I feel like one of the best things I can give my kids is time outside, especially since they spend way too much time inside on video games. It’s even better when we go on a fun outdoor adventure such as fishing. Little beats a sunny afternoon spent casting our lines for brook trout, especially if I remember to pack cookies and sodas for bribery–I mean energy.

A big-time believer in helping children connect with nature by teaching them how to fish is Dan Armitage, a long-time presenter of the Kids’ Fishing Fun program at boat shows across the country. Having spent his lifetime fishing, Dan also taught his son how to fish and recently wrote a beautifully accessible how-to book for kids titled Let’s Learn to Fish!

In the middle of the hot, arid, and cactus-covered desert of Arizona, there exists a boater’s paradise with warm, clear lakes and river waterways stretching for 60 continuous miles. Situated amid this splendid year-around boating oasis is Lake Havasu, where pontoon owners Brian and Sherry Friedrichsen have retired to spend sunlit afternoons cruising past palm trees, the famously relocated London Bridge, and a community of other boaters.

Over the last several decades, Brian and Sherry have owned a myriad of different boats—an entire fleet if they’d kept them all. Recalling Campbell boats, fishing boats, a Biesemeyer flatbottom, a Howard speed boat that could go 100 mph, and a Southwind deck boat, Brian admits, “We’ve owned a lot of boats.”

In a complete shift from rear propulsion, Volvo Penta and Paradigm Boats have re-imagined a way to create the perfect waves, smooth cruising, and improved safety by relocating the sterndrive’s props to the front of the drive rather than the rear. With two forward-facing, counter-rotating props, the new Duoprop pulls you through the water instead of pushing you, eliminating propeller exposure at the rear and providing maximum boating control. Supplying faster acceleration and unequaled thrust, the Damascus 296 Surf is ideal not only for wakeboarding and water sports, but also for tranquil cruising.

For the perfect wake and wave specific to each individual rider, the Watersports Control system allows you to customize separate settings and speed preferences for 21 specific profiles, as well as personalize the boat’s speed and trim to create the optimal wake. With an adjustable angle of thrust, you can draw the stern lower into the water and fine-tune your surfing wake on the fly. Switch to Tow Mode to automatically accelerate your pre-set engine speed and adjust for your tow load. The intuitive engine system will quickly compensate when your skier turns sharply, and keep your engine at the set rpm.

A few months back I was lured to a Florida home with other members of the marine media where we were promised a glimpse of the future of boating. What we discovered was a zero-emission outboard that truly is ideal for the pontoon industry and well worth our time. The X40 electric outboard from ePropulsion is the equivalent of a 60hp outboard, but weighs 20 percent less than its gas-powered equivalent. Inside the home we were met by ePropulsion CEO Danny Tao, President Tom Watson and other members of the team.

Before getting out on the water, Tao first explained he originally co-founded the company in Hong Kong after he realized there weren’t any electric boats in his area.

When first released for model year 2023, the sleek, modern, and revolutionary Explore from Manitou caught a few showgoers by surprise at the early boat shows. Pontoon enthusiasts weren’t expecting such a dramatic evolution from traditional-looking pontoons that typically have exterior rails with thin sheets of aluminum behind them. Instead attendees discovered a beautiful exterior with automotive-inspired styling and contoured aluminum panels, an exclusive to Manitou. Taking fit-and-finish to a whole new level, the exterior was designed to stand out on the water, but was drawing people in at the boat shows as well.

Even the Sport Bimini (that is rated for up to 55 mph so you can keep it open while underway) incorporates a unique style line that matches up perfectly with the color stripe on the exterior wall for a continuous look. Every Explore model comes standard with a gas-assisted, easy-to-use Sport Bimini that offers 12 feet of coverage.

There are times when our product testing doesn’t quite line up with the seasons. For example, last year on a 90-degree day in Arizona I tested a boating jacket. We took photos quickly while trying not to look sweaty. However, that was not the case with the Torque Heated Vest from Whitewater.

On the day I went out to take my photos it was actually 50 degrees with overcast skies. I slipped the heated vest on, started pushing buttons and the next thing I knew I was pleasantly warm. There is a lighted push button to indicate the settings, but otherwise it just looks like a comfortable vest. It really is the perfect layering tool for spring and late fall boating.

The definition of a combination is something created by joining or mixing two or more people or things together. In this case, the Rod & Reel Spinning Combo from ToadFish come together to create the ultimate fishing setup.

We recently tested the 2000 Carbon Sealed System reel that is paired with the 6-foot, 8-inch medium light rod and instantly loved the ergonomic handle design with soft-touch rubber inlays. ToadFish is patenting its comfort control grips so really that’s all you need to know about how unique it is.

Those first frigid fishing trips of the season are when you are most likely to forget something critical, so make it a point to note the essential basics you need and place them aboard before heading out.

Across much of North America’s most popular pontoon and deck boat cruising grounds, April kicks off the boating season. What’s more, if they like to fish, boaters find the year’s fourth month can be an excellent one for hooking up with a variety of species in fresh and salt water. As waters warm and fish seek shallows for comfort, food and seasonal spawning fun, they come into range of those of us who fish from boat and shore.

Considering that this is a boating publication, we’ll concentrate on the former with regard to the tools you want to consider having aboard as you seek your finned quarry, basic angling accessories that may have been forgotten, broken, overlooked or otherwise fallen out of mind or by the wayside during the off season.