Why Humminbird’s Name Is Disappearing After 55 Years

On October 6, 2026, Johnson Outdoors announced that new Humminbird fish finders would be sold under the Minn Kota name, retiring a brand that started in Eufaula, Alabama, in 1971. This is the story of how a bait man named Tom Mann, the Jelly Worm guy, ended up building sealed flashers for open bass boats, put the first microprocessor LCD fish finder on the console in 1984, and fought Lowrance for the dashboard for decades. It follows the 2004 sale of Techsonic Industries to Johnson Outdoors for 28.2 million dollars, the Side Imaging and 360 Imaging years, and the live-sonar race that welded the trolling motor to the screen. You will come away knowing exactly why the older name won, what survives as Humminbird Imaging, and what it means for current SOLIX, APEX and XPLORE owners. Along the way there is a largemouth named Leroy Brown, and a funeral.