Competing at the top of the professional B.A.S.S. and Major League Fishing circuits not only takes talent but a huge level of commitment to the sport. For starters, competitors spend days criss-crossing the country like over-the-road truckers—and then there’s the constant upkeep of equipment to eliminate failure from the equation. Given the amount of money on the line, and constant work to do, sleep doesn’t come easy.
Power failure is the last thing any top-level tournament angler wants to experience. Drained or dead trolling motor and/or electronics/house batteries are simply not acceptable. Reliability is a huge factor in everything pro tournament anglers choose to operate, from their pick-up trucks, to their boats, to their rods, reels, line, and hooks. Nothing can fail at this level of the game.
And yet it does. Given the sheer number of hours spent on the water—from pre-fish through final day tournament weigh-in—pro anglers continue to experience power issues given the amp draw of today’s hi-tech trolling motors and electronics. As fish-finder screens get brighter, larger, and have more sophisticated processors, the amp draw only grows.
Lakeland, Florida-based winning bass pro Bobby Lane has won nearly $3 million in his career, and is one of only three anglers to have won both a Bassmaster Elite Series event and a MLF REDCREST Championship.
Following his 2022 REDCREST Championship win on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Lane decided to leave the MLF and get back into the trenches with B.A.S.S., fishing all nine Open events in all three divisions in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Bassmaster Classic.
“I’ve been on the road traveling the entire U.S. again, which is exciting,” says Lane. “I have two goals: the first is to make the top nine and the Elite Series; and second, to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic.”
“It’s been a long, long road. I’ve given each of these sides 11 years, and I was ready to get back in the Bassmaster Elite Series to qualify for the Classic. That’s a trophy I’ve longed for my entire life, but I just haven’t had that opportunity,” adds Lane.
“What I love about the EQ and the nine tournaments in three divisions is it spreads competition from waters in Florida, to New York, to Oklahoma, and gives the anglers exactly what they need to become a pro. For new guys, it’s an opportunity to learn a lot, like how to spend money on the road with gas, food, and lodging. It’s a great intro to becoming a professional angler.”
Bobby Lane Talks Juice
Lane has been running various lithium batteries in his Phoenix over the past three or four years but experienced a lot of issues.
“I found myself stranded numerous times in both practice and tournaments, which caused me a lot of headaches and precious time on the water. So I went back to gel batteries at the start of this year, but ran into problems with them, too,” shares Lane.
As luck would have it, the NORSK Lithium team heard about Lane’s power issues through the grapevine and reached out to him.
“NORSK Lithium’s James Holst and I started chatting and he spelled out exactly how NORSK Lithium could solve the problems I’d been experiencing. Granted, I was a little apprehensive at first, having tried most of the lithium batteries on the market. But the more we talked and I learned about their product, the more confident I became in what they had to offer. Their technology seemed unlike anything that’s currently available,” offers Lane.
“But from the get-go, I told James that if I was ever going to run lithium again, I wanted two 36V batteries for my Power-Pole Move trolling motor and Power-Pole onboard charging system. Might seem like overkill, but I’ve been dead-on-the-water too many times. I told NORSK I needed a second 36 volt battery on a switch that would guarantee power even if I drained one battery. If one battery dies, I’m still in good shape to fish. I can hit my switch and my trolling motor will draw off that second 36V that’s fully charged,” adds Lane.
“When they told me their batteries only drop about 2% a month when not being actively used, I was amazed. My experience with lead acid batteries is they’ll lose 25% of their capacity or more in a month which means that type of battery really requires constant upkeep. Now, because I’m running Norsk Lithium, this means that the second battery, my back-up battery, could potentially sit there in the battery compartment of my boat, idle for an entire 6 month tournament season and still have nearly 90% capacity remaining at the end of the season with absolutely no maintenance or monitoring on my part required. Norsk kept telling me one 36 V 60Ah battery was going to be more than enough power but I’ve been snake bit more than a few times by battery issues so what I was really looking for was peace of mind. So that’s how I ended up with a pair of Norsk 36V 60Ah batteries in my Phoenix when I likely only needed one!”
Lane adds: “I’ve been using the NORSK Lithium Guardian app for real-time monitoring of my batteries when I’m pre-fishing and on tournament days. Combined with my Power-Pole app, it’s absolutely amazing. I probably have more power than I really need, but I wanted that security after countless days on the water ruined with other batteries.”
In fact, Lane confides that he didn’t really think he’d go back to lithium after the problems he’d experienced over the past four years.
“I was dealing with fishing in a lot of current at the recent St. Lawrence event. The combination of NORSK Lithium and the Power-Pole Move trolling motor was completely unlike any other boat, trolling motor, and battery combo I’ve ever run. I could never have done what I just did in New York with that current. I swear, I didn’t even have to crank up my big motor to go up current and make another drift. I put my trolling motor on anchor lock and it would sit absolutely perfect, even in the current. Finally, with NORSK Lithium I can go all day. And the beautiful thing is, I can see on the Guardian app how many hours my trolling motor will last given the speed it’s on. So, I know if I need to charge or not charge—or slow down or speed up. Having two 36 Volt batteries in the back of my boat is the fail-safe I’d spent years looking for, which gives me an entirely new level of confidence to fish how I need to. I can max out my motor all day and not have to worry about any power issues. That’s pretty cool.”
Next Generation Power
Bobby Lane’s son, Bobby Lane III, fishes a lot with his dad and is starting to compete in his own right.
“I’m trying to teach my son the importance of boat maintenance. He needs to know what to do if he has power failure on the water. With NORSK Lithium, that preparation is about as easy as it gets. All my son will ever have to do is go to the back of the boat and flick the switch to run the trolling motor off the second battery. Sure beats the trials to get to where I’m currently at running NORSK. Now he’ll get to benefit from that, too. At least talking power, he gets to skip all the hard knocks.”
