# Modified golf cart designed for anglers



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Modified golf cart designed for anglers

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/116558557317540.xml&coll=6

12/08/06 By Howard Meyerson The Grand Rapids Press [email protected]

When television fishing host Ron Peterson met custom golf cart guru Bob Hahn at the Ottawa County Fair this summer, the ultimate fishing cart was just a concept. In fact, it was an idea that had many scoffers. 

Peterson long had watched anglers trudge to their favorite spots loaded with armfuls of gear. He had dreamed of building a motorized cart to take them there in comfort. It would have a place for rods and reels, fishing tackle and a giant cooler. It could be equipped with an emergency radio, a GPS and even a coffee maker. Oversize tires would make easy work of getting to those out-of-the-way gravel pits.

Peterson said the pair are now ready to go public. Their new company, Fish Tracker LLC, has produced its first unit, also called a Fish Tracker. 

"Bob isn't the first guy I talked to," said Peterson, the host and producer of the National School of Fishing television show that airs at 8:30 p.m. Thursdays on Charter Cable. "But the others all pooh-poohed it and said: 'A fishing cart, you've got to be kidding.' " 

But Peterson wasn't kidding. The innovative Hudsonville entrepreneur, who left an engineering career 20 years ago to start his own television fishing show, The Angler's Diary, thought it made perfect sense. 

"People modify quads to go hunting all the time," he said. "They put gun racks on them and other things. Why not a fisherman? A golf cart is lots more comfortable than a quad. People can go back in the boonies and go fishing with them." 

Bob Hahn, owner of Lakeshore Custom Golf Carts in Holland, admits his first reaction was a bit cynical. He had seen people come and go with big ideas. Shelling out the bucks is something else. 

His customized golf carts often are used as people movers at campgrounds and resorts. He even has a stretch version for multiple passengers. 

"I thought, 'Here's another project that will never end up getting done,' " said Hahn. But the two kept their heads together. Peterson had the ideas and Hahn had the know-how. In the end they decided on a partnership.

"The toughest part of working out the design was having the cooler fit under the box and not stick out," Hahn said. "Also, designing a metal frame for the canopy that would be strong enough not to twist when it's taken off-road." 

For Hahn, who began building custom golf carts five years ago after a debilitating auto accident forced him out of the automotive industry, Peterson's ideas presented a challenge. He had started customizing golf carts in his garage. It was a way of coping with having to sit home with a broken leg for more than two years. 

"You can carry a lot more on the fish tracker than you can a quad or a snowmobile," said Hahn.

No doubt. 

The space usually reserved for golf bags was redesigned to hold a giant, 91-quart cooler big enough for a salmon outing. A large utility storage box was then mounted above that for carrying fishing tackle or other gear such as a hammock. 

The Fish Tracker comes with a 13-horsepower gasoline motor that moves it along at 25 mph. With a 6.5-gallon tank, it should go between 300 and 500 miles on a tankful. Hahn also will build them with electric motors if a customer prefers. His gasoline-powered carts typically get from 50 to 80 miles per gallon. 

The problem of carrying long fishing rods was solved by building a canopy frame which also would serve as a rod-storage area. Meanwhile, rod holders were mounted along the sides for rods that are being used. 

"Someone can pull up to their favorite pond and cast out and put their rod in the rod holder and sit back and relax," said Peterson 

The deluxe cart also comes equipped with a deep-cycle storage battery and electric plug ports that can be used to run a portable heater, coffee pot, computer or GPS. It also has a solar panel built into the canopy to help keep the battery charged. 

The winter version of the cart, still to be designed and built, will have a fabric enclosure that will turn the Fish Tracker into a rolling ice shanty. Peterson plans to mount an auger on the back for drilling holes in the ice. Anglers will remove a hatch in the floor to get to the ice. 

"They will just spud the hole and then back over it, push a button and the drape will come down making it a fish shanty," said Peterson. A portable heater, he said, can then be set on top of the utility box. 

The new Deluxe Fish Tracker retails for $12,500. A stripped-down version is available for $8,200. The pair say they plan to show the cart at outdoor shows around the state, including the 62nd annual Ultimate Sport and RV Show March 15-18 at DeVos Place. 

Meantime, the Fish Tracker will be on display at the new Lakeshore Custom Golf Carts showroom at 11099 Watertower Court, Holland.


----------

