WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2024   |   SUBSCRIBE    ARCHIVES   
 
The Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit recently donated two Yamaha WaveRunners to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) to enhance enforcement of the Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone.

Utilizing the V-spool and V-rotor design, originally developed for the Abu Garcia Zenon spinning family, combined with the AMG CNC machined gear system, the Max Elite offers ultra-smooth gear feel with a low-inertia rotor. This delivers exceptional, effortless reeling and durability, making it the ideal choice for anglers who are looking for performance at an exceptional value.

By popular demand, DAIWA introduces the economically priced J-FLUORO Mainline, constructed with premium 100% fluorocarbon material and extruded with precision.

The new Cedar Canyon Series of fly rods and combos promises fly anglers and the fly curious, quality gear essentials, all offered at great value.

Expanding on a rich legacy of building top-tier rods, reels, and combos, the Quantum brand will now redirect its focus on the saltwater market and has moved it's headquarters to Stuart, Fla.

St. Croix/SEVIIN will introduce a number of innovative products at ICAST including a reel with an adaptable pistol grip for throwing large lures to musky and other big fish.

Building off the success of last year’s Scope Shad release, Yamamoto Baits is excited to announce the addition of both a 3.5" and 4" size to the original 3" offering.

It’s no coincidence that when renowned shallow water expert Fletcher Shryock teamed with Buckeye Lures to develop his signature flipping jig, “The Thump” was the obvious choice for a name.

Crafted from a premium blend of Cotton and Polyester, these shirts offer a comfortable feel with the durability needed for outdoor adventures. The UPF 30+ sun protection ensures anglers stay protected from harmful UV rays, while the 4-way stretch fabric allows unrestricted movement, essential for casting and reeling in fish.

The SV BOOST System employs a proprietary spool and paired technology that lets a novice angler cast like a pro. First, backlash is virtually eliminated as the spool self-manages resistance throughout the duration of a cast. Spool speed is controlled at the start of a cast – where backlash typically happens – and relinquishes resistance progressively as the bait flies.

Built to endure the long hauls that define your angling adventures, the Gear Hub perfectly suits anglers who are constantly on the move, adept at managing space constraints, and insist on efficiency in every fishery.

What makes Raptor different from other shallow water anchors? It all starts with unique, patented anchoring features that secure boats in place unlike any other and its purposefully rugged design.

When used with forward-facing sonar, Berkley’s FFS-optimized baits provide anglers with the ability to control their bait and adapt their technique in real time based on how they see the fish reacting on forward facing sonar.

Bill Lewis has added a little flair to The GNAT with 6 new eye-catching colors. The heavy-hitting micro crank debuted last year and has quickly become a favorite for many anglers.

Huk is proud to introduce the Kona Cover-Up Dress, a chic and versatile piece that perfectly balances style and functionality. Inspired by the best-selling men’s collection, this dress is a must-have for every fashion-forward angler!

Outdoor America’s platform offers content creators an unparalleled ecosystem to promote their content and build meaningful relationships with their audiences and brands. Never has such a platform been made available to outdoor content creators.

Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel have solidified their positions as premier destinations for male viewers, delivering unmatched audience engagement and exceptional exposure opportunities for advertisers, as validated by the current 2023 MRI research.

Visually stunning and seemingly primed to flop out of your hand, the Shadtron LT exhibits all the realism of a live shad, while a groundbreaking dual line-through system empowers incredible upticks in hookset success and holding power to the nth degree.

The new Zig-Zag from Bill Lewis is designed to be tied on in front of a walking bait, mimicking an even smaller baitfish being chased and adding another layer of realism to the presentation.

Re-engineered Lew’s® Custom and Custom Pro Spinning Reels to be launched at ICAST 2024, continuing to build momentum for the Lew’s brand in the spinning category after the inception of the Custom Lite Spinning Reel.

Fitzgerald offers a comprehensive range of rods, reels, line, lures, and accessories, all meticulously designed and rigorously tested to ensure exceptional performance.

Savage Gear introduces the RevMag Walker, an innovative topwater lure featuring Savage Gear’s new patent-pending reverse magnetic weight transfer system that ensures longer casts while maintaining perfect balance in the water.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants freshwater anglers to be prepared if they catch a bass large enough to be the new state record.

Pursuit Channel is celebrating its 16th Anniversary and wants to invite all industry representatives, producers, and companies to visit in person with the team to learn more about Pursuit’s platforms, recent accomplishments in all areas of the business, and how Pursuit can help you reach fishing enthusiasts and great outdoor consumers.

Norsk Lithium’s new line of 16V MAX RT batteries meet the demand of high-power draw digital units and offers all-day, optimal performance.

There are literally thousands of anglers knocking at sponsors’ doors, so to help anglers stand out from the crowd, the NPAA has created the FREE NPAA Media Kit Template.

PENN adds new and improved models and actions to the Ally II, a catch-all rod series that allows anglers to load the boat with options for any fishing situation.

DAIWA has rewritten what it means to be a destination angler with its new ARDITO travel rod series. The first-of-its-kind assortment includes featured-filled telescoping and multi-piece spinning and casting rods you can take on planes, trains, and automobiles, as well as bikes, motorcycles, UTV’s, and golf carts.

Outdoor America announces Jamie Wilkinson as its new Executive Vice President of Programming & Production. Wilkinson brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success in the outdoor media and content industry.

Hobie® Eyewear is thrilled to announce its participation in ICAST 2024, the world’s premier fishing tackle trade show. At Booth 1347, attendees can check out The Floating Collection, an array of innovative and reliable polarized sunglasses designed specifically for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources encourages experienced anglers to introduce new people this summer to the fun of fishing, and is hosting a “Mentor to Win” contest to bolster the effort.

Designed by anglers for anglers, the SWYM is crafted to meet and exceed expectations, delivering exceptional performance across various fishing scenarios.

On the eve of its unveiling, the new Z-Man PrawnstarZ™ has already accounted for a boatload of big redfish, seatrout and snook.

With superior breathability, sun protection, cooling fibers, and quick-drying fabrics, Huk’s apparel suits any angler’s needs on the water yet is universal for any occasion. Attendees will love the look and feel of the new Breakwater and Shem Creek Collections, which utilize breakthrough technology to last season after season.

Ever Green’s Combat Rat sports a spot-on profile with authentic cosmetics, while motoring across the surface just like the real thing. All told, the Combat Rat epitomizes the beautiful blend of technology and realism.

Enhancing Smith’s robust lineup of sharpening and cutting tools, the Lawaia Emergency Release Tool allows anglers to get free of line entanglements swiftly and efficiently when bait-catching with this knife-like solution, ensuring a smooth release during bait-catching moments.

Bait colors matter. There are bass fishing staples, crazy colors, gimmick colors, and then there’s SteelShad’s new Real Life Color Series.

New rods, a new mini-gaff and new spinning reels are among the impressive product lineup from Fitzgerald for this year's ICAST in Orlando.

Expertly delivering both power and speed, the reel is equipped with a 10-bearing system with stainless steel double shielded ball bearings, high strength solid brass Speed Gears®, a P2 Super Pinion® bearing supported pinion gear for strong gear mesh, and a Rulon drag system with 15 lbs. max drag to ensure you’re always prepared for any battle on the water.

Designed with the ever-popular Neko rig in mind, the 7" worm features 2 indentions to better hold an O-ring and the perfect body-to-tail ratio for maximum action.

Moving forward Quantum will focus solely on the saltwater market. Historically, Quantum was a strong freshwater brand with high end rods and reels geared towards the tournament bass angler.
 

Multiple sonar/gps systems now create huge current draw from 12-volt systems, requiring special energy sources to avoid short term drainage.

Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com

If you run a big screen sonar/gps on a bass, walleye, crappie or saltwater flats boat, chances are you’ve seen the dreaded “Low Battery” warning on screen way more often than you’d expect. Add multiple baitwell pumps, spreader lights, electric reels and other accessories and the need for a whole lot of juice is obvious.

But the monster screens—now up to five on a single boat, typically 12” models in bass and walleye fishing, 16” or larger on saltwater boats—suck power at an incredible rate, leading engineers to seek all sorts of solutions.

Norsk now offers a combination battery designed to separate power for a 36-volt trolling motor and a high-draw sonar, all in a single compact case.

More Power from Outboards

If you run a recent model V8/V10/V12 350-hp and up outboard, it will have an alternator that puts out enough charge to light up the New Year’s Ball in New York City, and this largely solves the problem so long as you occasionally start the engine.

The big outboards put out what would have been unthinkable in terms of charging current a few years back.

Mercury’s new 350 and 400 hp V-10’s and the awesome 600-hp V12 will deliver 150 amps of charging power at 1,500 rpm, more than twice that of the older 2.6-­liter inline-­sixes from the company.

Yamaha’s largest motor the XTO Offshore 450, produces up to 96 net amps per engine (at 12 volts)

Suzuki’s largest, the DF 350 produces 80 percent of its 54-amp (at 12 volts) maximum output at 1,000 rpm.

Mercury even offers an extra cost option of a 48 volt alternator on their V-10 and V-12 outboards, designed to work with Navico’s Fathom ­e-power system to blast out so much current that big saltwater boats can do away with a separate generator while still running air conditioning and other high-draw equipment.

Note that all of these motors do the job at low rpm—trolling speed or just over idle speed, so you don’t have to rev up to recharge the battery banks. Smart charging systems direct the current first to the starting batteries—so you won’t get stranded out there—and then to the “house” or auxiliary batteries.

Trolling motors are growing ever more powerful, and also require high-output batteries to endure a full day of fishing.

What About Older Outboards?

But most of us do not have new outboards—we have outboards that were around when Obama was still a Senator from Illinois.

That’s why you may be only half way through your fishing day when all your fish-finding power goes blank.

On smaller boats where the 12-volt starting battery is also the sonar/gps battery, you may not be able to start the outboard when it’s time to go home.

A few lithium battery providers are answering the call this year. Norsk Lithium recently introduced a new line of 36+28V 60Ah batteries, which features two sets of independent terminals, offering dual voltage functionality within a single battery.

From one set you get 36-volt power for a big trolling motor. From the other, you get 28V of clean, interference-free power to the sonar module. And, the company says, this setup does the job without complicated wiring, regulators, or shut-off switches.

This is a “smart battery” with a battery management system that tracks the last time power was drawn from the 28V terminals, and if there’s no draw in 60 minutes, the terminals shut off. They automatically “wake up” if a sonar module turns on. The result is all-day power.

As you’d expect, this is not a cheap battery, but it’s no-where near the most expensive in the pricey lithium world. The heated version, for northern climes, is $1399, the non-heated model $1299. As with all lithium batteries they are considerably lighter than comparable lead-acid models, promising better boat performance particularly where several batteries are used.

There’s no truly inexpensive way to run all the electronics many of us have on our boats today, but as they say, good whiskey costs money—you have to pay to play in the end.

See details on the Norsk setup here: https://norsklithium.com.

NEW FOR ICAST 2024! Norsk Lithium 36+28V 60Ah Batteries

60AH 36V+28V Heated
Battery Type: Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4)
Nominal Voltage: 38.4V
Max Continuous Current: 120A
BCI Compliant Case: Group 31
Weight: 46.3 lbs.
Size: 13 X 6.81 X 9.25 inches
Lifespan: 4,000+ Cycles, Est. 15-20 years
Warranty: 10 Year + 2 with Norsk Guardian™
Norsk Guardian™ + Bluetooth® and Deep Sleep™
MAP $1,399.00

AVAILABLE FALL 2024

60AH 36V+28V
Battery Type: Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4)
Nominal Voltage: 38.4V
Max Continuous Current: 120A
BCI Compliant Case: Group 31
Weight: 39.5 lbs.
Size: 13 X 6.81 X 9.25 inches
Lifespan: 4,000+ Cycles, Est. 15-20 years
Warranty: 10 Year + 2 with Norsk Guardian™
Norsk Guardian™ + Bluetooth® and Deep Sleep™
MAP $1,299.00
 
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