Garmin adds eight Elite Series pros

OLATHE, Kan. — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., will add 21 professional anglers to its 2016 marine pro team. Among them are Bassmaster Elite Series pros Josh Bertrand, Chad Grigsby, Russ Lane, Matt Lee, Jared Lintner, Mike McClelland, Cliff Prince and Greg Vinson.

They join dozens of world-class professional anglers already running Garmin electronics, including Bassmaster Elite Series pros Brent Chapman, Jason Christie, Clent Davis and Greg Hackney.

The team of more than 60 anglers includes professional bass, walleye and crappie fishermen who will be representing Garmin in tournament trails across North America.

Several FLW Tour pros are also on the team, including the tour’s reigning Angler of the Year, Scott Martin, and last year’s AOY, Andy Morgan.

The 2016 Garmin marine pro team is being announced in conjunction with a 360-degree national campaign called “Sons of Fishes.”

According to Garmin, the primary reason members of this “fishing club” are switching to Garmin is because of the company’s Panoptix all-seeing sonar technology that provides a real-time video-like image of the bottom, structure and fish swimming around or in front of the boat. You can see the commercial below.

“Our team has more than doubled in size in just two years,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “It’s an impressive group of anglers, all of whom have joined the Garmin team because they believe it will give them the competitive edge. Garmin is more committed than ever to being a top player in the freshwater fishing industry, and we’re so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of their success on the water.”

The 2016 pro team will use Garmin electronics on their boats and during tournaments, television shows, and in public appearances. They’ll be equipped with detailed lake maps and best-in-class electronics and technology, including the National Marine Electronics award-winning GPSMAP 7600 series chartplotters, and the new Garmin Panoptix all-seeing sonar.

Recently, Garmin was named Manufacturer of the Year and received the honor of being the most recognized company in the marine electronics field by the NMEA. Garmin’s portfolio includes some of the industry’s most sophisticated chartplotters and touchscreen multifunction displays, sonar technology, high-definition radar, autopilots, high-resolution mapping, sailing instrumentation and other products and services that are known for innovation, reliability and ease of use.

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