Innovation has always played a key role in the Bassmaster Classic. Over the years, dozens of products have made their debut at the Super Bowl of bass fishing. In the early years anglers were taking advantage of the new sonar technology and advances in hull and engine performance. Today’s advancements come in the form of side and down imaging, detailed mapping software, shallow water anchors and GPS technology. Recently, another product has burst on to the seen and has changed the anglers approach to the use of technology forever. No product has ever been introduced and immediately credited for 4 classic wins in a row until the introduction of the HydroWave. Kevin VanDam changed the game with his dominating performance at the 2010 Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans. Kevin was one of the only anglers to have a HydroWave on his boat for the event. No one knew what it was at the time and Kevin was not going to let the cat out of the bag until after his win. In the tournament other anglers surrounded Kevin but daily he out fished them all. After his victory and the $500,000.00 check was in his hand, he let the world know of his involvement, innovation and ownership of the new company, HydroWave.
HydroWave emits natural feeding sounds of predatory fish from a speaker mounted on a boats trolling motor. These natural sounds provoke a feeding response in fish and actually bring them closer to the angler. Kevin was quick to credit this new technology in his win. The interesting part comes when the next three Classic winners did the same.
When Chris Lane won on the Red River he was using the HydroWave in a shallow water scenario where the fish were inactive after a cold front. Chris believes that the HydroWave “woke the fish up from their bad mood”.
On the other hand, Cliff Pace credited the HydroWave for his Classic win in bitterly cold conditions on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. Pace said that because of the extreme cold, fish were relating too close to the bottom to pick up on his graphs sonar. When he pumped up the volume on the HydroWave, he said the fish would move just enough for him to identify them. Once identified, Cliff would mark the fish, turn around and cast to where he saw it. “There is no doubt that without the HydroWave I would have never known those bass were there.” Cliff Pace
The following Classic, Randy Howell ran away from the field catching bass continually in one area. After the win in his press conference Randy Credited the HydroWave for brining in waves of fish and actually calling them to him.
The HydroWave accolades do not end with only Classic victories. Since its introduction it has been credited for dozens of Elite, FLW and Bassmaster Open wins.
Beyond the accolades, HydroWave is not sitting on their hands and are continuing to innovate beyond it current successful products. Recently, industry leader T-H Marine Supplies, Inc. purchased the assets of HydroWave. Jeff Huntley, President of T-H Marine stated, “We are proud of what HydroWave is today but more than that,
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