitters | Donnie Ewers | Christian Greico | Anastasia Patterson | 6-15 | 12-06 |
| 6 | Fishing Tournament Report/Catch Commander | Brian Stahl | Terry Segraves | Deb Ferns | 6-02 | 11-12 |
| 7 | Okuma Inspired Fishing and Fishlab Lures | Daniel Ramos | Mark Mitchell | David Sartwell | 11-10 | |
| 8 | BUZBE | Trent Manuel | Alex Murray | 10-14 | ||
| 9 | Rather Outdoors | John Carmen | Shaw Grigsby | Matthew Mattingly | 10-08 | |
| 10 | CPF Lures | Scott McIver | Erik Tilson | Jason George | 10-03 |
Full results and photos from the event can be found here.
For more information, visit www.ICASTCup.com and www.ICASTFishing.org
Photos: Rob Matsuura, MLF
