There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as Desert Storm veteran and youth fishing mentor David Lowrie was surprised with a complete boat overhaul thanks to Minn Kota, Humminbird and the One-Boat Network Live overhaul at the American Sportfishing Association’s International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) on Thursday, July 11.
Lowrie is a veteran of the U.S. Army and has spent the last three years as the youth director for the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation High School/Youth. The youth program was struggling three years ago with only 200 members until Lowrie took over and was able to make it one of the best youth programs in the country with over 1,400 young anglers. Lowrie serves as a high school boat captain and is passionate about putting kids on the water and helping them to become better anglers. He has also dedicated himself and his 2006 Skeeter bass boat to helping his son Hank pursue his bass tournament fishing dreams.
The overhaul took place in booth #217 at the ICAST show and included installations of a Minn Kota Ultrex with Built-In MEGA Down Imaging, Minn Kota on-board Precision charger, two Minn Kota Talons, two Humminbird SOLIX 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G2 units, Humminbird 360 and LakeMaster mapping. In addition to these elements of the One-Boat Network, products from other ICAST exhibitors including Rigid Industries, T-H Marine, Battle Born Batteries, JL Audio and more were also installed. The full unveil event can be viewed here.
“We are so thrilled with the outcome of the One-Boat Network Live build here at ICAST,” said Joe Brown, senior director of brand management for Johnson Outdoors Marine Electronics. “Not only were we able to demonstrate the live installation of the best Minn Kota and Humminbird technologies, but we were able to award the final product to a very deserving member of our fishing community – David Lowrie. We look forward to having David, his son and the youth anglers he captains using our products on the water to make more fishing memories.”
The One-Boat Network is an integrated system which unlocks communication opportunities between Minn Kota and Humminbird products, including Talon shallow water anchors, to help anglers find, stay on and catch fish. Minn Kota and Humminbird products are respectively best-in-class in locating fish and fish-holding structure and enabling anglers to navigate to fishing spots and stay in place effortlessly. With the One-Boat Network, anglers can get the most out of their Humminbird fish finder, Minn Kota trolling motor and Minn Kota Talon shallow water anchor through a networked system designed to give anglers a more streamlined, user-friendly experience across all products.
“I’m absolutely just blown away by the fact that I was chosen for this. I don’t know that I feel worthy but I feel awfully blessed,” said David Lowrie. “The stuff that was on my boat was a lot older – I had coveted a Spot-Lock for a long time, and you know, it just wasn’t in the budget because I focus on other things. I focus on the kids and the state program – I don’t focus on me that much. I’m going to be able to take the kids out on an improved boat and improve their chances of catching fish. All the sponsors that had a hand in this – I just can’t thank them enough. It’s an unbelievable blessing.”
David Lowrie spent the last day of ICAST on the water learning the ins and outs of his new equipment with Minn Kota and Humminbird professional anglers Chris Zaldain and Brandon Palaniuk on Friday, July 12 on Lake Tohopekaliga. A live stream of David’s day on the water can be viewed here.
