I have the Lowrance active target and love it.

On a crappie rig ?

Tiny little crappie jig, it was luck and lots of loose drag, that it didn’t pull off.

May be lucky but impressive regardless , .

Garmin has a bunch of fine tune adjustments that Lowrance does not have. I run a 16" Carbon for Active Target and it's very very close to Garmin overall. Id stick with Lowrance if you already are setup for Lowrance.

So jbassman you’re saying the Garmin Livescope has a lot better image clarity than the Lowrance ActiveTarget? I have never used either or seen them in operation so just trying to get some real world knowledge from people that have used them instead of just watching videos.

I was a lowrance guy for the last 15 years....I made the decision to swap everything to Garmin and haven't been happier.

Any other opinions

I know which one looks better to me.

Have you ever had your kid ask you to sit down and play video games with him? It wasn't a very fun experience other than the fact that you got to see your kid elated that he beat the tar out of you and you didn't even have to let him win..... That is forward sonar fishing for bass. There are going to be anglers get really good at it, especially younger anglers that aren't set in their ways or opinions about fishing and then there are gonna be guys that have it to have it but don't realistically take the time to learn it. You can see it and experience it but you aren't going to be able to go out and use it proficiently without spending a lot of quality time on the water learning it and how to optimize what you are seeing for success. Crappie are the low hanging fruit when it comes to forward sonar because the majority of them are stationery and fairly easy to catch.

As mentioned previously, this is a Ford vs Chevy debate. I have used both with success whether in my clients' boats with the Garmin or my boat with the Lowrance. I can for sure honestly tell you from experience with both that the Lowrance is crisper and sharper with their image quality. I have "pet fish" at Rayburn that get extremely tight to the bottom in certain conditions that you can still see with the Lowrance and not the Garmin. The Garmin has a slightly wider beam angle which gives it an advantage in other areas. If all you care about in the which one is better debate, I have openly said and I believe Jacob Wheeler has reiterated that Garmin people have an option and now Lowrance people have an option. Soon, Humminbird people will have an option. There won't be any need for a stand alone different brand unit any longer. I have quite a few Active target videos on my YouTube channel. Bear in mind that the screen recordings come from a prerelease unit(One of the first 50 units Lowrance received) and they have upgraded and improved since then. I will be making more Active Target videos here in the near future since the Tour season has ended. Even in this original unit, you can see the crispness difference. Guys that are Livescope people that got in my boat during that prerelease period all commented that the Active Target was just as good or better from what they could see as far as the image and usability.

Elite Angler Academy YouTube

Although you mentioned using it as a stand alone unit, here are some of the advantages you would have by going with the Active Target that nobody has mentioned:

1)Networkability - The only reason I want my units networked(this goes for all of them) is to share chart/waypoint data. I want to be able to make a waypoint on something I see and have it in my Master File for that lake to be able to fish it more efficiently now and at a later date. Jumping around individual units trying to sync waypoints is inaccurate and a chore.

2)User Interface - I have used all the brands. I hate learning a new operating system. You already have Lowrance units and I assume know how to operate them. You have now just shortened the learning curve and eliminated another headache or source of frustrations

3)Lowrance Default - You can run all Lowrance units straight out of the box for sonar without tweaking them to any degree to get great usable imagery. 95% of the time I run mine on default or do very little tweaking to get great images. When I get into a client's boat, I usually reset everything to factory defaults and they are amazed at the image quality thinking I did something magical after they tweaked them because they saw a YouTube video.

4) Extra Unit - Yes, technology has issues at times. Think that problem you had with your Lowrance is gonna make you switch brands or you keep seeing on that Lowrance Forum or Facebook group the XXXXX issue? Cruise on over to the Garmin or Humminbird page and tell me what those owners are complaining about this week. Ghost tree? Customer Service? Slow Operating system? etc.... By having all the same brands no matter which brand you are running enables you to reconfigure on the water or plugging in different cords if you need to. Never know when something is going to break or have an issue. I can make adjustments on the fly if need be to optimize whichever sonar/chart mode I need for that day to be successful. At times, we become a slave to the technology and need/want it. Don't believe me, go flipping in 2' of water but leave your units off your boat. Count how many times you look down to see the depth or the map. Throw an audible because they aren't biting up on the bank... Oh [censored], I don't have my waypoints to know where that brushpile is over there.

Bottom line is it is a completely new skill set that you must work at. If you want to get better or learn how to use it, you must spend QUALITY time on the water with it, not just time on the water. Better yet, if you want to fast track success, hire somebody like Me, Josh Jones, James Biggs, etc to put you on the right path. You can teach an old dog new tricks but it is up to the dog to get off the porch.

The gain was turned up way to hi on the Garmin. Auto gain on the Garmin would have been a much better comparison.

And...


I don’t give a flip what you buy, nobody sponsors me; but I can tell you that hitting the small cone angle can be challenging. Since it’s even smaller on the lowrance, you better really be wanting to spend the time to practice using it. If you aren’t willing to learn, try, curse and practice, then don’t buy either one.

Just ordered active target at tackle warehouse. 15% off.

Thanks Clark,
Great info, I decided on the Lowrance AT because I’m already running Lowrance and it seems to me from watching videos that it is dialed in a little better than Garmin right out of the box. Waiting on the dual bow mount to finish up installation. The technology really intrigues me and I plan to be on the water a lot as it starts cooling off just using it and learning how to operate it. I don’t plan to fish much on those days to make myself learn other than learning to hit the cone angle with my lure. I enjoy your videos you do and appreciate your insight. Thanks.

I have one on my boat and really like it.