Explore these 12 fishing and safety gadgets.
By Captain Bill Jennings
It’s well known that center consoles are excellent fishing vessels, and any edge in fishing is valuable. Here’s a selection from this year’s new fishing accessories that might enhance your fishing experience.
The larger the advantage, the bigger the catch.
The GoPod Marine Spotlight
Seeing clearly is crucial while on a boat, particularly when fishing. The innovative GoPod marine spotlight may be the solution you need. It securely attaches to your vessel and lights up the area, ensuring safe navigation at night.
This spotlight can be temporarily mounted and easily clamps onto tubes ranging from 1 to 1.8 inches in diameter or onto any flat surface. Constructed from DuPont powder-coated aluminum, its robust housing withstands the elements. With a light output of 3,000 lumens, this spotlight can illuminate areas over 2,500 feet away. The GoPod comes equipped with both a 12-volt socket harness and a standard wiring harness. Regardless of its usage, the GoPod offers a significant amount of customizable lighting with a low power draw, preserving battery life. When it’s no longer needed, just store it away.
www.blackoakled.com
Carry It All
A backpack is an excellent way to carry essential tools without permanently storing them on your boat. The new Ylinsha bag is designed not just for your fishing equipment, but also includes a fish lip gripper, fishing pliers, and a practical hook remover. Created by fishing enthusiasts, the shape and storage pockets cater specifically to anglers. The multiple compartments enable you to carry various additional items, such as a first-aid kit. The adjustable carrying strap allows for different carrying styles. This Ylinsha bag, along with the tools mentioned, retails for under $25 and comes in black or khaki options.
Be the Stylish Angler
Comfort on your boat is key, and ensuring sun protection is a great way to start. Taco Marine, known for manufacturing accessories for fishing and sport boats, has the perfect solution. The ShadeFin is a flexible shade solution that attaches effortlessly to rod holders, tops, and arches, providing portable shade for nearly any vessel.
This ShadeFin offers a coverage area of 5 by 6 feet, allowing setup in various locations, including at the front, back, or sides of the boat, or wherever a rod holder is available. Made with premium WeatherMAX fabric, it boasts a UV protection factor of over 50. You can choose between black or white colors.
The support frames are created from anodized aluminum, and it weighs only 12 pounds. Ideal for center console boats ranging from 25 to 35 feet, equipped with either hard or canvas T-Tops, and rod holder mounts, many bay boats can also benefit from the ShadeFin’s sun protection. It includes a protective mesh storage bag and comes with a three-year limited warranty. Visit www.tacomarine.com for more information.
Stay in Touch
Veteran boaters recognize the importance of carrying a personal locator device when it becomes necessary. ACR Electronics has designed cutting-edge communication devices for over 65 years, including emergency position radio beacons, personal locator beacons, search and rescue transponders, two-way satellite devices, man overboard devices, and automatic identification systems to enhance awareness of local traffic.
The latest ResQLink AIS Personal Locator Beacon from the company features multiple levels of signal technologies in a compact design. Once activated, the ACR beacon establishes a full communication line with emergency services, combining GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning, 406 MHz, 121.5 MHz RDF signals, and AIS transmissions.
Furthermore, it confirms that the international satellite system has acknowledged the distress signal. The man overboard function sends an AIS signal within VHF radio range and is plotted onto connected chartplotters to request assistance from nearby boats.
An ACR personal locator beacon could potentially save your life one day. Visit www.acrartex.com for more information.
A Singing Garmin
Typically, Garmin is not associated with radios; however, Fusion Apollo radios by Garmin aim to change that perception. The latest hideaway stereo from them offers even more flexibility, delivering top-tier onboard audio entertainment. Here are some standout features.
The WB675’s compact design allows it to fit seamlessly inside the helm console, into a glove compartment, or can be mounted completely out of view, optimizing dashboard space. With integrated digital signal processing and marine digital media, this unit features built-in Bluetooth. A unique characteristic of the WB675 is its capability to provide high-quality sound across four distinct audio zones.
Garmin’s WB675 hideaway stereo has undergone rigorous testing against salt fog, UV rays, humidity, and extreme temperatures that can lead to failures in typical radios. It comes with a three-year warranty and a 60-day money-back guarantee. The suggested retail price is under $500.
www.garmin.com/fusion
Advanced Fish-Finding Technology
The HDS PRO, ActiveTarget 2 ultra-high definition chartplotter/fishfinder from Lowrance offers anglers a comprehensive fish-finding technology package. This updated version of the Lowrance ActiveTarget live sonar allows users to instantly determine the effectiveness of lures and techniques in real-time, enabling quick adjustments for fish strikes. It features two new chart overlays for ActiveTarget Scout mode and Ghost 360 on a new 10-inch display.
With enhanced resolution, you receive a smoother, coherent image throughout its range, producing an entire live-action view in forward, down, and scout perspectives. To maximize its capabilities, the HDS PRO, Active Target 2 includes full networking control of trolling motors, autopilots, engines, power poles, and more. www.lowrance.com
Versatile Solutions
This multi-functional product is tailor-made for your boat. Deckpad is an inflatable platform designed to enhance convenience for a fishing boat and versatility for a bowrider.
Deckpad serves as a personalized standing platform in various boat locations and can even attach to your transom. They stock sizes to accommodate numerous existing boat models, but if a custom fit is needed, they utilize a parametric approach to provide you with the exact shape desired.
This high-quality product utilizes military-grade drop-stitch fabric, stainless steel hardware, and construction methods tested in the harshest marine conditions. Deckpad can enhance any fishing boat’s efficiency while converting a family bowrider into a practical fishing tool. www.deckpad.com
A Robotic Pilot
Have you ever located fish only to see your boat drifting away? Rhodan Marine Products has developed a solution, often referred to as a “Smart” Trolling Motor. They integrated a GPS virtual anchor, an autopilot, and a wireless trolling motor into one amazing unit.
Upon discovering a fishing spot, simply press the anchor button on the remote fob, and the GPS-enabled trolling motor will automatically maintain the bow’s position within a few feet of the selected spot, allowing you to focus on fishing. The trolling motor provides an impressive 80 pounds of thrust for precise positioning. Each kit comes with the smart motor, a wireless fob, a quick release mount, a 5” RAM mount, and a three-blade propeller. www.rhodanmarine.com
A Floating ‘Garage’ for Your Boat
Here’s a unique method to keep your boat clean and dry. Instead of a traditional lift, “SeaPen” provides a floating structure designed with a growth-resistant liner, a polyethylene frame, and a rope sandwich, allowing you to drive your boat directly onto it. The underlying water supports your boat with this material assembly, negating the need for mechanical lifting.
If water enters the structure, a 110-volt pump will automatically drain it, keeping your boat dry. A gateway at one end allows for easy access, enabling you to simply drive on and off the platform. This “boat garage” offers a docking solution for challenging water conditions and is ideal for areas where lifts are prohibited. www.solsticedockingsolutions.com
Enhanced Strength
An outboard transom plate is a smart investment. It helps maintain your outboard’s integrity by evenly distributing the stress across the transom. Livorsi Marine ensures optimal performance with its high-quality plates.
The new transom plates are available in anodized aluminum or 316 stainless steel for maximum saltwater resistance. Choose between two or four mounting holes. If your boat’s stringers obstruct your mounting location, simply opt for Livorsi “S” brackets, and for large outboards, oversized backing plates are also available. Livorsi Marine understands that boaters enjoy variety; hence they offer their brackets in various colors, and you can even have them customized with your boat’s name. www.livorsi.com
Snap It Up
As canvas covers shrink and snaps corrode, fastening and unfastening the snaps on your cover can become quite difficult. Thankfully, the Top Snapper solves this issue.
This stainless steel tool features notched blades that slide over the snap shoulder for correct positioning. One blade is designed for fastening snaps from the interior, while the other is used to secure snaps from the exterior. This stainless-steel tool enables you to open and close snaps without harming the canvas. It includes a wrist lanyard and a lifetime warranty. www.ironwoodpacific.com
See More … Catch More
The CHIRP Side-Scan from Furuno provides offshore fishermen with a 750-foot view of fish both to the port and starboard and offers an efficient method for detecting dangerous underwater structures. The safety advantages are evident, such as lowering the chance of encountering shallow waters and unknown obstructions, while the new side scan technology delivers clear echoes from fish targets, reefs, crab pots, and kelp.
Setting it up requires merely a suitable transducer and a free software update that introduces other significant features, including Furuno’s unique “Fish-It & Drift-It” function. This feature allows fishermen to create a temporary Fish-It Waypoint around promising targets. Furuno’s CHIRP Side-Scan is compatible with most boat types. www.FurunoUSA.com
