The California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee voted unanimously this week to support fishing licenses that expire 12 months after the date of purchase, a change that will provide greater value to anglers. Currently, licenses expire on Dec. 31, regardless of when they are purchased. With the support of NMMA, the California Sportfishing League, American Sportfishing Association, and 20 additional organizations, the ...

At its February meeting in Gainesville, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) set the popular and economically important 2019 Gulf red snapper recreational season to open June 11 through July 12, with a possible fall reopening if quota is available. This season will apply to those fishing from private recreational vessels in state and federal waters and to ...

Skeeter Boats announced that the company is an official boat sponsor of the all-new Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour and Bass Pro Championship. Nine professional anglers will run Skeeter boats during the 53 episodes airing on Discovery Channel, Sportsman Channel, CBS, and CBS Sports. All episodes are also available on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).   “We are excited to ...

Crestliner Boats announced the complete redesign of its bestselling family of boats, the Fish Hawk. Inspired by hardcore anglers, the new Fish Hawk includes more advanced fishing features, increased onboard comfort and power, plus a new model to expand the family: the 1650 Fish Hawk. “We fully believe it’s possible to make great boats even better, and the new Fish ...

Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., announced the Panoptix LiveScope LVS12, a new transducer in the  Panoptix LiveScope series that offers both 30-degree forward and 30-degree down real-time scanning sonar views. The single-array LiveScope LVS12 transducer is an economical solution for inland and near-shore anglers without the need for a black box. With the active scanning capabilities of Panoptix ...

Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, and Polaris Industries Inc. announced  a strategic partnership that will extend and expand the outdoor brands’ complementary relationship. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The partnership leverages both companies’ consumer base, market presence and industry expertise, and will include collaboration across the organizations as well as enhanced activation and ...

Crestliner recently awarded four scholarships as part of its new Angling Aces Student Program. The program, which launched in March of this year, awarded two individual scholarships and two team scholarships, totaling $6,000. "One of the main components of the Angling Aces program is to support young anglers who would like to pursue professional fishing, as well as young angling student ...

Freshwater fishing remains a critical market segment within the boating industry. Recent data from Statistical Surveys confirms that the market continues to exhibit solid growth in the single digit range.  According to SSI, sales of new retail registered outboard-powered aluminum fishing boats in the U.S. increased from 61,000 in 2016 to 62,000 in 2017.  Total freshwater fishing, which includes aluminum ...

Continuing his efforts to increase access to public lands, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced yesterday a proposal to open more than 248,000 acres to new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at 30 national wildlife refuges. Opportunities include places like Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in Illinois and Wisconsin, and deer hunting in Philadelphia at John Heinz National ...

The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) has announced the launch of Making Waves, an initiative designed to empower women and girls to cast off labels and rock the boat - with fishing pole in hand. RBFF is committed to leading the industry by example and promoting women empowerment on the water by removing perceived barriers to the sport, increasing ...