Winning Gold on Remote Waters - How Poclink Enabled Team USA’s Global

At a Glance:

Location: South Africa, Loskop Dam (longest dam in the Southern Hemisphere)

Team Size: 13 anglers, 3 coaches, 1 media boat (~20 people)

Industry: Competitive fishing, outdoor team coordination, remote water operations

Result: USA Angling Youth Bass Fishing Team wins Gold Medal (113.5lbs)

Introduction

When competitive fishing moves onto remote international waters, communication is no longer a nice-to-have — it becomes mission-critical.

In December, the USA Angling Youth Bass Fishing Team traveled to South Africa to compete in the second leg of the Tri-Nations Tournament, facing elite teams from South Africa and Zimbabwe. The venue was Loskop Dam, one of the most expansive and demanding freshwater fisheries in the region.

In the previous year’s tournament, Team USA fell short of the gold. While competing teams relied on analog radios to coordinate on the water, Team USA lacked a comparable, reliable communication setup — limiting how quickly anglers could be repositioned across such a large and complex lake.

This year, Team USA returned with a clear communication advantage. Instead of conventional single-mode radios, the team deployed Poclink’s dual-mode radios, combining long-range 4G connectivity with off-grid analog fallback.

This provided significantly broader coverage and greater reliability than analog-only solutions, allowing coaches and anglers to stay connected across much larger portions of the lake and respond faster to changing conditions.

The impact was decisive: a Gold Medal victory by 113.5 lbs.

Background: A Tournament Defined by Scale and Complexity

On the water, Team USA operated with:

13 anglers, 3 coaches, 1 dedicated media boat
Total 14–15 boats active simultaneously during competition days
Additional radios deployed on land for coordination and feedback

Loskop Dam is the longest dam in the Southern Hemisphere, covering nearly 6,000 acres of water and stretching over 18.5 miles long. The lake is surrounded by mountainous terrain that frequently disrupts traditional radio signals and cellular coverage.

For two of the three tournament days, all boats were active at the same time — requiring constant coordination across long distances, changing conditions, and complex geography.

The Challenge: Communication, Safety, and Real-Time Decisions

At Loskop Dam, teams had to operate under conditions where:

Boats were widely dispersed across a massive lake
Mountainous terrain frequently blocked line-of-sight communication
Cellular coverage was inconsistent or unavailable
Safety incidents required immediate, coordinated response

In the previous year’s tournament, these constraints made it difficult for Team USA to operate as a fully coordinated unit on the water.

Coordination lag — not skill or preparation — became the limiting factor, and that gap directly impacted the final outcome. This year, eliminating that coordination gap became a top priority.

The Solution: Poclink Dual-Mode Global Radios

Traditional communication tools were simply not designed for an environment like Loskop Dam.

Conventional two-way radios lack the range needed on a 6,000-acre lake and are limited by line-of-sight in mountainous terrain.

LTE-only devices depend entirely on cellular coverage, which is inherently inconsistent in remote areas. A few LTE radio can work in South Africa at a reasonable cost.

To address these challenges, Team USA deployed Poclink dual-mode radios, combining:

LTE (4G) communication for wide-area coverage, international communication system
Analog off-grid mode as a fallback in no-signal zones

On Loskop Dam:

4G LTE covered approximately two-thirds of the lake
In no-coverage areas, teams seamlessly switched to analog mode
Radios connected immediately on power-up with the simple set-up

Most importantly, the radios were paired with the Poclink app, giving coaches real-time GPS visibility into boat locations across the lake.

The Benefits: Why Poclink Made a Critical Difference

1. Real-Time GPS Visibility

Through the Poclink app, all anglers, coaches, and the media boat operated within one shared communication group, giving the coaching team a live, unified view of the entire lake.

Coaches could:

See exactly where every boat was, at all times
Track movement patterns across the lake
Make faster, more confident decisions on repositioning anglers

As fish activity shifted, anglers called out productive areas over the radio. At the same time, coaches and nearby boats could instantly see the reporting boat’s live GPS position in the app.

This shared view allowed coaches to quickly redirect boats, balance coverage across zones, and avoid overlapping effort — all without interrupting fishing operations.

When a boat experienced a mechanical issue, its location was immediately visible via GPS, enabling coaches to navigate directly to provide assistance — a critical safety advantage in such a large, remote environment.

Command & dispatch in action

All boats operated in one group (“TEAM USA”), with every call heard in real time
Pattern discoveries were shared instantly by voice, while locations were confirmed visually via GPS
Coaches used the live map to identify similar structures and dispatch multiple boats immediately
Within minutes, four boats converged on the same zone — a turning point coaches later called “Separation Day”

2. Reliable Communication in Mixed Coverage Environments

With LTE covering most of the lake and analog mode available as backup, the team remained connected even when moving between signal and no-signal zones — without disruption.

3. All-Day Performance, Zero Downtime

According to the coaches:

Radios stayed powered on all day
No battery swaps were needed during competition
Teams remained connected without interruption

In real tournament conditions — long days, constant movement, and high pressure — the system performed exactly as required.

The Outcome: From Falling Short to Gold

With real-time coordination restored — something the team lacked the previous year — Team USA operated at a completely different level.

Faster reaction to changing fish patterns
More efficient use of boats and anglers
Immediate response to safety issues
Greater confidence operating in a remote, mountainous environment

The result was not marginal. Team USA won Gold by a commanding 113.5 lbs, turning the previous year’s shortfall into a decisive victory. As Head Coach Eric Stall summarized:

“The Poclink radios were an absolute game-changer. We were able to break the lake down efficiently, manage where boats were, and respond immediately when issues came up. From both a performance and safety standpoint, we could not have done this without the radios.”

Global Validation — Beyond a Single Tournament

Operating successfully in South Africa provided real-world validation that Poclink’s global communication capability is legitimate, scalable, and field-proven.

Following the event, both the South African and Zimbabwean teams expressed strong interest in the Poclink system after seeing its performance firsthand.

More Than a Win: A Proven Solution for Remote Operations

This was not just a sponsorship moment. It was a high-pressure, real-world field test in one of the most demanding environments imaginable.

If your organization operates in environments where teams are dispersed, terrain is complex, and safety and coordination are critical — such as:

Wildlife tracking and conservation
Outdoor research and field expeditions
Search & rescue operations
Security teams and remote workforces
Large outdoor sports and events

We are confident that Poclink can deliver a reliable, scalable communication solution tailored to your needs. When communication matters most, Poclink is built to perform — anywhere in the world.