With the Abu Garcia® Virtual rod quickly gaining a foothold in the small waters/small vessels angling communities as well as with those who wish to compete virtually against friends while fishing, the new Abu Garcia Virtual Casting Combo received the award for best new Rod-and-Reel Combo in the ICAST 2020 New Product Showcase. Voted on by members of the fishing media along with retailers and other members of the fishing industry, winners of the category-specific awards were announced in conjunction with this year’s virtual ICAST, which saw all voting done online in the absence of an in-person trade show.

The new Abu Garcia Virtual Combos connects anglers, bringing them even closer to their fishing. Built around the Abu Garcia Virtual rod, the world’s first integrated fishing rod to make it easier to digitally log your catches with the simple push of a button, the combo pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth and the ANGLR™ app. When fishing, a simple click of the button in the butt end of the rod records your catch with location, weather, and water data to fully document the catch in your personal and private logbook. The data is stored for reviewing and analyzing to make your days on the water more successful.

“The Virtual rods are great for anglers who previously haven’t had easy access to electronics in the past. This means kayak anglers, those fishing from small, pond-hopper style craft or tubes — even those who pound the banks — can use their Virtual Combo to compile fishing records that will help them catch more fish,” said Abu Garcia Vice President of Marketing Jon Schlosser. “Pairing the already acclaimed Virtual rods with a high-quality Abu Garcia reel offers anglers a high-performance setup to compile their data with while adding a gamification aspect to their sport by competing against themselves or even other anglers.”

In addition to connecting the rod via Bluetooth to the free ANGLR App on iPhone and Android platforms, the combos feature 30 Ton graphite rods for a lightweight balanced design as well as high-density EVA grips for greater sensitivity and durability. Equipped with stainless steel guides with Zirconium inserts, the rods also feature an exposed reel seat for increased blank contact and sensitivity and a micro-click reel seat hood for improved reel fit.

Available in four different casting configurations and four spinning configurations, the award-winning Abu Garcia Virtual Combos have an MSRP of $179.95 for baitcast models and $159.95 for spinning models and will be available in retail channels in September 2020.

To learn more about the Abu Garcia Virtual Combo and other new products from Abu Garcia, please visit abugarcia.com. For more information about all of the 2020 new products from all the Pure Fishing brands, including downloadable press releases, spec sheets, images and logos, go to https://newproductportal.purefishing.com/.