Hi All,

We want to thank Tom for putting on a fabulous show! I remember what life was like before Rodmaker Magazine and the ICRBE so we really understand what these two forums have done for our business and the industry. We had no real platform to get the word out on our products and Tom has provided that for us and we thank him for it. I had a blast!

I was blown away by the new techniques and products from everyone. The craft gets better and better every year. Just when you think you’ve seen it all you see something you didn’t think was possible! You guys are so far ahead of manufacturers…you truly lead the way in innovation and product design.

Our booth was extremely busy I hope we got to everyone, if we didn’t I apologize. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I’m going to get at least 20’ next year so I can put a bed in the back and take a nap ala Kenny Kawakami God rest his soul. Everyone was asking for Darrin but he was out testing product all weekend ; )

It was great having the opportunity to meet everyone, answer questions and get suggestions on new products. When we hear product requests three or more times you can bet we’re on it. I have a list of things we are going to do right away. Trust me we do listen!

The big surprise was the amount of our USA made Viper blanks that were sold at the show by our dealers. With the opportunity to look touch and shake one just about everyone that we spoke to bought one. Our Matrix line was a close second.

Also high on the list was the High Modulus Classic blanks. With the void left by G Loomis on the IMX and GLX blanks there was a tremendous amount of interest in them. They are unbelievably light and sensitive. They’ve also backed by our lifetime warranty from manufacturers defect as are all our blanks.

There were a lot of questions about our new products. The Virtus guides, Micro guides, Window Seats and Ring Lock A Frames we hope we answered all your questions.

Also we talked up our new guides, & tops coming in March or April.
1. Ring Lock Micro guides with our new Foot Lock design to hold guides and rings in place. Boyd Duckett uses them on his new line of Micro Magic rods in both spinning and casting. His rod drew a lot of oos and ahhs. They are the only guide of its kind and will be made available through Duckett Fishing sometime in March.
2. Ring Lock double foot spinning guides in sizes 6-40 with beefier frames somewhere in between our RLC and Virtus Lite frames. We can’t wait to get them.
3. Virtus guides in size 30 & 40 for Boat spin applications. Our Ulua customers can’t wait to get their hands on them!
4. Medium Ring Lock tops…..finally!! Available in 4, 6, 7, 8 & 10 rings. They will feature our; Ring Lock frame with long bridge arms for strength, a contoured weld point on the ring side reducing snags making it perfect for both spinning and casting applications. Look for them in March!
5. And last but not least our Ring Lock Titan A-Frames! This was by far our toughest challenge making these guides. We finally got it right with a lot of tweeking and do overs. The tooling is being made up as we speak.

There is more but this is all I’ll get into for now. There are lots more projects on the docket we’ll keep you abreast of any developments. Thanks to all! Warmest Regards, Joe Meehan, American Tackle

Joe,

Thanks for the time you spent with me showing me all the products you brought and talking about the new stuff coming in a few months.
The High Modulus Classic blanks looked very nice, I was impressed with those. Your right there is definitely a market right now since IMX and GLX is out of the picture. The design on the Ring Lock Micros is just what was needed. I know there will be plenty of people waiting to get there hands on a Aero reel seat in larger sizes. The Aero in my opinion is the most comfortable spinning seat on the market. Keep up the hard work and thanks for bringing these great products to the rod building community.

Joe, It was great talking to you over at the NERBS booth on Sun. Those Viper blanks are nice!! I'm waiting for the Ringlock spinners...

Great talking to you John. I was amazed at the rods you had in the booth. They were gorgeous. The Ring Lock spinners will be here shortly. The Asian New Year pretty much shuts down business for the entire month of Feb. We can wait to get them.

Warmest Regards,

Joseph F Meehan III
American Tackle Co. Inc
Ph: +1-508-957-2164
Toll Free: 1-888-516-1750
Cell: +1-508-364-3770
Fax: +1-508-957-2165
Toll Free Fax: 1-800-966-9430
email: joe@americantackle.us
Web Site: [americantackle.us]

Mike thanks for coming by the booth! I heard about the Aero's over and over again. I'm on it but it costs a fortune!! I've got to pay for the tooling we ordered for the new guides and tops. After that we're going to concentrate on expanding the blank line and design new inovative seats and handles including expanding sizing offered in the Aeros. Stay tuned.

Warmest Regards,

Joseph F Meehan III
American Tackle Co. Inc
Ph: +1-508-957-2164
Toll Free: 1-888-516-1750
Cell: +1-508-364-3770
Fax: +1-508-957-2165
Toll Free Fax: 1-800-966-9430
email: joe@americantackle.us
Web Site: [americantackle.us]