Tackle Trade World - February 2024

NEWS IN BRIEF
Hansen boards X
Shore
Innovative Swedish fully electric
boat and tech company X Shore
has appointed René Hansen as its
chief executive officer.
René steps into his new role
at an exciting time after the firm
introduced two groundbreaking
boats, the X Shore Pro and X
Shore 1. He brings operational and
strategic experience from his time
in the snowboarding, recycling,
digitalisation of farming and
energy industries.
More stores for
Academy
US retail giant Academy Sports +
Outdoors opened seven new stores
across five different states at the
end of the year.
With the recent store openings
in Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Austin,
West Palm Beach, Christiansburg,
Harlingen and Springfield, it is on
course to hits its expansion goal of
opening a total of 120 to 140 new
stores by the end of 2027.
KastKing bosses it
Tackle brand KastKing has hired
marketing and social media
powerhouse R J Macalanda as
its social media and influencer
strategist.
RJ has seen an explosive growth
of his own start-up fishing brand,
Fish Boss, reaching 100,000
followers in five months, and a
total of 58 million views.
He will continue to direct the Fish
Boss brand while working full-time
on KastKing’s marketing and social
media.
Boating leader
passes
Boating and marine brand IMTRA
Corporation and its employeeowners
are saddened by the
passing of William “Bill” Farnham,
former owner and long-time leader.
He began his 28-year tenure as
CEO when he took over from his
father who started the firm. His
influence still thrives within its
culture today.
Reuben Heaton scales
up with competitionlevel
Fish Measures
Since the introduction of its first scales in
the late 1920s, UK manufacturer Reuben
Heaton has gained a reputation worldwide
for accurate reliable and weighing equipment
and its scales are regularly used for high-level
competitions and world record claims around
the globe.
Over the last 10 years, the company has
also supported angling events where length
rather than weight has been the determining
factor, with the company designing and
manufacturing its own fish measures to suit
the requirements of the competition arena.
Its latest commercially available measures
utilise the same designs as used for the
current competition circuit. The result is
a range of British made fully calibrated
competition level fish measures that will be
available through angling retailers for the first
time.
The new measures are backed by same
warranty and aftersales service as its
renowned scales and weighing accessories and
are designed to achieve the same reputation
for accuracy and reliability as those at all
levels of competition, including IGFA world
record requirements.
Anglers will be able to purchase the new
fish measures safe in the knowledge that
they can be accepted by event organisers as
accurate and compatible with both visual and
app-based recording processes used by event
organisers and record committees.
Each batch of printed FM measures is
checked using traceable calibrated measuring
equipment ensuring an accuracy greater than
1 part in 500 (approximately 0.1 per cent of
range).
Manufactured from durable reinforced nonstretch
vinyl with high-contrast UV stable
inks, the measures offer good readability
especially for competition adjudication
where photography, in all weather and
light conditions, is the common method of
recording fish capture.
A positioning guide for correct fish
position also appears on the new measures
making them compatible with the standard
European left to right competition format
and all measures are manufactured using
wipe clean non-absorbent materials for ease
of maintenance and prevention of disease
transfer.
Selected FM measures are available in an
adhesive format, fully laminated, UV stable
and made from non-stretch non-absorbent
material backed with waterproof adhesive.
These adhesive-based measures will appeal to
anglers as they will adapt to most measuring
board and unhooking mat designs as well as
individual own-build applications.
reubenheaton.com
12 www.tackletradeworld.com