In the past few years, the electronics used by fishermen to help them catch fish have become more complex. In fact, when you compare the fish finders between companies, it’s confusing.
Forward-facing sonar, side imaging, down imaging, spot lock, iPilot, side scan, LiveScope, EchoMap—read enough about the latest and greatest systems, and you can get lost.
Fortunately, the Angler’s Port Marine series of electronics seminars helps fishermen understand their systems, and it provides guidance to fishermen who want to buy new or upgrade their older sonar units.
The process can be expensive. “Roughly 25 percent of a new boat’s cost is electronics,” says Klaus Fink, president of Angler’s Port Marine. That alone is why it pays to make the right choice.
The Garmin seminar held February 11th at Angler’s Port Marine provided a lot of answers. It was close to a standing-room only crowd with 48 anglers attending the two-hour-plus event that included lunch and more questions.
Dallas Spurgeon, the Garmin sales manager, took the audience through the Garmin chartplotters, covering everything from standard sonar and how to get the best out of the settings to down scan, side scan and finally ending with LiveScope.
Understandably, the new LiveScope system was a major feature in the seminar. LiveScope is Garmin’s system that lets the user scan around the boat in all directions, looking for fish. Not only does it show structure and fish and the distance to them, but it also can show the angler’s lure and how the fish respond to it when it is set up correctly. Spurgeon explained how to adjust the system so that the angler gets the best the LiveScope has to offer, noting that the best settings vary with water conditions. This technology has had a major impact in fishing tournament results.
“The newest advances really give fishermen a new way to approach fishing,” says Mike Toigo of Angler’s Port Marine. “You can drive in to an area, cruise around looking for structure with your big motor and establish waypoints to visit later. If you have a Garmin trolling motor, you tell it, through the chartplotter, to follow a route to the waypoints that you’ve marked, and it will go from waypoint to waypoint without you having to do a thing.”
Another feature that is worth noting is that the Garmin units will let the angler create a track that he wants to fish, say a specific depth for instance, and he then can direct the electric trolling motor to follow that trail by using the chartplotter. It also has a function that directs the trolling motor to keep the boat in one position, effectively becoming an electronic anchor.
As the informercial says, “But wait; there’s more!”. The latest units have a wide range of functions that can be manipulated to adjust the sonar returns to provide the best viewing options, depending upon what the viewer wants or needs.
Spurgeon also explained about the mapping function in the latest Garmin chartplotters that cover all of the United States in freshwater (and saltwater) in increments of one foot. The mapping function is integral to the new units. He also stressed the ActiveCaptain function, a Garmin exclusive, and its features. He also talked about Garmin’s customer service center that helps customers with their problems as well as updating of software, which can be done online through a computer or by smart phone.
For a local Garmin dealer, contact Angler’s Port Marine at 660-438-4600 or at www.anglersportmarine.com.
