Article by Capt. Steve Katz
Going Live
The Furuno Omni sonar and similar units have become commonplace in tournament sportfish boats. These systems produce long range live sonar images of the area around the boat while trolling for sportfish. Unlike a traditional sounder which shows a historical view of the water column under the boat, a Sonar like the Furuno Omni or Koden searchlight units show a live view of the horizontal area around the boat. These systems are used to locate bait or individual fish swimming nearby.
These sonar systems are costly and complex, prices can reach $150,000 for a full installation. Space is also a consideration; these units require a large tube cut into the hull and space for additional processing hardware. The results are amazing, captains and anglers can see and pursue close and distant swimming fish. While these systems are not for every boat and budget, certainly this technology will evolve in the future, with smaller and less expensive systems predicted.
Good news for everyday anglers, there are a few small-scale sonar systems that produce a live sonar view, perfect for anglers looking to see the fish or bait around the boat. These systems were developed for the inland market, fishing on lakes and rivers. The technology has caught on with coastal anglers too. One captain, Rick Stanczyk, fishing out of Islamorada, Florida uses a small-scale sonar system to target Tarpon in his fishing grounds. Many other saltwater anglers have adopted this technology to enhance their awareness of the water around the boat.
Garmin and Lowrance both make competitive live sonar products. Both brands offer systems consisting of a transducer and black box that connects to an existing Multifunctional display of the same brand. Not all hardware is compatible, so if researching a system like this be sure to check compatibility for all components. Both the Garmin and Lowrance systems are similarly priced, about $1,500 for the basic package.
The most challenging part of these systems is the mounting method and location of the transducer on a saltwater fishing boat. As previously noted, these systems were designed for freshwater anglers and the transducers are often designed to mount to a trolling motor. This location gives the angler the ability to pivot the trolling motor and “see” a particular area with the live sonar. If you do not have a trolling motor, you could fabricate a mount, for example, Garmin (for demonstration purposes) has used a setup as simple as a guided pole on the side of the boat that is lowered into the water and turned by hand to “see” other sectors around the boat. There are some third-party companies that offer pole mounts for these systems, such as summit fishing equipment. These transducers have a horizontal field of view of about 20 degrees and a range approximately 100’ in salt water (farther in freshwater).
Garmin has a transom mount transducer for their live sonar, with this mount your “field of view” would be limited to the direction the boat is pointed and the boat would need to be turned to see a different sector of the water around the boat.
Besides the variety of the transducer mounting options, the rest of the system straight forward, usually the transducers connect to a small processor box that is networked to a compatible Multifunctional (MFD) display.
Garmin’s product is named “Livescope” and is part of the Garmin Panoptic family of sonars. Garmin describes their product as: LiveScope Forward is an amazing tool for scouting and fishing out ahead of your cast. You are looking at live, incredibly detailed images of structure and fish swimming all around your boat – up to 200' in freshwater – even while your boat is stationary. Both LiveScope Forward and LiveScope Down modes are included in one transducer and are available with either transom or trolling motor mounts.
Lowrance’s product is named ActiveTarget, Lowrance describes their product as: ActiveTarget allows you to watch high-resolution images of fish movements, tracking them as they swim near your boat. When you see fish near structure and watch them respond to your lure, you will know if your current technique is working, or if it is time to make an adjustment—information that's harder to get from traditional sonar or structure imaging. Track fish and your presentation with high-resolution views in front or below your boat or use the Scout mode to see an ultra-wide, overhead view of structure and fish activity in front of your boat, perfect for finding bait balls and big schools of fish.
Certainly not a substitute for the commercial Furuno and Koden type Sonar systems, the capabilities of the Livescope and ActiveTarget systems are another tool for everyday anglers to learn about the fish and structure around the boat, it is a great compliment to a traditional a sounder and learned fishing techniques, providing additional situation awareness for anglers fishing in freshwater back bays and even coastal waters.
Until next time...
Stay Grounded §
