I just saw this video on youtube and was curious as to what technology everyone thought was the coolest. Humminbird 360, Lowrance Spotlight or Garmin new forward sonar. Seeing that I am old as Lincoln I'm more partial to the sonar side of things but I'm getting better at the side scan. Not interested in what you hate or why you don't like one. I'm just curious as to what you think is coolest and why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKXSUFtRhr8

Gene the new Garmin graph looks cool, but then again I can barely operate an iPhone

The Garmin forward sonar: This is basically how Ultrasound and doppler technology can be used in the medical field--example: guiding a needle toward an object in the body using real time ultrasound or visualizing directional blood flow at a cardiac valve. It's not new technology, but a combination of regular 2D and doppler with extremely rapid interpretation of the data to show "real time" moving images on the monitor.

The utilization of ultrasound becomes functional instead of purely diagnostic. Instead of just seeing where the fish are located in relation to structure and cover, you can watch their directional movement and response to a particular lure or lure presentation.

Would I buy it-- The forward sonar technology for fishing is in it's infancy. The forward sonar will perform best in open water with hard bottom structure fishing with lures that are dense and sound reflective--spoons/crankbaits (show up well on ultrasound), it could be a great tool. If you do lots of fishing in shallow vegetation with soft plastics, I'd wait for future refinements/improvements.

What would likely catch me more fish right away without refinements/improvements of the technology--Humminbird 360

I've been fortunate to use it in both shallow and deep water and have been impressed in both applications such as spotting a stump near the bank in 2 foot of water about 60 feet from me. That's a scary good usage in shallow water

Another Key thing with the Garmin unit is that you can move the transducer by hand to use it in a traditional manner to give you the best view I've ever seen for drop shot usage.

As far as casting soft plastics I've been able to see my bait on the bottom as I hop it up and down 45 to 50 feet from my boat in 7 foot of water.

I will be sharing a lot more videos as we use these units over the next few months so stay tuned. Sorry for short answers I'm traveling right now but for those of you with questions don't hesitate to ask away

Wade

Do you know of any places in the San Antonio area that will have units to demo?

Tks

AJ