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FOR SCOTT DOBSON , MLF PRO from Clarkston , Michigan , the smallmouth-rich waters of Lake St . Clair , Lake Erie and the Detroit River have proven to be the perfect training grounds for learning the finer features of forward-facing sonar .
After three seasons of experience with Lowrance ActiveTarget , Dobson has become intimate with this game-changing technology .
He offers these few tips to get the most out of FFS .
* What you see is
Learn to decipher screen images . Learn to distinguish what a fish looks like and how to distinguish it from a stick or aquatic plant . Experiment with noise reduction and gain settings to optimize images for given conditions .
“ You have to know the angle at which you ’ re picking up that fish , too ,” Dobson says . “ If you ’ re seeing the side of its body , that mark is different because it is a kind of blob on the screen . If the fish is in line with you , parallel with you , it ’ ll look like a hash mark .”
DIALING IN FORWARD-FACING SONAR
PHOTO BY SEAN OSTRUSZKA
* The right stuff
The biggest revelation in Dobson ’ s FFS learning experience was “ having the right battery to run the power box .” His Lowrance ActiveTarget ( Garmin ’ s FFS unit as well ) has a separate amplifier box to power the transducer .
“ Having lithium power going direct to the power box is critical ,” Dobson says . “ You want a constant 13 volts or more going all day . A standard lead battery or an AGM battery will lose voltage during the course of the day and degrade your image .”
Use the highest-voltage lithium battery you can use per manufacturer ’ s specifications .
* A sense of distance
Your screen grid will indicate the distance of a given fish from your transducer , but do you have an accurate sense of what a 45- or 60-foot cast really is ? Learn to accommodate for depth , too , so the bait reaches your target after the fall .
* In the shallows
Although FFS “ truly shines offshore ” don ’ t dismiss it as a shallow-water tool as well .
“ You ’ re not always seeing fish unless you ’ re over a flat bottom of , say , sand , gravel , chunk rock ,” Dobson says . “ You ’ re seeing what the fish live on , too – cabbage beds , stumps , boulders . If you don ’ t think there ’ s a fish on the other side of that object , you ’ ll be fooled .”
* In the deep
Select a depth setting greater than the depth you ’ re fishing .
“ If you ’ re fishing in 6 feet of water , set it at 10 feet ,” he says . “ If fishing 20 feet of water , set it at 30 feet .”
* Don ’ t lose sense of your natural surroundings
It ’ s easy to get so caught up with the images on your sonar screen that you miss signs otherwise obvious to your senses – bass breaking the surface , birds hovering over baitfish , the backs of schooling bluegill .
“ Remember : it ’ s just another tool ,” Dobson says .
68 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022