We’ve all seen how quickly emerging technologies have developed in recent years and how much simpler (sometimes) they can make our lives. For boaters and anglers, one of the most notable benefits offered by advancing technology is a greater understanding of the world below the waters.
While equipment to display both your vessel’s position and the water depth has been around for years, modern multifunction display units now offer a glimpse at the ocean floor in vivid 3D color imagery—revealing terrain features like reef ledges, rock piles, and deep holes where fish can hide. The depth sounder efficiency and incredible 3D images offered by side imaging and 360-degree sonar can flatten the learning curve to the extent that a relatively novice angler can learn to locate fish at a rate formerly reserved for hardcore veterans.
Taking the guess work out of learning your local fishing habitat is an incredible time-saving tool that allows you to spend more time fishing and less time searching. It also vastly expands the possibilities of where to fish throughout the day. While some old-school purists have resisted these new tools for anglers (especially in tournament settings), it’s hard to argue with their effectiveness.
My take? Once you’ve had a chance to use this equipment, it’s pretty hard to live without. For naysayers who think it’s cheating or unfair to the fish, finding the fish is only half the battle—making them bite and catching those fish is another story.
Here’s a look at two of the most popular options on the market today:
Humminbird XPLORE
This unit from Humminbird (a brand widely regarded for having the most detailed 3D side imaging and 360-degree sonar in the industry) includes a built-in Coast Master VX cartography option that’s loaded with helpful features. Upgrade to the premium card, and you get the added advantage of 3D shaded relief bottom imagery, plus a comprehensive layer of track lines drawn outside marked navigation routes. These chart plotter tracks follow routes into shallow back waters for off-grid exploring—a feature that’s particularly valuable for shallow-water anglers in places like the Everglades.
Simrad NSS7 Evo3
Like the Humminbird, the Simrad model also offers a chart card upgrade: the C-Map Reveal X. It offers 3D shaded relief and other detailed information—but it lacks the track line network included with the Humminbird upgrade. However, a version of this software is available to purchase in a second card: the ISLA mapping card by Florida Marine Tracks. Simrad also offers a side scan imaging transducer option.
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