Seasoned angler and technical expert, James Holst, gets down to the brass tacks of fishing boat batteries and the power requirements of forward-facing sonar, new trolling motor designs, etc.

Although many anglers won’t admit it, they don’t fully understand the power needs of today’s fishing electronics and trolling motors. For decades, lead acid batteries worked just fine, replacing them every two or three years, and you were good to go.

But we’ve entered into a whole new era of fishing/marine electronics, with power-consumptive live imaging and forward-facing sonar, new trolling motor designs, as well as other, increased power needs on today’s fishing boats, whether you fish bass, walleyes, panfish, salmon/trout, insert species here, inshore and offshore fishing included.  

Seems like everyone you ask has a different answer to exactly the right system for today’s anglers with increased graphs, screen sizes, and technologies. Solving power on-the-water power problems for this set of anglers comes down to one word: lithium.

At the recent 2024 NPAA conference, seasoned angler/former guide/TV host/technical expert, James Holst, gave a very comprehensive talk that covers all of the above and more – including the difference between lead acid, AGM, and today’s lithium options – something many anglers still don’t quite understand.

Holst puts it all in simple language – and while the video is a bit long – it’s definitely worth watching – especially now that we’ve entered into the spring boat rigging season…