Gear

New Products on Display in Marathon

A look at new gear from eight manufacturers on display at a media event in the Florida Keys

By Doug Olander

Updated: May 24, 2019

In mid-May, dozens of saltwater sport-fishing media and industry players convened at Faro Blanco Resort in Marathon, the Florida Keys, to display new products and then, in a couple days of fishing, to try them out. Paul Michele (back left) with Navionics and Andy Newman (back right) with the Florida Keys and Key West Tourism Council — who set up the event — welcome participants. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

First to address the group was Sara Fangman, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Established in 1990, the sanctuary includes all of the keys, south of Miami to Key West. It protects nearly 3,000 square miles of water surrounding the Keys. Sanctuary administrators are tasked with ensuring the ecosystem remains healthy as visitors come to fish, dive and boat here. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

How tough is the Hyperlastic used in soft lures designed for A Band of Anglers (ABOA) products? Here, ABOA founder and head Patrick Sebile (yes: THAT Patrick Sebile, left), ABOA president Brian Anderson (middle) and Steve Bates with Ontario Outdoors) to try to stretch a 5 ½-inch Dartspin bait to break it. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

The shape of things to come: Hyperlastic shrimp in natural and various reflective colors. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Sebile Leadhead Combined With a Dartspin Pro

Sebile likes to combine two of his new lures — a leadhead (with ridges to make it glide while sinking) and a Dartspin Pro. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

The result offers an effective lure that will quickly drop into deep water. The spinnerblade tail adds lots of flash. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

The same jig head finished with bucktail and Mylar and known as an Ocean Born Swimming Bucktail. These will be available this summer in many striking color patterns. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

As ABOA’s products expand, look for three sizes of stickbaits. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

American Fishing Wire includes Hi-Seas lines and C&H Lures. Here Steve Bates learns a bit about the product line from Steven Miller and Shawn Carpenter. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

New from Hi-Seas is the unique blue fluorocarbon. It’s Grand Slam Bluewater 100% Fluorocarbon Leader comes in 25-yard skeins, as here. Tournament anglers have been snapping up the stuff, according to the manufacturer. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Rob Bowie with Engel Coolers describes some of the features on Engel’s new HD30 Waterproof Soft-Sided Cooler. It offers a unique vacuum seal that allows one to actually suck out all air inside with a vacuum cleaner to create that seal and a waterproof zipper. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

For demo purposes, Garmin mounted its Panoptix Livescope scanning sonar transducer on a pole, as Dave Devos shows, to allow observers to turn it quickly to any view or angle and see the result onscreen. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

That onscreen image allowed us to watch gray snapper swimming in real time near the boat. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Garmin BlueChart g3 Vision and LakeVü g3 Ultra cartography

Also at this event, Garmin showed off its new high-resolution relief shading for its BlueChart g3 Vision and LakeVü g3 Ultra cartography, offering a new level of detail to spot structure and relief. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Some of the Maui Jim sunglasses on display. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Maui Jim’s Mike Battistoni shows off the new green mirror, now available on Maui Jim’s patented PolarizedPlus2 lenses, which eliminate 100% of harmful UV rays and wipe out harsh glare and enhance colors. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Matt Monks of Navionics shows Ben Ellison a screen with Depth Range Shading. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

A whole new ball game in chart views, Navionics’ new SonarChart Shading moves 2D contour lines to a new level, literally, by offering a 3D rendering of the sea floor and lake bottoms. It’s available for Navionics Platinum and Hotmaps Platinum cards. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Okuma Hawaiian Custom Jigging/Popping Rod

Coming very soon! Okuma’s latest is this Hawaiian Custom Jigging/Popping Rod shown by John Bretza. As jigging and popping increase in popularity, Okuma has responded with this very light weight, responsive 24-ton carbon blank with Fuji K-Concept guides and reel seats. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Another rod too new to be in the next catalog but out later this year or early next is this Okuma PCH Bent Butt rod held by Dave Brown. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

Sawyer‘s Patrick Hurst explains the advantages and disadvantages of Picardin as an option in addition to DEET for preventing bites from insects. Hurst definitely knows his business, and his in-depth explanation of various ingredients in Picardin and Deet, as well as in sunscreens, was enlightening. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing

At Sawyer’s exhibit, a lineup of some of the company’s many products for preventing insect bites and sunburn and some amazing water-filtration systems suggests it’s a company anyone who spends time on the water and/or in the woods should know well. Doug Olander / Sport Fishing