The Big Minn Kota Announcement

I know a lot of people were anxiously awaiting the big announcement on October 6th from Humminbird/Minn Kota. There was all sorts of speculation but I really had no idea what to expect. I’ll also admit that I was pretty surprised to find out what it was.

Not all of you know this but Minn Kota and Humminbird are owned by the same parent company, Johnson Outdoors. That’s why the products have always been able to communicate with one another in the “One Boat Network”. The big announcement wasn’t some sort of revolutionary new product this time. Instead it was more of a merger between the 2 companies. Humminbird units are now Minn Kota units, powered by Humminbird imaging. This seems to be just a way to simplify things and send clear messaging as a brand. If you’ve got the latest and greatest Humminbirds, this might seem like a cause for panic.

But the only difference between the Xplore units and the new Minn Kota X-Series is the Minn Kota branding on the X Series. Updates are out for the Humminbird Xplores and once you update them, they will say Minn Kota too. There is an update for MEGA Live 2 also and as soon as I am done with my Classic on Muskegon Lake and the Grand River this weekend, I’ll be updating. The big message here is that if you just bought units, they are still the latest and greatest. Well other than the new 16 inch X Series that came out (and a 7 inch series). If you are an Apex user they simply changed to the A Series.

There are some cool updates coming along with this. One being trolling motors with the advanced GPS being able to connect wirelessly to a unit. This will eliminate the need for an ethernet box for some users and overall just simplify how we connect things.

It’s honestly going to take me awhile to get used to the whole Minn Kota electronics thing. But I can also see how it is a way to help build the future better. I’ll be looking forward to the next products and advancements that come from Minn Kota powered by Humminbird Imaging!