The great thing
about this technology is the fact that it is available to the average angler. You do not have to be a seasoned touring pro or techie to access this information. You do, however, have to embrace the technology and learn how to unlock the power of today’s ultra-modern advances in fish finders and mapping software. If you can work your smartphone; then, you should not have a problem connecting these wireless devices in your boat.
NAVIONICS CARDS
Navionics Pro Travis Huckaby spends a lot of time on the road educating anglers on the benefits of embracing SonarCharts Live. “SonarChart Live is a Navionics software for your phone or tablet that allows anglers to use Sonar Logging to update the mapping for your favorite lake.” Huckaby says, “The process is pretty simple to learn and should be second nature for anglers who are used to using an iPhone, android smart phone, or a tablet.
“Technology these days is awesome,” says Huckaby. “This is a pic that shows how effective sonar logging is. This data was recorded in two hours on the water. Little things like this is why I recommend updating your Navionics mapping cards for your fish finders at least once a month.”
Both Huckaby and Lain use the winter months to track existing water levels and map their favorite lakes. The data collected during these sonar logging trips is then stored via Wi-Fi to their cellphones, computers and tablets.
In as little as one to two hours anglers can use mapping software, such as SonarCharts Live, to record their favorite lake in greater detail. Lain and
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Huckaby spend their winters driving over humps, contours, breaks, ridges, and/or flats so that they have detailed live mapping for where a bass may be hiding. What is really
impressive about the technology
is the fact that when you connect
the Navionics SonarCharts app on
a phone or tablet to a fish finder
via Wi-Fi, it can actually show the
contour changes and updates
faster than the fish finder.
THE APPS
How is this all done?
The anglers use the Wi-Fi connection in their fish finder and the Navionics app on their electronic device (phone or tablet, or both) to use the GPS trails to make grid patterns of an area. The Lowrance app and Navionics app needs to be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet. Both of these apps should be available in the respective app stores. The Lowrance app allows an angler to connect a Gen 3 fish finder to a smartphone or tablet. Connecting a fish finder to a phone or tablet allows an angler to control their fish finder from one or both of their devices.
The Lowrance app allows use of the phone or tablet as the head unit which allows anglers to jump screens, take screen shots, and/or control the pages from their smartphone or tablet. A lot more anglers are mounting tablets in their boats. Lain suggests having the Lowrance manual handy as a guide the first time you try to connect your devices via Wi-Fi.
Fishing in the winter can be pretty slow.
Both anglers suggest using this time to open up those manuals and learn how to unlock the power of the technology that is available to help anglers catch more fish. There are countless classes and training opportunities to educate anglers on the processes discussed in this article. Each year in November, hundreds of anglers attend the Lowrance electronics school that is hosted by Angler’s Marine at the annual Bass-A-Thon. Travis host trainings at Fisherman’s Warehouses and other locations in Northern California. More anglers are becoming tech savvy as to how to use the technology to put more fish in the boat. Simply put, it is a tool like anything else that one must master or get left behind.
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