Battle Born Pro Angler Trait Zaldain is Breaking Boundaries!

Battle Born Batteries believes in supporting the best of the best, and Trait Zaldain is no exception. As one of a few female anglers in the sport, and the first to qualify for the Bassmaster Opens, Trait truly is trailblazing a path for future generations of anglers. Trips to take young women out on the water to fish for the first time are powered by our LiFePO4 technology!

Meet Trait Zaldain:

Trait first got into the sport of fishing when her father first introduced it to her when she was just learning to walk. He’d participate in local tournaments at local rivers and lakes in their Texas hometown and Trait would tag along.

After going to college at Southern Methodist University, where she notes that “college fishing teams weren’t really a thing,” and working in the finance sector for a few years, she entered the 2011 Texas State Bass Tournament. When she placed 4^th in that competition, she decided that’s the career path she wanted to take and ended up putting in her two weeks notice to compete.

Trait’s favorite fish to catch are small and largemouth bass, but lately she has enjoyed catching mangrove snappers, a saltwater fish. She enjoys how exciting it is to use live bait, fight the currents, pitch the fish in and sometimes run from end to end of the boat. Her favorite places to cast a line include places along the Colorado River, the Mojave Desert, Northern New York, and the West Coast.

She and Chris met on the docks of Table Rock Lake during competition and are one of the first husband and wife teams to compete in Bassmaster. Together the two are learning from each other and understand the ups and downs to the competitive angling life— a pairing she describes is similar to a well-oiled machine!

For Trait, her most impactful moment is helping to launch a line of women’s fishing gear in any and every shade of pink possible. It helps open doors for women who want to fish.

“Men have come up to me and said they’re buying tackle for their wives too, and that women want to join their husbands out on the water and spend time together,” she said.

The Newest Rig Upgrade:

Here’s what Trait is running in her rig, a 2021 Skeeter FXR20:

-3 Battle Born BB10012 batteries for her trolling motors

-1 12V 100Ah connected to starting AGM battery

-1 IP 65 Charger

“With AGM batteries, they’d get worn down so quickly and having to replace them all the time was a big thing,” she said. “Now, I’m not nervous at all and knowing how reliable my system is can make a huge difference when I’m competing.”

Trait knows now that battery anxiety is no more because of how reliable our LiFePO4 technology is.

Since Trait prefers to run high power draws and gadgets on the water, she now can power livewells, lights, and a 250 Yamaha Sho.

She also runs the following imaging tools and fish finders:

• 4 Humminbird 12” Solix
• 1 Humminbird Helix
• Humminbird Mega 360
• Humminbird Mega Live

Often having to rely on plugging in to charge, many anglers would be set up to power their systems and Trait remembers having to wake up in the middle of the night to make sure it was on track to full power. A charging setup in the hotel parking lot or a rented house with other anglers running lead-acid batteries is not an ideal situation!

What’s Next for Trait?

Trait is currently enjoying her role of being a mentor to younger women who are interested in pursuing the sport professionally. She works with a group of local high schoolers who are excited about everything fishing has to offer, from the early morning sunrises to catching every species of fish.

“There’s a lot of little girls out there who don’t have an interest in fishing until they see my boat, and it’s pink, and then suddenly they want to know everything about it!” Trait said. “Seeing girls get into the sport from the ground level and realize they can fish for a living is eye-opening and exciting.”

You can follow Trait on her Instagram, Facebook, and her YouTube channel with Chris.