I love to keep my eyes peeled for technology advancements and innovations while trying to decipher if the juice is worth the squeeze. Here are three that I think are worth keeping an eye on
Forward Facing Sonar Mount:
Forward facing sonar; It’s all anyone can seem to talk about these days in tournament fishing. Multiple transducers, pole mounts, and even boat brakes have emerged in the wake of this industry-shifting technology. While I can go on and on about ffs and the tech around it, I want to narrow down and focus on one thing, the Foresight mount. This mount allows you to use your forward-facing sonar independent from your trolling motor. What that means, is if you’re using spot-lock or a similar anchoring system, you can still pan in every direction, or focus on a single target for the perfect cast.
Initially, I was pretty ignorant to this technology. One of my travel partners on the Bassmaster tour last year, Adam Rasmussen, opened my eyes to it. Rasmussen and I were fishing the same spot on the Tennessee River during the tournament. It was a deep shell bed that was being flushed by current. Our boats sat feet apart, both spot-locked to fight heavy wind and the classic Tennessee River current. The difference was, Rasmussen was using an independent turret and was able to keep his sonar locked on the hard spot, while my trolling motor mounted sonar whipped back and forth to hold the boat in position.
PLAY BY PLAY
Rasmussen would call out the play by play on when a school of fish or bait would show up on the hard spot, so I was able to benefit through that, but that is a very rare scenario in competitive fishing. Since then, I have faced countless situations where I wished I had an independent sonar mount. As a very weary consumer in fishing electronics, I’ve decided to add one of these to my bow after realizing their potential.
Jack Plate
“Is it worth it?” Is one of the most common questions I receive with regards to adding a jack plate to a boat. I’ll explain why I use one, and you can decide for yourself.
Jackplates allow boaters to adjust the height of the outboard motor, optimizing the boat’s running attitude. This adjustment not only increases speed but also enhances fuel efficiency. The ability to fine-tune the motor height can lead to a smoother ride and better handling, especially in varying water conditions. On my Lund Pro V Bass, the speed difference is only 1-2 MPH, but I do notice a significant difference in fuel economy at mid-range, and better boat control.
Shallow water capability is another reason I add a jack plate. I can jack my motor to the sky and plane off in super shallow water, which is a situational thing for most, but for me it’s a huge advantage. Even when idling through bays and creeks, having the ability to jack the motor way out of the water probably saves me a few trips to the prop shop.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
I’m trying something new this year, switching from a Hydraulic jack plate to an Electromechanical Impulse. There is some cool tech that comes along with the Impulse, like a wireless remote and switch that I can pre-set for optimal running.
Whether you should add one or not is certainly not a one-size fits all answer. They’re a pretty good chunk of change, but if you can offset the costs between fuel savings, prop, keel, and impeller repairs, and resale value, it could be a good option to look at.
Foam Tackle Trays
After years of touring around to both local and national tournaments, I’ve finally decided to trim the fat on the tackle I haul around. One of the biggest dilemmas I have faced with tackle storage in my boat, specifically hooks, is not wanting to take them out of the package for fear of an angler’s nemesis, rust!
To mitigate the rust, I haul huge boxes around, with packages inside of packages, and I’m just done with it. As I prep for the upcoming season, I’ve decided to swap all of my jigs hooks over to Rapala RapStack foam filled tackle trays. I played with these a bit last year for a few select hooks, and the efficiency and hook protection have been enough to make me jump ship.
I set them up for easy access and organize them in a manner that I can see where I’m short and can reload them before the next outing. This is one of the rare small investments in fishing that will make your life on the water a little easier and save you from throwing out a bucket full of rusty hooks at the end of the year. I’ll be keeping my eyes out for more gadgets and innovations in the years to come and continue to decipher which ones are worth pulling out the wallet for.