It never fails, buy new electronics and something better it right on its heels. So goes the vicious cycle of marine electronics.
With many of today’s fishing electronics set-ups, most anglers have embraced CHIRP transducer technology, including side views, and have fully capable fishfinders and chartplotters. Most manufacturers provide these as base options with charting and much more, including compatibility to the hottest trick in fishing today, live imaging. Regardless of the species you prefer to target, many local anglers are adding this tool to learn more about their favorite fish, how they live and how they react to our tricks to catch them!
When it comes to live, Humminbird and Garmin currently have the best options for the fishing challenges here in northern Michigan. Not that there aren’t others products available, but customer service says these two are your best bet by far.
Since the release of the first live products, Garmin took the lead with three product lines for nearly every angler’s needs.
The LiveScope-Plus generally is the best option for the all-around angler. Powerful enough to jig trout in the deeper waters and sensitive enough to follow perch from 60 to 100 feet deep — it’s certainly the most popular Garmin LiveScope for our fishing ranges.
If deeper fishing options are of your interest, Garmin’s LiveScope XR is the only option. Capable of 1,500 feet, this is great for coastal and offshore fun. Trolling and deep water jigging is opened up in places well beyond 100 feet. The XR has become more common in the Great Lakes game because of its power and distance capabilities. Deep water fish just can’t hide.
The original LiveScope/Panoptics works well in shallower settings in both winter and summer. Panfish, bass and walleye waters match its capabilities nicely but nothing more. Many anglers report about 60 feet of effective range. Our area really requires the plus model to get to the average depths we see.
Johnson Outdoors has the Humminbird Live Imaging Version 1 with very similar capabilities to the original live offerings. Effective to about 60 feet of range, and decent detail, but generally not enough for northwest lower Michigan and its many fishing depth challenges. This is another great product for more shallow fishing.
To answer the call for a better Live transducer, Humminbird released the Live Imaging 2 this fall. This is the one needed for the depth ranges of the Grand Traverse bays region. With a range over 100 feet this new Live by Humminbird also provides detail at distance far beyond Live imaging 1.
Consider this new opportunity to help you make the most of your time on the water. Give us a holler and we can help you with questions or setting you up with new fishing options for your boat. Best regards and good fishing!