Owning a boat is a big part of many anglers' bass fishing experience and allows you to visit many lakes and explore new fisheries. It's also a big investment that takes time and money to maintain and keep running properly.
Besides the basics, many different boating accessories will make your life easier. The following products are smart, useful, and will help make your boat an even better, more efficient fishing machine.
Cleaning Products
While not always fun, cleaning your boat and electronics can make them look brand new. There are many different boat cleaning products out there, but these two make it easy and work very well.
Boat Drip Exterior Cleaner
There are countless products out there to clean and wipe down your boat after use. One of the best commercially available options is the Boat Drip Exterior Cleaner, which is easy to use, removes water spots, and leaves a ceramic coating for easier cleaning next time. The company also makes products for your interior, glass, and decks, and all of the products work great.
Boat Bling Glass Sauce
Marine electronics have become even more crucial to bass fishing in recent years, and keeping your screens clean has never been more important. The front graphs, especially, can get plenty of water spots when lifting the trolling motor and while driving down the lake, so keeping them clear is a constant chore. One great product for your screens is Boat Bling Glass Sauce, which also comes in a kit with a microfiber cloth for easy cleaning. It's very easy to use and will clean and protect your screens so you don't miss anything due to water spots or a dirty surface.
Electronics and Trolling Motors
Every bass angler has preferences for their battery setup and the brand of electronics and trolling motor they prefer, but some products will benefit you no matter how your boat is set up. That includes a smart charging system and ways to protect your transducers and make your trolling motor more efficient.
Sonar Shield Transducer Covers
If you run forward-facing sonar on your boat, you know how useful the tool is, and the transducers are very expensive. It makes sense to protect them, especially when they are exposed while driving down the road. Sonar Shield makes a transducer cover that is a hard plastic that quickly snaps over your transducer, whether it is a Lowrance or Garmin, and will help to prevent it from being damaged by stray rocks kicked up along the road, which could easily damage the sensitive transducer.
T-H Marine G-Force Troll Jacket
The cables connected to your trolling motor can make quite an eyesore and can also lead to hooks and other objects getting tangled in them. Instead of zip ties and electrical tape, you can cover all of them with a neoprene sleeve like the Troll Jacket. It simply connects with Velcro, keeping all cables tightly wrapped and protected while reducing clutter at the front of your boat.
Power-Pole CHARGE
While not an inexpensive item, the Power-Pole CHARGE is an amazing system for controlling the power to all of your batteries, whether they are AGM or lithium. The CHARGE is a battery charger that also does much more: you can manage power for all the different batteries, and they share power when one battery needs it. While the outboard is running, the batteries also charge, so that you will have power for longer. There is also an app that can track all the different power sources for your batteries and pool all power together if you need to perform an emergency start, so no need for jumper cables if your cranking battery dies.
Miscellaneous Accessories
Many more cool boating accessories will make your life easier, especially the following items, which are very useful for tournament competitors and for those who need to spool up new line on the water.
DD26 Spool Stix Fishing Line Winding Tool
This simple aluminum rod collapses when not in use, and then you can pull it out and use it to spool your fishing line. It can be mounted with adhesive tape onto any flat surface that works for you. What makes it so handy is that you can spool line yourself without any assistance and do it quickly.
BuzzerRocks Livewell Treatment Tournament Package
If you fish in tournaments, you know how important it is to keep your fish alive and well. Not only do dead fish cost you in penalties, but it's our duty to protect the resources, and we should do everything we can to keep our fish alive. This kit from BuzzerRocks has everything you need to keep your fish in top shape, including tablets for oxygen, energy, and to stop bleeding. These little tablets are easy to use and look like Alka-Seltzer, so simply you drop them in the livewell, making them much easier to use and less messy than liquid additives.
DD26 Mean Mount Motor Tote Transom Savers
You no longer have to use one of the long aluminum transom savers that connect to the boat trailer with a device like this from DD26. These sturdy devices connect to the outboard and feature a shock-absorbing system to help absorb the impact of trailering your boat.
They are made with aircraft-grade aluminum and automotive-grade powder coating and work with most modern outboards, such as Mercury and Yamaha, and are simple to use; you don't need to crawl down beneath the engine to use them. For your steering system, they also make the Mean Stops Hydraulic Steering Locks with the same well-built design features that keep your outboard from moving left or right when trailering.
Owning a boat is a big part of bass fishing for many anglers, and they are tools that allow you to catch fish and have fun on the water. They are also highly customizable to your needs, and there are great boating accessories that will make your time on the water even more enjoyable.
