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For about two decades, Beau Williams has made the trip from Costa Rica to the United States for the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, ICAST. This July, he will do so once again.
For Williams, that means uprooting from Crocodile Bay Resort, a verifiable anglers‘ paradise of black sand beaches, Pacific surf teeming with tuna, snapper and dorado and a nearby jungle bustling with tropical birds.
The scenery is a far cry from the brightly-lit halls of Orlando, Florida’s Orange County Convention Center, where a sprawling blue carpet serves as a pale substitute for the sea. And still, Williams and the Crocodile Bay team will be closing in on their 20th ICAST show in 2026. There’s a reason they make the 2,000-kilometre journey north to parlay with members of the sportfishing industry each year. “I’m kind of old school,” says Williams. “I believe conversations held face-to-face – when you can look into somebody’s eyes and shake their hand – are far more productive than phone calls and web meetings.”
For Williams and the more than 13,000 attendees that converge at ICAST each year, there’s no better place to make meaningful connections in the sportfishing world. From his desk beside a mounted rooster fish on the show floor, Williams can mingle with countless tackle dealers, manufacturers, wholesalers and conservation leaders that make the world of recreational sportfishing turn.
“I’ve never been able to experience one location that has so many different, high-quality folks in one place at one time,” he adds. “We are constantly surprised by the different people coming up to our booth that we never would have dreamed possible.”
For one week each July, ICAST brings a tackle dealer’s dreams to life. Thousands of new products fill a show floor larger than six football pitches. Break-out events enable store owners and employees to test new gear on the water, participate in a professional bass fishing tournament, team up with industry leaders at a charity golf scramble, watch live product demonstrations in a lure tank, learn the latest consumer data from industry insiders and find deals only available at ICAST. Across the expansive show, dozens of exhibitors award deals ranging from hearty discounts to order upgrades, promotional materials, cash prizes and even once-in-a-lifetime fishing trips directly on the show floor.
In the span of a few hours, dealers can save thousands on new product orders, meet with promising new business partners, win cash prizes for placing an order at the show and even win a fishing trip for two to join Williams back home in Costa Rica.
Last year, attendees from 75 countries convened at ICAST. This year, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) hopes to deliver even more value for attendees by increasing the value of attending the show for tackle dealers. ICAST 2026 will feature a new, retailer-specific lounge, a full slate of revamped daily seminars and even more break-out events where networking leads to deals.
“Many deals over the years have been done at ICAST,” says Billy Parsons, General Manager of Australia-based Gillies. “There has never been a show where some type of unexpected deal has not presented itself.” According to Parsons, Gillies has found shelf space with every major retailer in the United States thanks to partnerships forged at ICAST. Like Williams, he too will be making an international journey to attend in 2026 – a 24-hour trip from Australia. Registration for ICAST 2026 is ongoing at ICASTFishing.org. Head there to find a complete show schedule for July 13th-17th, 2026.
