Ewing Minor closed out 2026 as the Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year, then won the inaugural stand-alone Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft on Lake Murray. Before the title event, he walked us through the kayak that carried him there.
Nothing on it is there for show. Every piece earns its spot, and the setup comes down to one idea: if you can see the fish clearly, all day, you can catch them.
Watch the Walkthrough
See Ewing's full rig walkthrough from Lake Murray below.
The Boat
Ewing fishes a Hobie Pro Angler 14 360. He keeps it simple up front: the bow hatch holds his soft plastics, close at hand when he needs to retie or switch colors.
The Electronics
The center of the rig is a pair of HDS 10 Pro units running ActiveTarget 2 live sonar. The transducer rides on a new Beat Down Outdoors mount, fitted with a pointer and handle so he can aim the beam quickly and keep it on fish.
Two screens and live sonar running from launch to weigh-in is a real draw on power. That is where most kayak setups start to struggle late in the day.
The Power Behind the Picture
Ewing powers both graphs and his ActiveTarget 2 with a Newport LoPRO 12V 100Ah battery. In his words, the 36V and 24V LoPRO batteries get most of the attention because they run the motors, but the 12V 100Ah is "very overlooked." He says it keeps plenty of power for two graphs and ActiveTarget all day.
That steady supply is the biggest reason his electronics stayed crisp from the first cast to the last. A clean, consistent sonar picture let him locate fish suspended in open water, where there is no cover to fish blind and every cast depends on what the screen shows.
Once he found them, Ewing went to his secret sauce: a chartreuse fluke. Seeing the fish clearly on live sonar, then putting the fluke right in front of them, was the combination that kept fish coming to the boat.
The Layout and the Motor
All of Ewing's batteries fit in the bottom of a 16x16 BlackPak crate. From there, one plug runs to his electronics and another runs to the Newport NK300 HD Electric Kayak Outboard Motor on the stern.
His NK300 HD now wears the new Rock Guard. Ewing says he wishes he had it on the Susquehanna, but the motor came through that week with nothing more than a damaged prop. On Lake Murray, the guard mostly saved him from boat ramps.
The motor shows a few battle scars, and he is fine with that. He says it has plenty of power to run all day, and that he has been impressed with it over the years.
Questions about the LoPRO 12V 100Ah or the NK300 HD? Visit newportvessels.com and reach out to our team.