You know the spot. It’s a perfect shoreline brimming with big bass. You could fish there all day. Your next personal best, you know, is waiting in that spot—if only you could get to it. But it’s always been a dream, always been just out of reach: the water too shallow, the brush too thick to slip your boat through, and that old ramp crumbled away decades ago.
You’ve racked your brain for ways to reach that shoreline. Can you try hitting it with a surf fishing outfit? Is it time to finally tie a line to a drone? The true solution makes more sense.
Now there’s a powerful, portable fishing machine built to solve your problem. And it blends portability with the lethality of a professional bass boat. It’s called the Old Town Predator XL Minn Kota, and it’s bad news for bass … but good news for anglers.
The Predator XL Minn Kota pairs a powerful, 45lb thrust saltwater-grade Minn Kota motor with a foot-operated rudder system in a boat designed by the experts at Old Town Canoes & Kayaks. It’s a serious fishing machine, a bass-busting love child wrought from the marriage of two iconic companies: one renowned for reliable hand-made motors, the other for tried-and-true human-powered boats.
The Predator XL Minn Kota is stealthy, stable and supremely quiet. Carrying the torch for Old Town’s Premier Angling Series, Predator XL Minn Kota incorporates all of the pioneering features of the original Predator, including the Element seating system, customizable, sonar-mounting plates, an Exo-Ridge deck and Tri-Hull design for extra stability and tracking.
Minn Kota Motor Console
The “XL” comes from this flagship vessel’s 600 pounds of carrying capacity and its fully enclosed, lift and stow Minn Kota Console system that brings a dual forward and reverse speed dial, battery level indicator, sonar-mounting plates, USB charging port and storage for battery and cables. A simple lift onto the console’s Quick-Stand™ allows it to be easily lifted for storage or to avoid prop collisions. A kick, conversely, sends it snuggly back into its housing.
The combination of these tactical features yields an unprecedented fishing machine, one that’s capable of keeping you hands-free in wind and current out deep, or those particularly tight spots where bass are busting shad close to cover. And its 13-foot long, 36-inch wide design ensures you’ll get there comfortably, with supreme tracking and stability. Combine it with a Humminbird® Helix 5 SI GPS or HELIX 7 SI GPS and you’ll have the same technologies used by pros on 20-foot rigs, but with better access to hard-to-reach waters and optimal stealth.
Humminird HELIX 7 SI GPS
“The Predator XL will set a whole new bar in what consumers expect from a fishing kayak,” said David Hadden, Brand Director for Johnson Outdoors Watercraft. “With the Predator XL Minn Kota, we wanted to bridge the gap between fishing kayaks and bass boats and shallow water skiffs. The game changer is the combination of the new Minn Kota motor and foot-controlled rudder system, which allows you truly hands-free fishing. Now you can work the shoreline like a tournament BASS angler, moving and casting at every dock, stump or hanging tree limb without taking your hands off the rod to reposition your boat. We guarantee you will fish more and catch more fish!”
Fishing more. Catching more fish. That’s really what it’s all about, and with the Old Town Predator XL Minn Kota, Old Town has created one of the most enjoyable and effective watercraft for the job.
Like its predecessors, the Predator XL will accept aftermarket options from angler’s favorite vendors like Scotty™, YakAttack, Ram, Cannon® and more, allowing users to truly customize the craft.
Key specs for the Predator XL Minn Kota include:
• Length: 13’ 2”
• Width: 36”
• Weight: 92 – 117 lbs
• Carrying Capacity: 600 lbs
MSRP: $2,99
JOHNSON OUTDOORS is a leading global outdoor recreation company that turns ideas into adventure with innovative, top-quality products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of award-winning, consumer-preferred brands across four categories: Watercraft, Marine Electronics, Diving and Outdoor Gear. Johnson Outdoors’ familiar brands include, among others: Old Town® Canoes and Kayaks; Ocean Kayak™ and Necky® Kayaks; Carlisle® Paddles; Extrasport® Personal Flotation Devices; Minn Kota® Motors; Cannon® Downriggers; Humminbird® Marine Electronics; LakeMaster® Electronic Charts; SCUBAPRO® and SUBGEAR® Dive Equipment; Silva® Compasses; Jetboil® Outdoor Cooking Systems; and Eureka!® Camping and Hiking Equipment.
By: Jim Edlund, Traditions Media, LLC
