First Impressions: Forward Facing Sonar
By Mike Frisch
Forward facing sonar technology, now available from at least three fishing sonar manufacturers, allows an angler to “look” in real time at a view of what’s out in front of the boat. The goal being to see fish ahead of the boat and present a bait to them before the boat ever gets to them. Additionally baits can be seen in the water at times too, meaning a sinking lure and fast approaching fish can be viewed in real time! Simply put, this technology allows an angler to “see” fish, his/her bait, and how fish respond to that bait and, yes, even see a bait get eaten at times!
In simple terms and without getting too advanced, the view seen is pretty narrow on today’s unit meaning seeing fish and your lure in the same view isn’t always possible. Plus, the view seen is controlled by the way your transducer is mounted/located. If, for example, the transducer is mounted on the trolling motor shaft, the view seen will change (rotate) as the motor’s shaft rotates. Other independent mounts allow the transducer and view to be manipulated separate of the trolling motor’s movements.
I made my initial plunge into the new technology earlier this year by purchasing an ActiveTarget sonar unit, Lowrance’s version of forward facing technology. Initially, I spent an evening in the boat with another angler who has been using the technology for quite some time in an effort to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible from his experience and knowledge.
Armed with several hours of on-the-water time just watching and learning, I was ready, a few days later, for a solo trip. I slowly cruised down the weedline on a lake near my home using my bowmount motor for power while scanning side to side ahead of the boat looking for fish. Weeds were easy to identify and it didn’t take long until 3 “blobs” appeared around 20 feet out ahead of my boat. Those blobs were moving slowly, so they had to be fish!
Remembering my tutor’s warning, “if it says fish are 20 feet ahead, remember 20 feet is closer than you think,” I made a cast. I was fishing a Rage Swimmer, a soft swimbait that fish of several species love, rigged on a ¼ ounce jig head. I was able to “see” on screen my bait sinking and, in spite of good tutoring, quickly realized I had cast too far, as the fish were closer than where my bait landed. Nevertheless, one turned and swam toward the bait and quickly my bait and the fish became one! Somewhat startled by what happened and what I was seeing, I haphazardly set the hook and it wasn’t long before a 15 inch largemouth bass was flopping on the casting deck.
The rest of my night was spent wandering the weedline and casting, sometimes at “fish” that turned out to be weeds, but sometimes at actual fish too! In fact, the next three fish that “bit” or should I say wanted to bite, never got the bait because I excitedly set the hook before the fish had the bait!
Be evening’s end I was much better than when I started at separating fish images from weed images and could cruise faster in my search. Since that night I have been using ActiveTarget on a regular basis and, while I hesitate to use the term “game changer,” it really has made me better at quickly finding fish and effectively presenting baits in front of them.
So far, I have been using my forward facing sonar transducer on the shaft of my trolling motor. Recently, however, I was introduced to the Turret motorized forward facing sonar mount that operates independently of the trolling motor. This system will allow me to use the troll motor’s anchor mode to hold the boat in a “fishy” place, while I use the Turret system to scan the area for fish and precisely present my bait to those that are found!
I will admit that this style fishing is not for everyone and is much different than those childhood days I spent sitting on a bridge piling fishing with a willow stick “fishing rod” for bullheads. Yet, if catching more fish as quickly as possible is your goal, or perhaps you are a competitive tournament angler, I would recommend at least researching forward facing sonar technology and then making up your own mind if it’s right for you!
As always, good luck on the water and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series and is a co-founder of the ZEBCO School of Fish. Visit www.fishingthemidwest.com to see all things Fishing the Midwest.
