Gear to help improve your experience for on the water.
A one list fits all for boating and fishing accessories and equipment is manifestly impossible because the size and type of boats and boaters’ uses and preferences vary so greatly. But, that said, it is feasible to compile a list of some products that are likely to come in handy and/or improve the experience for many on the water. That’s what we’ve tried to do here. While a few are higher-ticket items, many require minimal investment and are likely to pay big returns.
Deck Boots
A good pair of deck boots can be an angler’s best friend over the course of a long day’s fishing. Pelagic (pelagicgear.com) has designed its new Pursuit 6-inch deck boots for comfort, with its Neotech cooling liner inside the completely water-proof rubber construction that keeps feet dry. The $90 boots offer a reinforced toe and a custom nonslip, nonmarking sole. The Pursuit boot is available in Ambush Camo Print, in sizes 8 through 13.
Water-Resistant Day and Night Camera
With SiOnyx’s Aurora (about $800), boaters can view and record their surroundings in 720 HD anytime, with true day and night imaging. SiOnyx (sionyx.com) says its ultra-low-light technology enables colour images and video during the day and twilight, and in near-total darkness. A 1⁄4-by-20-inch threaded mount can attach it to the boat and review video or real-time feeds on the water. You can control the water-resistant Aurora directly with iOS or Android phones.
Connected Boat and Marine Monitoring System
Boats represent large investments and thanks to technology such as Brunswick’s Nautic-On boat-monitoring system ($600 to $1,470, plus $150 annual subscription), you can check in with your boat remotely, anytime, to see its location and the status of vital systems such as battery levels, bilge-pump activation, oil life and engine hours. (Such information can be shared with service providers as well.) For more information, go to nautic-on.com.
Popper at the Ready
Don’t venture out without a stout spinning stick armed with a loud, heavy popper — something any angler can grab and throw a long way into birds or a school of foaming tuna. A great choice is Yo-Zuri’s Bull Pop ($30). The large cupped face creates commotion aplenty. Once hooked, even giant tuna won’t crush the lure, with a patented power body and through-wired stainless steel, plus 3x trebles. It comes in nine patterns with Yo-Zuri’s color-change technology (yo-zuri.com).
Stand-Up Fighting Harness
The best battle with a fish is a stand-up battle — if you have a harness like the Maxforce XH1 ($136) from AFTCO (aftco.com). It gives an angler the edge against even the biggest fish, with extra-thick closed-cell foam padding, removable lumbar-support moisture-wicking synthetic terry-cloth liner. The belt adjusts for waist sizes 30 to 50.
Boat Mat
Tired of footprints all over your clean, white deck? A deck mat can reduce the mess by allowing guests or your fishing buddies to wipe the soles of their shoes, boots or flip-flopss before stepping aboard. Visit ssnautical.com and check out the 24-by-17-inch dock mats ($45) of marine-grade carpet with vinyl backing to keep them from slipping, even on a wet deck. You can order mats with custom embroidery such as your boat’s name.
Foul-Weather Jacket
A hot bite in the middle of a downpour happens with some regularity. Stowing reliable rain gear aboard for such times pays off. Columbia’s new Terminal Outdry hybrid jacket ($150) is an option that keeps anglers dry in style. It’s fully seam-sealed but breathable, offering an adjustable hood and watertight comfort cuffs. For more information, visit columbia.com.
Better VHF Mount
VHF mounts can rattle loose, but a Glomex cam-action mounting base won’t (glomex.com). Glomex uses a spring-loaded cam-action arm, which is then snapped down to lock the antenna into position. The four-way stainless-steel mount also lets you adjust the side-to-side angle with an adjustment bolt. The Glomex’s four bolts should fit into the same holes as most popular antenna mounts, making retrofitting easy.
Leader as You Need It
Every fishing boat needs to have a range of spools of high-quality leader at the ready. Seaguar (seaguar.com) specializes in many types of leader, including its Fluoro Premier, which boast 42 percent better knot strength. The virtually invisible 100 percent fluorocarbon leader is available from 12- to 80-pound-test, in 25- and 50-yard spools ($15 for 25 yards of 12-pound to $84 for 50 yards of 80-pound).
Hand Pump
As reliable as bilge pumps are, they can fail. They might wear out or suffer from an electrical problem, but in any case, manual redundancy in the form of a spare hand pump can — literally — be a lifesaver. For $55, you can pick up a 36-inch manual bilge pump from West Marine (westmarine.com). Its narrow tube fits in tight spots, and the lightweight pump can move 13 gallons per minute.
Trolling-Lure Kit
Having several big-game high-speed trolling lures rigged and ready makes sense aboard any offshore boat. Williamson (rapala .com/williamson) makes putting them out quick and easy with its Big Game Catcher Kit ($50) — four 8-inch trolling lures with concave pusher heads for an erratic swimming action. Pre-rigged VMC 9/0 hook, these can be trolled at up to 8 knots.
Suspension Seating
Those in passenger cars enjoy the benefits of suspension seating, so why not boaters? Shockwave’s S5 marine suspension seating (about $1,000) can be installed on most boats. Each unit weighs 20 pounds and is made from high-pressure die-cast-aluminum components with 316 stainless-steel hardware. Suspension travel is 4 inches vertical and 11⁄2 inches forward. (shockwaveseats.com).
Kayak/SUP Racks
As kayak-fishing continues to grow in popularity, more use their boats as motherships to carry their kayaks to the edge of more-remote shallow waters. Consider adding to your boat convenient racks designed to hold kayaks securely and conveniently while underway, such as the L2K Rack ($600) from Manta Racks (mantaracks.com). The two cradle arms are designed to fit into gunwale rod holders.
Handheld Satellite Messaging
Far beyond cellphone range, anglers can keep in touch with Globalstar’s Spot X (globalstar.com). The two-way satellite-messaging device offers GPS location tracking, social-media linking, and direct communication with emergency services. The rechargeable lithium battery lasts up to 10 days when tracking ($250, with annual service plans starting at $20 per month).
Extra Fishing Pliers
An angler’s pliers are so important, every boat should have a backup pair for a buddy or in case of loss overboard. Penn’s bull nose pliers are a great choice; moderately priced ($35 to $40), they offer stainless-steel construction and replaceable cutters to keep them perpetually sharp. Available in 8- or 61⁄2-inch models, the pliers feature nonslip grips (pennfishing.com).
Helm-Station Pads
A long canyon run in a choppy sea can take its toll on a helmsman’s feet, knees and back. SeaDek’s Dual-Density Helm Station Pad ($120) uses an 18-millimeter low-density foam bottom to absorb shock, while a 3-millimeter medium-density top layer with brushed texture provides traction, wet or dry. It fastens down with hook-and-loop fasteners for quick removal to access any belowdecks hatches (seadek.com).
