Tim Huffman
Power-Pole Charge Station
The Charge Marine Power Station is the world’s first AC/DC and bi-directional, all-in-one marine battery manager and charter. It’s designed for boats with up to three trolling motor batteries and one 12V cranking battery. The 500 watts delivers up to 40 amps of charging power to the cranking battery and 25 amps to the auxiliary batteries. It works with most types of batteries, is water resistant and has built-in safety and emergency start features.
It gives you real time battery status and power movement on your smart phone or tablet. Charge power comes from 120V outlet or the boat’s alternator. It gives peace of mind so you can worry about fishing, not whether you are running out of power or will have enough to start your big motor.
Price is $1295. Power-pole.com
Shimano Spinning Rod
Shimano’s Compre Spinning rod is a combination of quality with affordable pricing. The 6’6” one-piece or 7’ two-piece medium-light, fast action, are good picks and rated for 4- to 10-pound test line.
“The new Compre is made for the serious weekend angler,” says John Mazurkiewicz, Catalyst Marketing. “We see it being the affordable high-quality choice for fishermen who need a good all-around spinning rod for crappie or any species where light presentations are needed.”
Shimano finishes the rod with Fuji stainless/alconite guides. Priced at $99. fish.shimano.com
Lew’s Spinning Rod
The Wally Marshall Speed Shooter is designed with dock shooting in mind. They have EVA grips, IM8 graphite and Air Wave guides.
“We’ve came out with four lengths of the Speed Shooter,” says Mr. Crappie, Wally Marshall. “The four lengths are for different situations. The tighter the clearance or gap in a dock the better the shorter, more accurate rod. The long 7-footer lets a fisherman get further away from the dock. It’s easy to get good distance and shoot all the way to the back of a dock.”
The Shooter has a good look, style and will be a great addition to fit your style of shooting or precision casting. The Lew’s/Wally Marshall combination creates a complete outfit. Suggested retail for rods is $46-$50. lews.com
St. Croix Spinning Rod
St. Croix has always been known for high quality. One of their best choices that can applied to crappie fishing is the LegendX series, 6’10” medium light. It feels, looks and performs great.
“What we are showcasing is the LegendX rod,” says Tradition’s Jay Anglin. “It feels deceptively fast and stiff but the tip has an incredible amount of action. It detects light bites. This can be a great light-weight jigging rod, drop-shot or rod for casting light baits, or any similar presentation. It’s as sensitive as it gets.”
This one is for the very serious crappie fisherman who want’s to pay the extra for sensitivity. Suggested retail $390. stcroixrods.com
Fish Monkey Gloves
They claim to be the first and only brand to offer a complete line of fishing, boating and watersports gloves specifically designed for the marine industry. The Stubby Guide Glove has UPR 50+ sun protection, short cut for comfort, quick breathable fabric and second skin fit.
Noah Lynj says, “The company makes all types of gloves for fishing, cleaning, gripping, and wintertime use. They work to make the best gloves possible for the fisherman no matter what type fishing. For crappie I would recommend the Guide Gloves or Stubby Guide Gloves. For cold weather use the Natural Glove first with the Stubby over the top.”
The Stubby Guide Glove is $27. fishmonkeygloves.com
Aqua-Vu
The HD7i Pro provides a daylight viewable (4-times brighter), anti-glare LCD and real-time displays of digital depth, water temperature and camera direction. The modular housing and attachment system add to its versatility. Seeing what’s under the water is a huge advantage for catching fish and learning what they do and why they bite.
“Our newest models can be portable and run off battery or they can be connected to the boat,” says Cory Schmidt. “The new camera is high definition and allows connection of a bunch of different accessories including a light and an adaptor to attach to an extending pole.
Suggested retail for the HD7i Pro is $800. The bigger screen, big brother HD10i is $1000.
K2 Cooler
Majesty Outdoors Edition Summit 50. It’s one-piece molded, maximum ice retention, keeps hot or cold, positive lid seal, Easy haul handles and anchoring points on both sides for easy mounting.
“We are make in the USA,” says company rep Spook Moncla. “The next time you buy a cooler check to see where it is made. One of the things we do is measure on the inside where others measure the outside. If we say 20 quarts that what it will hold. We have ten models, two have wheels for ease of moving around when full.”
Moncla says for any cooler pre-cooling with a jug of ice, keeping it out of the sun and opening as few times as possible will help a cooler stay cool longer.
The K2 Summit 50 in white is $309. K2-coolers.com
