The 2026 fishing season is heating up across the Great Lakes, and with boats heading back to the water, one of many topics on the minds of serious trolling anglers is the new products from Fish Hawk Electronics.

In Episode 285 of the Great Lakes Fishing Podcast, Fish Hawk Electronics’ Trevor Sumption joined host Chris Larsen to give anglers an in-depth update on two of the company’s most anticipated products — TD Connect and the new Fish Hawk One system.

For anglers who have been wondering why products are difficult to find, when the new technology will ship, and what makes these systems different from previous Fish Hawk products, this episode provided direct answers from the source.

TD Connect Is Officially Shipping

One of the biggest announcements from the episode was that Fish Hawk has officially started shipping the new TD Connect.

The TD Connect project has been in development for more than two years. The company quietly began shipping units during the previous week, but demand immediately exceeded supply.

That overwhelming demand is both exciting and challenging for the Fish Hawk team.

“There are literally thousands of people signed up to get a hold of that product,” Sumption explained during the interview.

The company is currently producing TD Connect units in weekly production runs and shipping them as they become available. However, anglers should expect availability to remain limited throughout much of the summer due to the sheer volume of interest from both dealers and direct customers.

For Great Lakes anglers, the excitement surrounding TD Connect comes from its simplicity and speed.

The system allows anglers to quickly check the water column without needing to deploy a traditional probe setup on a downrigger. Instead of running a probe down and retrieving it repeatedly, TD Connect can simply be dropped from any rod into the water, reeled back up, and instantly viewed through the TD Connect app.

“It literally doesn’t get any easier,” Sumption said.

Built To Be Simple

One of the major goals behind TD Connect was ease of use.

Fish Hawk wanted a product that anglers of all experience levels could confidently operate without frustration or a complicated learning curve.

The design philosophy focused on creating something intuitive enough that users could simply deploy the device and begin gathering useful information immediately.

Fish Hawk even used longtime anglers and testers to help evaluate whether the system was truly user friendly.

The result is a product that requires very little interaction once initial setup is complete. Drop it in the water, retrieve it, open the app, and the information is there.

For anglers trolling salmon and trout on the Great Lakes, that simplicity matters.

Water temperature and depth changes can dramatically impact fishing success, and having the ability to quickly scan the water column can help anglers locate productive water much faster than traditional methods alone.

Better Data Collection For Great Lakes Anglers

One of the major upgrades from previous TD units involves how the new TD Connect logs information.

Older TD systems primarily recorded data as the device descended deeper into the water column. The new version continuously logs data whenever it is in the water.

That improvement gives anglers much greater flexibility when checking trolling diver depths or monitoring temperature breaks.

According to Sumption, longtime Great Lakes anglers like LOTSA President Joe Yeager have already been using TD Connect extensively to monitor diver depths under varying trolling conditions.

That includes testing how divers react with current, against current, and at different trolling speeds.

For salmon and trout anglers who rely heavily on precision trolling presentations, those insights can become incredibly valuable.

Why Fish Hawk One Has Taken Longer Than Expected

Of course, the biggest topic surrounding Fish Hawk Electronics right now is the highly anticipated Fish Hawk One display.

Since the company first discussed the system publicly at the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo, anglers across the Great Lakes have been asking the same question:

“When will it be available?”

During the podcast, Sumption gave one of the clearest explanations yet about why development has taken longer than many expected.

His comparison was simple.

Building an entirely new product from scratch can actually be easier than redesigning an existing system while maintaining compatibility with older equipment.

Fish Hawk made a deliberate decision to ensure that Fish Hawk One would continue working with legacy probes and transducers already installed on thousands of boats across the Great Lakes.

Rather than forcing longtime customers to replace perfectly functional probes, transducers, and wiring systems, Fish Hawk chose the more difficult path of maintaining backwards compatibility.

“We wanted to make the new stuff work with the old stuff,” Sumption explained.

For anglers who have invested in Fish Hawk products over many years, that approach matters.

Instead of requiring a complete system replacement, Fish Hawk One is designed to integrate with existing equipment whenever possible.

A Completely New Internal Architecture

Although the Fish Hawk One display may resemble previous Fish Hawk displays externally, Sumption emphasized that internally it is an entirely different system.

The new display uses separate digital and analog circuits, allowing the system to communicate with both legacy and newer Fish Hawk technology more efficiently.

That redesign dramatically improves signal stability, data handling, and overall system performance.

One of the first features anglers will notice is a new signal “ping indicator” displayed directly on the screen.

That indicator shows whether the display is actively receiving information from the probe, searching for signal, or not receiving signal at all.

For anglers trolling in rough conditions, deep water, or heavy blowback situations, this removes much of the guesswork that previously existed when troubleshooting signal interruptions.

Fish Hawk also redesigned the system to better manage electrical noise from other electronics, trolling motors, engines, and boat wiring systems.

That improvement creates cleaner signal performance and fewer interruptions while trolling.

Extreme Testing Before Release

One of the most interesting parts of the conversation involved how aggressively Fish Hawk tests its equipment before release.

According to Sumption, the company intentionally pushes products into extreme scenarios to identify potential weaknesses before customers ever use them on the water.

During testing, Fish Hawk successfully maintained signal connection with an older X4 probe deployed more than 300 feet behind the boat using braid.

Those are the kinds of worst-case scenarios the company intentionally explores during development.

“We’re trying to make things fail,” Larsen pointed out during the discussion.

That philosophy helps explain why Fish Hawk products sometimes take longer to reach the market than customers would prefer.

The company prioritizes long-term reliability over rushing unfinished technology to store shelves.

As Sumption explained, shipping a product at “90 percent complete” may satisfy short-term demand, but Fish Hawk’s goal is to build products anglers can trust for years.

A New Engineering Partnership

Another major factor in the development of Fish Hawk One has been Fish Hawk’s partnership with engineer Tyson Colby.

Unlike many engineers who work outside the fishing industry, Colby is also an active angler who understands how Great Lakes trolling systems are actually used on the water.

That combination of technical expertise and fishing knowledge has proven invaluable during development.

According to Sumption, many talented engineers simply do not work within the fishing industry because larger technology companies offer higher salaries and larger opportunities.

Finding someone with both advanced engineering skills and a passion for fishing created a unique opportunity for Fish Hawk Electronics.

The result is a system designed not only by engineers, but by anglers who understand the real-world challenges Great Lakes fishermen face every day.

Over-The-Air Updates And Future Expansion

One of the most exciting aspects of Fish Hawk One is its future potential.

The new digital architecture allows Fish Hawk to provide over-the-air software updates through the app.

That means the system will continue evolving long after anglers install it on their boats.

Future updates can unlock new features, improve performance, and expand compatibility without requiring customers to purchase entirely new displays.

That flexible design creates enormous opportunities for future innovation.

Fish Hawk One Production Timeline

During the interview, Sumption confirmed that Fish Hawk plans to begin its first official production run for Fish Hawk One on June 19.

However, just like TD Connect, demand is expected to greatly exceed supply initially.

Fish Hawk has also made another major operational change for this release.

For the first time, the company will assemble display products internally rather than relying entirely on outside contract manufacturers.

That required Fish Hawk to build its own in-house assembly process and production line alongside final product development.

In addition to the new display itself, Fish Hawk also announced a long-requested flush mount solution for the Fish Hawk One system, giving anglers a cleaner dash installation option for modern boats.

The Future Looks Bright

For Great Lakes anglers who have been waiting patiently for Fish Hawk’s next generation of electronics, Episode 285 provided reassurance that the company remains focused on long-term quality rather than short-term shortcuts.

TD Connect is already making its way into anglers’ hands, while Fish Hawk One is moving closer to full production.

Most importantly, Fish Hawk continues building products specifically for the unique needs of salmon and trout anglers on the Great Lakes.

As Sumption explained throughout the interview, the goal is not simply to release new products.

The goal is to build tools that work reliably, integrate with existing systems, and continue improving for years to come.