Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3818 August 16-30 | Page 13

11
August 16-30, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 18
Spotlight On Kayak Fishing...
Sponsered by
Kayak City
in Citrus Heights, CA
Kayak City.Com
916.565.1400
The Hobie Pro Angler Sports Award
Winning Improvements For 2020!
By Cal Kellogg
Kayak anglers are buzzing about Hobie’s exciting reveal at the 2019 ICAST
show in Orlando.
The chatter centers on the kayak-fishing leader’s newest engineering feat—
an astonishing 360-degree rotating pedal drive with Kick-Up
Fins—an all-new paradigm in kayak fishing boat control. Six
years in the making and complete with a nearly 100-page patent
registration, the Hobie MirageDrive 360 is available on the Pro
Angler 360 Series.
The MirageDrive 360 the newest flagship propulsion system
in the Hobie kayak fishing fleet – a broad family of craft that
includes the affordable Passport with the MirageDrive Classic,
versatile Outback that comes standard with the forward
and reversing MirageDrive 180, stalwart Pro Angler
MirageDrive 180 and 360 collections, and other models.
The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades’
(ICAST) New Product Showcase Awards recognize the best
new fishing products in multiple categories each year. Voted
on by attending
product buyers and
members of the
sportfishing media,
these “Best of Category”
awards represent the pinnacle
of achievement in the sport fishing
industry and are intensely competitive.
The Hobie Mirage Pro Angler 14 with 360 Drive Technology was awarded
“Best in Show: Boats and Watercraft” – no small feat considering the wealth
of competition within this crowded segment.
The remarkable new Hobie MirageDrive 360 propulsion system is a
360-degree rotating pedal drive that allows anglers to easily maneuver
their 2020 Mirage Pro Angler 360 Series fishing kayak in every direction—
backwards, forward, sideways, diagonally—or even effortlessly spin on
its own axis. Upping the ante with all-new Kick-Up Fins,
which automatically retract upon impact, the new
MirageDrive 360 delivers precision boat
control and close-quarter maneuver-
ability that’s unrivaled by any other
human-powered watercraft. With the
MirageDrive 360, anglers can go where
there want and fish how they want with total
control and complete confidence.
“We’re incredibly honored by this award,” says Philip Dow, Lead
Design Engineer for Hobie. “We’re humbled by the positive response from
the public and retail. We had lofty expectations, but
they’ve been exceeded. From the On-the-Water demo
event to talking with folks in our booth, the new
MirageDrive 360 attracted nonstop crowds during the
four days of ICAST.”
“This award represents years of hard
work, research, and development,” says
Hobie CEO, Doug Skidmore. “It’s proof
that Hobie is constantly innovating and
seeking out solutions to problems faced by kayak
anglers on a daily basis and delivering on our
goal to introduce watercraft technologies that
help anglers fish more easily and
catch more fish.”
Catch more fish it does!
Anglers using MirageDrive 360
will immediately discover they spend less
time positioning their boat and more time in the strike zone.
Boat control is brought to an entirely new level, affording
anglers the ability to surgically position themselves to make the
best cast and presentation to the fish, as well as staying on top of
fish once found, shallow or deep or anywhere in between.
The MirageDrive 360 allows access to tighter quarters and more fishing
scenarios. Imagine being able to turn on a dime
and easily maneuver in
every direction. Lead
Design Engineer Dow
says the MirageDrive 360
completely changes how
anglers engage with their boat
and the environment. “If you’re fishing along a shoreline or
highly contoured underwater structure, you can follow those
nuances exactly with boat placement. Similarly, the Kick-Up
Fins afford worry-free access to additional productive waters. Shallow and
structure-filled areas become far more manageable. Hobie’s MirageDrive360
completely redefines boat control.”
The new Hobie Pro Angler 360 Series will be available for purchase in Fall
of 2019 at authorized Hobie dealers.
NEW
FOR
2019
TACTICAL
LIGHTWEIGHT COOLERS
ELEVATING THE STANDARD
IN COOLER PERFORMANCE.
72 HOURS
OF ICE RETENTION
NOW AVAIABLE AT
WWW.EGOFISHING.COM