Sonar Seminars Add Juice

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The continuing series of electronics seminars held by Angler’s Port Marine, on Highway 7, give fishermen and boaters the information they need to really use their fish finders.
“Probably 90 percent of the fishermen I talk to don’t know how to use their electronics,” said J.E. Van Natta, of Clever, Mo. He’s the Humminbird and Minn Kota rep for the area. He was speaking at the Umminbird seminar held last Saturday at Angler’s Port Marine on Highway 7 near Warsaw.
At an earlier Lowrance seminar held at Angler’s Port Marine in October, Lowrance pro-staff Roger Umbarger of Blue Springs said much the same thing. “I was in one pro’s boat, and he didn’t even know how to turn on his fish finder, without thinking about it.”
To help this, Angler’s Port Marine is holding a series of seminars focusing on the newest fishing electronics. The Lowrance and Humminbird seminars have concluded, and one on Garmin products has been scheduled for February 11.
Even though the two seminars are over for this year, the Garmin seminar in February is worth attending as it will go over areas that pertain to all fishing electronics, regardless of brand.
The reality of modern fishing electronics is that all units function at a level that is beyond what most anglers expect, and it often takes a conscious effort to understand and interpret what the fishfinders show. And until that effort is made, the anglers are “wasting their money,” said Umbarger.
He pointed out that electronics often are 30 percent of the cost of a new boat, and if you don’t utilize all of the features you need, then it is a waste.
The Humminbird seminar provided a good foundation for using some f the features as well as interpreting the images they provide. It was oriented to people who currently own Humminbird sonar/GPS units including some of the forward-facing, all-around viewing technology that show things that are happening all around the boat, not just under it.
The Lowrance units, in contrast, don’t have that option but can show what is off the one side or the other as well as below the boat. When equipped with the appropriate gear, Lowrance units also have forward-facing sonar that shows the angler what is ahead of the boat—both structure and fish.
Umbarger pointed out how the angler can use the forward-facing sonar to mark the fish ahead of the boat as well as its distance and direction, making it possible for the fisherman to cast directly to a specific fish. With the right lure, one that shows up in the sonar imagery, it’s also possible to watch the lure descend to the fish and judge the fish’s reaction to the lure.
While these two seminars are over, there are plans to repeat them again next year, including other seminars.
The Garmin seminar scheduled for next February is just he start of the season—or it might be regarded as the end of the 2022 seminar series, granted a bit late.
Humminbird’s Van Natta said that he’d be back with an event that will help fishermen understand.