Each year around this time, many anglers are busy rigging their new boats for the upcoming season or at least thinking about making changes to their current setups. It's a big process to decide what electronics and accessories you plan to run for the new year, while other anglers are simply looking to optimize what they already have. BAM Super 60 pro Ken Mah is currently rigging his new Vexus boat and has made some changes to the setup this year.
These changes will help him on the water during tournaments across the West Coast and also support a new venture: helping anglers learn their electronics better, no matter which brand they run. Mah shared some insight on what he's running for in the new year and why.
Plenty of Power Needed
Over the past few years, bass anglers have begun to run more screens on their boats, and they all take plenty of power. Add the forward-facing sonar transducers, and there is even more of a drain on the batteries. This year, Mah will be running two separate forward-facing units, one from Garmin and one from Lowrance.
"I've always run Lowrance and will still run them, but will also have a Garmin and Humminbird unit on the boat this year," he said. "I know Lowrance inside and out, but don't want to be a one-trick pony and will learn everything about the other brands. I'm going to start consulting people with electronics and want to know all of the major brands and how they work."
Mah does all of his own rigging, so he knows where to look if anything isn't working, and all of his electronics are powered by Bioenno lithium batteries, specifically the 12V, 100Ah LFP Battery.
"The 100 amp hour battery is there because I want a standalone battery for my electronics to give consistent lithium power to my Lowrance ActiveTarget2 and Garmin LVS34 transducers, the boxes, and all of the electronics," he said. "Keeping them isolated to just that battery gives it plenty of power to run that whole system. We're putting more and more demand on our batteries with bigger screens and more power consumption, so that a dedicated battery makes a big difference."
Trolling Motor System
At the front of the boat, Mah is running a Power-Pole MOVE trolling motor, and he says the power draw from trolling motors has gone down while our need to power electronics has gone up.
"They're now so much better and more efficient because they are brushless, so the power use has gone the other direction as our electronics," he said. "Because of this, you don't need to run as big a battery, and I run three Bioenno 12V, 80Ah LFP batteries. The other cool thing about many trolling motors now is that they can run on either 24v or 36v, and if you were ever to have an issue with one battery, you can bypass that and still go fishing the rest of the day, or the rest of the tournament."
One theme among Mah's rigging is redundancies and backup plans for everything to keep him on the water. "I have battery cutoff switches for my cranking battery, trolling motor batteries, and the battery I use to run my electronics, so when I wake up in the morning, I know I will have full power," he said. "Doing this is really easy to click off, and you prevent any chance of something drawing from the batteries if you leave something on overnight."
All of the batteries in his boat are also secured by custom aluminum trays made by fellow angler Billy Hines. "I buy these from him at retail price, but really believe in them because they are such a well-built product," Mah said. "They are stainless steel with a ratchet strap with a ratchet strap and built to the footprint of your batteries, so they are secure and take up less space."
Mah is a big fan of lithium power and says that if you haven't taken a look at them recently, you might be surprised by the cost and how affordable they've become.
"The price of lithium power has come way down, and you can get great deals at Fisherman's Warehouse for Bioenno batteries, about the same cost as what it takes to buy an AGM," he said. "The other great thing about Bioenno is they are assembled and shipped from California, and if you ever have a question or issue, you can call, and someone there will answer the phone, and it won't be someone in another country. Plus, they offer a 20-year warranty, and you know they are going to be around still because they are well established in this industry."
Rigging a new boat or adding some new accessories is always a great way to get ready for a new year and to take advantage of the latest technologies. With the increased use of electronics, choosing the right power source is also a big part of the equation, and thankfully, lithium batteries continue to decline in price.
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