ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER
These forward-looking units , though , can literally “ see ” some 50 to 80 feet in front of the boat , meaning anglers can present a bait to the fish or cover well before the pressure footprint of the boat and without wasting time to pull around and set back up for a cast . This alone is a huge advantage . Any time you can present a lure to fish before they know you ’ re there , the chances of getting bit go up .
The other capability that makes this new breed of electronics a game changer is being able to monitor fish behavior in real time . I ’ m not claiming it ’ s a frontrow seat at Sea World , but fish behavior can be observed and the implications of this are enormous .
As Shaw Grigsby taught us back in the early 1990s , the key to sight fishing is reading a visible fish ’ s behavior , attitude and reaction . As long as you can see a fish , you can better judge the aggressiveness , contentment or spookiness of the quarry . But now , instead of seeing just a fish or two when sight fishing in shallow water , it ’ s possible to see multiple fish – or even an entire school – to observe their overall demeanor in real time .
The “ video gamers ” in the sport have been able to do this with 2-D to some degree for years . But the sonar cone below the boat was limited to maybe 30 to 35 feet in diameter . Now , forward-facing sonar allows them to see so much more , much farther out in front of the boat . And to the trained eye , they can literally read the fish ’ s attitude and see how they react to different baits , actions and colors , just like Grigsby did with visible fish 30 years ago .
Those who are most proficient with this new technology can watch both the fish and their lure on screen in real time , and can sometimes tell if the fish is going to bite or not . The way fish approach and attend the lure give away their intentions .
These finer points of reading forwardfacing sonar images are still being learned every day . Determining how aggressive , neutral or negative a group of fish is within a few minutes pushes fishing efficiency to a whole new level . Now , instead of fishing a point , hump or brush pile for a half hour to determine if it ’ s “ active ,” an angler can simply dip his or her “ eyes ” into the water to confirm the presence of fish and to determine their demeanor without even picking up a rod .
Some might argue that this extreme efficiency is actually too much of an advantage for anglers . Over the years , I ’ ve heard the same thing about other potent fishing innovations like shallowwater anchors , side scan , digital mapping and GPS trolling motors . All of these technologies are still being utilized by anglers of all sorts today : from top pros in high-end bass boats to weekend anglers in aluminum rigs to kayakers .
With that , I ’ m thinking forward-facing sonar is going to be around for quite a while , and personally , I ’ m “ looking forward ” to using it .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FLWFISHING . COM 19