New, and even useful, products
It’s always nice to find new and useful products to make your outdoor experience less work and more fun.
Florida Sportsman had an article this month about onboard battery isolators that use your outboard’s alternator to charge not only your starter battery but also your trolling motor batteries while underway.
There are other charging systems that use your tow vehicle’s alternator to charge your boat batteries while towing your craft to and from the fishing grounds. These are real time and money savers and probably will pay for themselves in a short time. They have been around for awhile, but seem to be “new” to lots of folks.
Minn Kota, Guest and Wells Marine Technology are mentioned and other “battery isolator” systems are available in the $100 to $300 price range. These are especially useful to live bait guys that require lots of juice to run bait pumps for long periods to keep baits frisky and ready for action.
Maybe the best feature is a switch that allows you to tap your trolling motor batteries to start your main engine in case you run down your starter battery because of motor problems. Actually could save your life.
STARTRON has a new fuel additive that – according to them – “does it all” when it comes to solving ethanol phase separation problems plaguing boaters and accounts for up to 50 percent of local service repairs. Local boat dealers have told me they have found nothing yet that solves E-10 gas problems. Any one using this product with good success, please write and let us know.
E-10 has become a nightmare for many boaters already.
MirrOlure has issued a new larger size of their instant classic, the # 17MR “MirrOdine.” The new larger size is the #27MR. Savvy lure slingers will stock up on both sizes.
The soft plastic “swimbait” has become very popular and should be included in your tackle selection, but the new generation of hard and soft plastic jointed swimbaits that are appearing are really neat. These are expensive and range from $10 to as much as $40 each. They are incredibly life-like in the water and once you see one of these actually swimming back to you on the retrieve you will see why they are becoming more popular all the time.
SPRO has a new shad entry that looks great and swims like a real fish. I can’t wait to try these lures around the bridges this year for tarpon and trophy snook.
Have you ever seen that TV ad for the Banjo Minnow? They are back on TV again. Just another gimmick? Try it! It’s a great lure. The segmented body really allows it to swim naturally and more importantly look injured on the pause. That always spells easy pickings to a hungry predator. New, larger sizes, think tarpon!
Capt. Dick May of Easy Rider Charters has been catching trout to 23 inches on every trip as of late. His fish are in the grass beds in three to five feet of water. Gulp Shrimp under a rattling cork is his choice this week.
Lots of snook in canals and creeks, but also lots of lockjaw going around and action is slow. White bait still not showing in large numbers, but there is mackerel action on the beach between Boca Grande and Captiva Pass.
Catch Capt. May’s seminar this weekend at the Fort Myers Boat Show (Saturday) at the Lee County Civic Center on Pine Island Road, east of I-75. I have seen many excellent demonstrations there over the years. Beginners to working pros always can pick up valuable tips from the many guest speakers and pros along with some good buys. Well worth the ticket price.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at captgeorget3@aol.com, or Flying Fins Sportfishing.