Inside Elite Boats: Mark Menendez

Kentucky’s veteran Bassmaster angler Mark Menendez takes us through his Skeeter/Yamaha bass boat.

Beginning at the front you’ll notice a couple steps that make it easier for a young man like Menendez to get into this boat every morning.

On the front he has a MotorGuide X5 as the frontend power.

His trolling motor is rigged with several accessories, including a TH Marine Equalizer Trolling Motor lift assist.

He’s also got the Garmin Panoptix transducer attached to the trolling motor shaft.

He’s also got a Hydrowave mounted at the front, and the speaker is also mounted at the base of the MotorGuide trolling motor.

At the bow his main information center is a 10-inch Garmin 7610, which is ideal for all forms of subsurface information gathering, including Panoptix.

To the left of the trolling motor pedal is a Power-Pole button and a look at the mounting base for his Garmin electronics.

Here’s another view of his frontend information center.

The Garmin GPS puck is conveniently placed out of the way next to the MotorGuide base.

Menendez also has a TH Marine G-Force trolling motor handle and cable rigged to his MotorGuide.

Moving into his port-side rod locker, Menendez has a vast collection of Lew’s rods and reels.

One of his favorites is rigged with a big spinnerbait, a presentation that Menendez is considered to be one of the best at in the world.

He keeps more than one rigged and ready.

Menendez keeps LED lights conveniently placed beneath the lids of his rod lockers.

Moving to the other side is a mixture of raingear, tackle and other items.

A box of spinnerbaits …

… that he gets into during every tournament.

One simply cannot have too many crankbaits.

He loves Strike King cranks for a multitude of reasons, but he said “they flat out catch fish everywhere in the country.”

Soft plastic swimbaits from Strike King are also handy.

Strike King lipless crankbaits will play a role in his tournament fishing more often than not.

Menendez’s signature ugly blue boots keep his feet warm and dry when the weather is not. He’s not one to adhere to the status quo of fashion. He’s a function guy – gotta respect that.

More soft plastics, these he keeps handy for spinnerbait trailers.

Moving to the next compartment.

Here he keeps more baits he’ll need on a regular basis, but also a stinger hook rigging kit.

Anytime the bass are short striking he’ll add a stinger or trailer hook to the rig.

This little tool outfitted with small plastic tabs make the task very simple to accomplish.

The Rapid Line Guide is a tool that helps him run line through his line guides. He admits his eyes aren’t what they used to be, and this simple little tool has been a life saver.

He said it can also help when rigging rods in low light.

He also keeps a few bottles of dye handy.

Moving to the center storage box.

Menendez has a bunch of tackle stored here, including more crankbaits.

This one is a deep diving Strike King 10XD.

But there’s more.

Here he keeps a healthy supply of Strike King’s Rage Shad. A versatile bait he uses often.

He also keeps a couple additional Lew’s rods and reels in the front compartment. This one is rigged with a jerkbait.

He keeps his buzzbaits in a Ziploc bag, which makes a lot of sense considering those are lures that just don’t store very well.

He keeps quite a few tools handy for changing hooks and removing them from lips.

He also keeps a few extra baits in that compartment, too.

A bulk bag of Strike King soft plastics.

He’s also one of the only anglers who chooses a boat with two consoles. He says he prefers it for multiple reasons, which include comfort and storage.

Menendez keeps several necessities in the glove box.

Including, ironically, gloves.

Here’s a look at his main command center.

But first, how about the deep built-in cooler between the driver and passenger seat.

Menendez spends a lot of time at his console preparing for his TV show and during Elite Series tournaments.

A flush-mounted Garmin unit provides him with necessary info when looking for suspended fish.

Here’s the Skeeter’s control panel.

He also keeps a bottle of gas treatment handy when straight unleaded gasoline isn’t available.

Back in the corner behind his seat is his on-board charger cord and a few additional switches.

He powers his boat with a T-H Marine HotFoot.

Moving to the rear deck, Menendez has special vents rigged on this livewell lids.

The New Pro Products V-T2 Livewell Ventilation System helps keep fresh oxygen circulating in the livewell water for his bass.

The Skeeter livewells are deep and wide, great for a big limit of bass.

The rear compartment contains his primary power sources.

Inside you’ll find a set of Optima batteries and a Minn Kota charger.

He also keeps his necessary throwable cushion stored in there.

Then digging into the starboard side rear storage, you’ll find a bunch of important items.

No bass angler worth his salt hits the water without a safety supply of toilet paper.

He also keeps a couple small blocks of wood in case he needs to change a prop.

He also keeps handy a rag for wiping his boat down after a day in dirty water. Taking care of his boat’s finish helps him sell it at the end of the season.