ARTICLES

To put you on the water faster, we wanted to share a few problem-solving products to make the process a little smoother-from rigging trolling motor and electronics batteries to better trailering, launching your boat, and loading on the trailer at day's end.

Rigging & Power

One of the biggest frustrations on the water is trouble with trolling motor and/or fishing electronics batteries and rigging. After a winter of boat storage, seems like the inaugural fishing trip is rife with problems.

All you have to do is go down to the local boat ramp on that first warm and sunny day after winter to see anglers fighting with problematic rigging and power issues.

We recently discovered quick, simple, and easy pre-rigging from a company called Connect-Ease. Their Trolling Motor Kits and GRAPH POWER replace the struggle and expense of having to gather up the correct gauge wiring, connections, and components you need to rig your 12-, 24-, or 36-volt series trolling motor systems and single to multi-graph networks in console or tiller boats.

Trolling motor kits feature marine-grade components, Quick-Snap connections at the batteries, 8 gauge trolling motor wire, and 10 gauge charger wire. They make outboard motor systems, too, including parallel connection kits if you want to run two batteries for your outboard and electronics.

When it comes to fish-finders, GRAPH POWER works with all major fishing electronics brands and provides clean, reliable power to today's electronics. Features include a 30 Amp fused Quick-Snap connection at the battery, easy-to-feed 8 gauge marine-grade wire backbones in sheaths to the console and bow, choice of 3 or 5 Amp connections, and heat-shrinkable butt splices.

No matter what kind of fishing boat you're running, Connect-Ease is definitely worth looking at.

Improved Trailering

We've all had boat and trailer hitches that rattled and even caused a bit of trailer sway.

The Rattle-Free Trailer Hitch Stabilizer is a pretty smart solution. It provides a quieter ride, less sway, reduced mechanical stress, better braking, and the elimination of trailer light flickering.

The RFv2 pulls the ball hitch and receiver together to create a solid unit instead of having the ball hitch and receiver held loosely together with a hitch pin. Made out of aircraft aluminum, the RFv2 fits most standard 2" hitches, with an adaptor available for 2 ½".

Unload & Load Your Boat Without Getting Wet

We're constantly amazed by the conversations we get into at the boat ramp when other anglers see how easy it is to unload and later latch the boat on the trailer at the end of the day. For years we've used the Drotto Catch & Release Boat Latch and it's some of the best money we ever spent. The Drotto system allows easy one-man launching without having to get wet and mess around with the winch and safety strap. Simply undo your strap and chain by reaching over the bow while in the boat and pull the lever to release the latch from the bow eye.

It also eliminates the hassle of two-man loading at the end of the day. Simply drive the boat until the eye catches the Drotto Boat Latch and you're good to pull up the ramp.