GEARING UP
Sonar technology made a giant leap with forward-facing live sonar like Lowrance ActiveTarget — technology every bass angler should try to learn .
Forward-Facing Sonar
The learning curve starts with technology that many consider the most significant recent breakthrough in bass fishing : forward-facing sonar , such as Lowrance ActiveTarget and Garmin Panoptix LiveScope . This technology has rapidly ( and dramatically ) changed the way anglers target bass , especially suspended fish and those clinging to offshore cover and structure .
The ability to see what ’ s on both sides of the boat was a breakthrough with side-scanning sonar , but seeing what ’ s in front of the boat in real time gives you the complete picture . It provides details about what ’ s happening all the way around the boat and delivers never-before-seen insight into fish behavior as they react to your lures .
Bass Pro Tour pro Skeet Reese , who has run Lowrance ActiveTarget on his boat since it was introduced in the fall of 2020 , says thorough knowledge of forward-facing live sonar is an invaluable tool for locating bass and gauging their mood .
“[ ActiveTarget ] makes it much easier to see where the fish are , obviously , but you can also clearly see how active they are by how fast they move and how they react to your lures ,” he says . “ That tells you right away whether it ’ s worth your time to fish for them .”
Reese can easily recall a tournament situation in which ActiveTarget saved the day .
“ At Lake Chickamauga , I had located a school of fish in practice , and when I returned for the tournament , they were nowhere to be found ,” he says . “ I used my ActiveTarget to pan around and relocated them , as they had slid up on the ridge in much shallower water . That put me right back on the fish . If I ’ d idled around looking for them , I probably would have spooked them .”
Map Cards & Enhanced Mapping
The trusty paper maps of old still provide great information , but ultra-detailed electronic mapping cards are the way to go for today ’ s bass angler . They show dramatically more detail , they can be enhanced and updated through everevolving mapping methods and they ’ re much easier to use while on a boat than paper maps .
Mapping cards include technology that offers even more benefits than simply finding your spot . One of those benefits is the ability to highlight different sections of the water column , a feature that ’ s available from all of the major brands with their brand-specific mapping cards .
Real-world use of depth shading allows anglers to highlight different segments of the water column with unique colors . It also allows for quickly scanning for a specific depth zone that ’ s holding fish and makes finding offshore humps , ridges and points easier as they stand out better with color . Reese utilizes the custom depth shading feature on his Lowrance units with C-MAP .
“ Being able to shade different depth zones is key ,” he asserts . “ From a safety standpoint , it makes it easier to navigate new waters . For fishing , it ’ s so easy to find areas and depths to target — it just makes me much more efficient on the water .”
Trolling Motor Tech
Trolling motor technology has boomed in recent years , with the most considerable improvement being builtin GPS that automatically keeps the
72 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021