Confetti flies after the winner of the CCA Florida $70,000 boat raffle Thursday at ICAST 2021. (Photo by Scott Bernarde)
July 22, 2021
By Scott Bernarde
A lucky Florida angler could not believe the phone call he received Thursday night from the trade floor at ICAST 2021 in Orlando.
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In fact, he hung up before he could be told he won a $70,000 fishing boat to culminate a year-long raffle to raise money through Coastal Conservation Association Florida for water conservation.
On the line was a Maverick 17 HPX-S boat, complete with a 70-horsepower Yamaha motor, Rhodan trolling motor, Power Pole and custom Amera Trail trailer.
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But when emcee Capt. Rick Murphy called William Easterly of Crystal River, Fla., Thursday from the Orange County Convention Center — after picking his name out of easily thousands of raffle tickets — Easterly might have thought it was sales call.
When the man answered the call, Murphy said, "So, William, I gotta ask you something. Do you have cable TV?"
"He’s gonna hang up," said someone from the crowd of hundreds of onlookers.
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Capt. Rick Murphy speaks with the winner of a $70,000 boat Thursday at ICAST 2021 in Orlando. (Photo by Scott Bernarde) Murphy, who was speaking over loud speakers the entire time, dialed again. "He’s gonna block your call," came another shout from the crowd.
The man answered a second time.
"Don’t hang up, bub," Murphy quickly said when the man answered. "Did you buy a raffle ticket to win a Maverick 17 HPX-S through CCA Florida?"
He said yes, which was followed by confetti and cheers from the crowd.
"You just won a $70,000 Maverick 17 HPX-S. How ‘bout that?" Murphy continued.
”I would never lie to a guy I don’t know, and specifically not someone from Crystal River."
Garmin’s LiveScope Ice Fishing Bundle LI, which won ICAST 2021's Ice Fishing Best of Category award. (Photo by Scott Bernarde) Ice Time in July One of the exciting new products at ICAST 2021 was Garmin’s LiveScope Ice Fishing Bundle LI, which won the show’s Ice Fishing Best of Category award Wednesday. It was third year in a row for the Ice Fishing category to be included in the New Product Showcase.
The Garmin is a chartplotter and transducer bundle with Panoptix LiveScope sonar powered by a lightweight lithium battery. It features two modes in one transducer – LiveScope Forward and LiveScope Down – so anglers can see fish and structure in real time, up to 200 feet in any direction below the ice.
Read more about the Garmin LiveScope Ice Fishing Bundle LI by In-Fisherman
Coming Up at ICAST 2021
The final day of ICAST 2021 in Orlando runs only until 3 p.m. Friday, as attendees close down and say their good-byes until next year.
