WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023   |   SUBSCRIBE    ARCHIVES   
A new boat ramp at Harris-Dickerson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Hopkins County provides hunters and anglers additional access to the Pond River.
Sometimes anglers need a backup plan when the star species of the flats are hard to find. Here's how to make a great day out of a tough one, from Seaguar.
Where do the go and how fast do they grow are part of the story in the N.Y. DEC's continuing studies of Atlantic sturgeon.
Marine radio manufacturer Icom has unveiled the new IP-M60, which the firm describes as the ‘world’s first marine VHF/LTE hybrid radio’.
Registration for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Big Bass Tour will open this Friday, December 1st at 9AM EST/8AM CST on the website at www.bigbasstour.com.
Based on Dometic’s proven and reliable electric power steering technology, the Dometic Optimus 3000 Series delivers a wide range of features including effortless, smooth steering at all speeds, zero free play at the helm, instant steering response and a predictable steering feel that is the same from port to starboard.
With more anglers relying on forward scan sonar, lures like the Epic Baits Underspin, that can easily be seen on screen, are more important in the arsenal of many including pro Clark Reehm.
The survey, coordinated by USFWS, shows that U.S. residents over the age of 16 took over 1.7 billion trips in 2022 to participate in outdoor activities like fishing, hunting, wildlife watching, recreational boating, and target shooting. In doing so, outdoor enthusiasts spent an estimated $394 billion on equipment, travel, licenses, and fees last year alone.
The Aquila 47 Molokai, though, combines real offshore fishing chops with not only a head and shower but also a spacious, air-conditioned stateroom with a queen-sized island berth.
Waypoint TV has announced the addition of My World with Mike “Ike” Iaconelli to the Waypoint TV Channel, on Mondays at 9:30 PM ET.
Lowe Boats, a leading-manufacturer high-quality, full-featured aluminum boats, has announced the launch of the newly redesigned Stinger 5-Series for model year 2024 including the Stinger 175C, Stinger 195C, and Stinger 195 Bass.
To help the industry maximize its investment at boat shows, the enhanced Discover Boating Boat & Sport Show Promotional Toolkit is now available.
The rapid expansion of the Scandinavian or Nordic style boats to the U.S. market, with narrow beam, sharp deadrise and high performance outboards, takes another step with Nimbus Group introducing "Aquador" boats in January.
Using 700 years' worth of wave data from more than a billion waves, scientists at the University of Copenhagen and University of Victoria have used artificial intelligence to find a formula for how to predict the occurrence of these maritime monsters.
Here are five of the most important knots for fishing, along with easy-to-follow video instructions for tying them, from Take Me Fishing.
Designed with a focus on space and features, the Sport 175 offers close to 20 percent more space in the cockpit and nearly 40 percent more bow space than previous models offering functionality and spacious seating options for all onboard.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a Notice of Intent (NOI) establishing a coastal buffer zone for the commercial harvest of menhaden (pogies) 1-mile off the entire Louisiana coastline and three miles from Grand Isle and the area between Holly Beach and Rutherford Beach in western Louisiana.
If you're hoping for a forward scan sonar for Christmas, here are some tips that will allow you to maximize its use right away from three top professional anglers.
Who's in, who's out, who are the young lions and who are the old favorites? See the 2024 lineup here.
Here's a collection of outdoors-oriented gifts sure to please boaters, anglers and hunters on your list for this Christmas.
Fellsmere Reservoir (popularly known as Headwaters Lake) won the battle against Orange Lake, with the highest total pounds of bass caught-and-released by competing anglers since the competition started last fall.
Heather Lougheed, vice president of the nearly 800,000-member boating advocacy, services and safety group, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), is taking on a second organizational role with the appointment to president of the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water.
Among the action items on the agenda the commission will consider are recommendations tto modify regulations for commercial trotlines (301 KAR 1:146) and to modify water bodies open to commercial fishing (301 KAR 1:150).
With 168 anglers, 84 from college and 84 from high school, the Logan Parks Fishing Foundation paid out 150% of the entry fees, giving out over $175,000 in cash, scholarships, and prizes to the competing anglers.
The new Z-Man Rattle-Snaker® is a valuable tool that effortlessly inserts glass rattles or tungsten weights into the body of any ElaZtech or other soft plastic bait.
The Pond to Plate class will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs.
A Pacific County judge has sentenced a recreational fisherman to 50 days in jail, fined him $1,500, and imposed a five-year fishing license suspension for repeat salmon snagging violations, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced.
Freedom Boat Club has acquired its Savannah, Ga., and Hilton Head, S.C., franchise operations and territories. The acquisitions represent five locations in the region and give the club the right to build new franchises in the area.
Here are some tips on maintaining cold-water streams so that brook trout and other aquatic critters can thrive.
The well-known manufacturer of premium waders, outerwear, footwear and technical gearhas initiated four give-back campaigns on their ecommerce site and are funding NGO partners via a 1% contribution of sales at no cost to the consumer.
 

Viking Designs Storm American Waters

Brunswick, owner of Mercury Marine as well as multiple boat brands including iconic Boston Whaler, has just announced yet another new boat line in the mold of the Nordic or Scandinavian style boats that seem to be popping up like McDonald’s franchises along the waterways of the world.

The concept started with Axopar a few years back, a Finnish company, and was aimed primarily at building fast, seakindly “commuter” boats that could quickly run families back and forth to their island retreats, which are abundant in that nation, whatever the weather. Since then, new companies making similar designs have popped up everywhere, including even in the USA, where Wellcraft (now owned by European company Group Beneteau) is now making two Nordic-style models.

The Wellcraft 435 is a Nordic style boat built by a well-known U.S. company to fill demand for the new genre. (Wellcraft Marine)

The design is distinctive, sort of a post-modern look resulting from vertical lines at the bow stem and the “house” or cabin, rather than the sweeping, low profile lines preferred in most U.S. designs.  Most in the genre also have a relatively narrow, stepped hull with a sharp deadrise aft and lots of freeboard. 

The result of the bottom design is a boat that’s very fast on a given amount of power, very fuel efficient and most importantly incredible sea-kindly. That is it’s able to run very fast in waves that would beat other boats (and all aboard) to bits at anything like the common 50-mph and higher speeds.

The Scandinavian designs are typically 24 to 45’ long, and many include a cabin with bunk for two tucked into the console of what is otherwise an open boat, sort of a cross between a center console and a bowrider.

Power is typically one mega-outboard, sometimes a 450R Mercury or a 600, or for the larger boats a couple of each, assuring rocket-like acceleration as well as blazing top speed. And while most boats will go fast if you bolt on enough power, on many you can’t turn all those ponies loose on anything but near dead calm if you don’t want to break bones of those aboard.

One other thing all have in common is what is euphemistically known as “premium” pricing. The 35-footers start at around $600,000, the 45-footers at about $1.1 million in most brands. 

Of course, traditional powerboats ain’t cheap anymore either—a fully-rigged 20 foot bass boat can go for better than 100K with a full electronics package these days, while wakeboats in the 22-23’ class are $125,000 or higher.

Bottom line is that if you hope to buy a new family-sized powerboat this coming year, either American style or Nordic, you had better have your financial ducks in a row.

The Bass Tracker 20' Fishin' Barge is an economical path to family boating and angling. (Tracker Marine)

More Economical Watercraft

On the other end of the scale, if you can fit your recreational style into something like a basic M19 Bayliner bowrider, you can get a new boat for under $35,000. A Bass Tracker 20’ Fishing Barge with a 90-hp Mercury Four Stroke lists at about $32,000.

For those of us on this end of the scale, the 15-year payment option might make sense—bad financially---good in terms of family together time that ends all too quickly when the kids grow out of the age where they enjoy time on the water with mom and dad. 

Fortunately, modern four-stroke outboards last practically forever in typical summer weekend use if they’re reasonably well maintained. This means many used boats can also be good deals if you shop carefully.

Kayaks are among the least expensive boats on the market, but in the right places they are actually more effective fishing boats than more pricey craft. (Hobie Kayaks)

The One Person Option

At the low end of the scale in price are kayaks, available for under $200 as basic shells, up to around $10,000 or more for fully-equipped fishing kayaks with electric trolling motor power and quality sonar/gps plus a trailer to haul it.

The great thing about ‘yaks is that you can launch anywhere, giving access to waters other anglers can’t  reach. And also, since they practically float on air, you can slip up on shallow water fish like tailing reds or bonefish when others can’t. 

Your range is limited in a yak, of course, and you can’t fish open water if there’s anything like a stiff breeze. But for devout anglers as well as those who simply enjoy getting out on the water for some exercise, they are an easy-to-afford option.

Winter is boat show and boat shopping time—and the many new boats sold in the next few months will mean more used boats available in spring. You may not be up for a new fire-breathing Viking design but there’s probably a right-sized boat out there somewhere that will fit you and your family just fine. 

— By Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com

 
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