Fishing highlights of the 2023 AFTA Tackle Show

This year's get-together was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and attracted a record crowd.

A big reason for this was a move to free tickets via sponsorship from the Queensland Government.

AFTA is a great opportunity for like-minded anglers to come together and talk face-to-face with the people who make the gear about their new products, and grab a photo with brand ambassadors.

Exhibitors also were giving out freebies, making it a fun day out for the family - I have never seen so many inflatable lures. It was great to see so many new faces and young anglers in the action.

A few things at the AFTA Tackle Show show caught my eye, with the first being a number of new light spinning reels.

Majorcraft, a manufacturer known for its quality fishing gear, released the Ceana spin reel. This small, compact reel is ideal for estuary and freshwater-style fishing and comes equipped with a 7+1 bearing system.

It felt comfortable in hand and presented smoothly.

Another reel that caught my eye was the Shimano Stradic range.

What's new? The Stradic now comes in a 2000 size, perfect for all those tournament fishers out there.

The best feature of this mighty little reel is the introduction of an anti-twist fin that has previously only been seen in the much more premium Stella series of reels.

The fin is good at preventing wind knots, so if you’ve previously struggled with fine braids you should see a big improvement with this reel.

Previous columns of mine will hint that I’m a big fan of the Atomic Arrowz rods.

Atomic has just introduced a new series of Arrowz rods that are lighter in weight, but without losing any strength.

The blanks are more responsive and are fitted out with Fuji O-ring and K-frame guides, which should help to maximise casting distance considerably.

As well as feeling light in the hands, the new Arrowz look great, showcasing new black features throughout the blank.

A cool little innovation I stumbled across was a better way of tying mud crabs.

Krab King has released a new crab-tying device named the ‘Krab Cuff’. Its party trick is that it can more easily secure crabs using a cuff placed at the back of the shell and using shock cords to secure the claws.

It's a great, easy way to safely transport crabs so that they don’t hurt themselves or lose any claws.

That's it for another year of the AFTA Tackle Show with plenty of new and exciting fishing tackle and accessories about to hit the market.

Keep your eye out for the multitude of new lures, rods and accessories with game-changing technology that will start to roll out over the next 12 months.

I am already looking forward to next year’s display.