How Drew Haynes turned a simple problem on the water into Sonar Shield—and what the journey taught him about product development, perseverance, and building a business
By USA Kayak Fishing Magazine Staff
Based on a conversation from The Kayak Cafe Podcast
An expensive piece of fishing electronics should not be sliding around on the floor of a boat. Yet that was exactly where Drew Haynes found himself putting his new Garmin Panoptix LiveScope transducer after a day on the water.
Haynes and a longtime friend had spent the trip experimenting with the technology and talking about what it could do. When it was time to pack up, however, one question exposed a problem that seemed to have no good answer.
Where do you safely put the transducer?
“It was a lot of money to just be slinging around my boat and setting on the floor,” Haynes recalled during an appearance on The Kayak Cafe Podcast. His friend suggested that someone should make a cover for it.
Haynes believed he could.
That conversation became the seed of Sonar Shield, a company built around protective covers for forward-facing sonar transducers and easy-to-install visors for marine electronics. What began as a practical solution between two fishermen eventually grew into a product line carried by major fishing retailers.
For kayak anglers, the idea is especially easy to understand. Space is limited, gear is constantly being moved, and a costly transducer can be struck by a paddle, crate, rod or other equipment. A cover is a relatively small investment compared with replacing damaged electronics.
Haynes calls it “cheap insurance.”
The Unlikely Road to 3D Printing
Sonar Shield was not Haynes’ first experience solving a customer’s problem with a new product.
Before entering the fishing industry, he and his wife operated a successful craft business. One of their popular products was a tall wooden welcome sign with an interchangeable character in place of the letter “O.” The signs sold across the United States and even overseas.
Then a customer in Florida contacted them with a problem: strong wind kept knocking over her sign.
Haynes initially considered making a wooden base, but the search for a better solution led him to consumer 3D printing. He bought a printer, learned how to operate it and created a plastic base that could hold the sign securely and be fastened to a porch or concrete surface.
That experience gave him the foundation he would later use to develop fishing accessories.
Learning the technology was not simple. At the time, desktop 3D printers were far less refined and user-friendly than today’s machines. Haynes had to understand not only design and printing, but also the coding and safety measures needed to operate early equipment reliably.
He had time to immerse himself in the subject after breaking his wrist while working as a corrections officer. During roughly six months away from the job, he studied constantly, relying heavily on online tutorials.
“I sat down and did nothing but research and ‘YouTube University’ the heck out of it,” he said.
That self-taught education became an important part of the company’s origin. It also reinforced a lesson Haynes continues to share with other entrepreneurs: if a skill is essential to moving the business forward, be willing to learn it.
Thousands of Prints Behind a Simple Product
A finished Sonar Shield cover may look straightforward, but creating one requires far more than printing the first idea that comes to mind.
Haynes said the cover design went through several formal revisions, along with countless smaller adjustments. A single part may be printed repeatedly to refine its fit, durability and finish. He estimated that some products went through thousands of prints before reaching the quality he wanted.
“There are about 14,000 steps that need to go correct, and if one step is off, the whole print is done,” he said.
Each new item generally receives about a month of development and testing. The process moves from an initial idea to a digital design, prototype, field testing and, eventually, a retail-ready product. Living in Pennsylvania also gives Haynes the opportunity to see how materials perform in subfreezing conditions.
The goal has always been to make each piece feel as though it belongs on the original equipment. The protective cover should fit closely enough that an angler does not have to think about it, while remaining strong enough to guard the transducer during transport, storage and everyday handling.
The company’s electronics visors followed the same problem-solving approach. Haynes wanted to improve screen visibility without requiring anglers to remove screws or interfere with the factory assembly of their units. An early visor for the Garmin Striker 4 simply slid over the unit. As customers requested models for additional electronics, the concept evolved into a clip-on design.
One of the most useful ideas came from Haynes’ teenage son, who suggested adding two small raised points so the visor could slide and snap into place.
It was a reminder that product development does not always happen alone at a drafting table. Sometimes the breakthrough comes from listening to the person standing next to you.
Going All In
The transition from corrections officer to full-time entrepreneur was not carefully timed or free of risk.
When Haynes’ protected medical leave ended, his wrist had not healed enough for him to feel comfortable returning to a corrections environment. At the same time, the products he and his wife were making had begun to gain traction.
He and his wife faced a decision: step back toward the security of a traditional job or commit fully to the business.
“She just looked at me and said, ‘We’ll make it work,’” Haynes recalled.
They did—but not without the peaks, valleys and uncertainty familiar to many small-business owners. Haynes credits his wife with keeping the operation organized, helping him process ideas and providing the support that allowed the company to continue growing.
The business began under a different name and initially operated more like a hobby venture. Moving into injection-molded products marked a major change. Tooling required a larger financial commitment, but it also created the production capacity and consistency needed to supply more customers and pursue larger retail opportunities.
Haynes compared the experience of building a business to pushing a heavy log uphill.
“It never gets easier,” he said. “Sometimes you roll it 10 feet up and come back down five. The number-one thing you have to do is find your momentum.”
At the time of the interview, Sonar Shield products were available through several retail outlets, including FishUSA and Tackle Warehouse, while the brand was also gaining traction on Amazon. The broader goal remained straightforward: add molds, expand the product line, strengthen distribution and keep pushing forward.
Creating Awareness for a Problem Anglers Overlook
One of the company’s biggest marketing challenges is not convincing anglers that the product works. It is helping them recognize that their transducer needs protection in the first place.
Most people would not carry a costly smartphone without a case, Haynes noted, yet fishermen routinely transport expensive sonar components uncovered. Transducers are tossed into compartments, laid on boat decks, left mounted during rough travel or placed loosely in vehicles.
Kayak anglers face an additional set of risks. Launching and landing often involve moving gear across rocks, ramps and shorelines. Equipment is packed tightly into a small space, and a transducer may be removed and stored after every trip. Even a careful angler can accidentally strike it while loading or rearranging gear.
Before purpose-built covers were widely available, some fishermen improvised with rags, Crown Royal bags and even an old wrist brace. Haynes occasionally spots those makeshift solutions in online groups and reaches out to the angler.
The message behind the humor is serious: protecting high-dollar electronics should not be an afterthought.
Lessons for Fishing-Industry Entrepreneurs
Haynes’ experience has also given him firm opinions about how small outdoor brands should spend their limited time and money.
His first warning is simple: do not rush to put a logo on everything.
New businesses often spend money on shirts, hats and promotional merchandise before they have invested enough in the product that actually generates revenue. For a small lure maker, that money might be better used to purchase the next mold, improve packaging or build inventory.
“Until your company is financially sound, stop with the merchandise,” he advised. “What you need is product.”
He offered similar caution about sponsorships. Supporting events and anglers can be valuable, but a young company should evaluate whether each opportunity reaches the right customer and produces a meaningful return. Visibility alone does not guarantee sales.
The same principle applies to social media. A business does not have to dominate every platform. It needs to understand where its customers spend time and concentrate its effort there. A channel that works well for recipes, crafts or photography may not be the most efficient place to sell a specialized fishing-electronics accessory.
For wholesale growth, Haynes encourages business owners to move past their fear of reaching out. Buyers, executives and dealers may appear inaccessible, but their professional contact information is often available through company websites, LinkedIn and other public sources.
“Don’t be afraid to send an email. Don’t be afraid to call,” he said. “What are they going to do—ignore your email? Okay, next one.”
Cold outreach is only part of the strategy. Haynes also credits genuine networking and relationships formed at fishing tournaments. Meeting anglers, tournament directors, dealers and other business owners in person can create opportunities that do not develop through a sales pitch alone.
His advice is to be respectful, know the product and keep moving after rejection.
Built by Solving One Problem at a Time
Sonar Shield did not begin with a corporate boardroom, a large engineering department or a polished long-term plan. It began when two fishermen looked at an expensive transducer on the floor of a boat and agreed that there had to be a better way.
Haynes combined that problem with a skill he had taught himself, tested the idea repeatedly and kept refining it until it became a viable product. When the business demanded new abilities—from digital design to retail outreach—he learned those too.
That may be the most useful lesson in the Sonar Shield story. Innovation in kayak fishing does not always mean inventing the most complicated technology on the water. Sometimes it means noticing the overlooked problem, building a practical answer and refusing to stop when the log rolls backward.
For Haynes, the climb continues. More injection-molded products, colors and designs are planned, along with a stronger personal connection between the man behind the products and the anglers who use them.
The original mission, however, remains unchanged: make expensive fishing electronics easier to use, transport and protect.