I’ve been fishing with side-viewing sonar ever since Humminbird’s SI units first hit the scene back in 2006.
But for as much as I’ve used it, and for as many guides and pros and electronics nerds I’ve talked to about it, I have to admit I’ve always struggled to get the most from the technology.
The sticking point for me has always been that I can’t seem to see the forest for the trees. In other words, although the side-view shows me all kinds of detail and reveals the occasional sweet spot—like a cut in a weedline or isolated rock pile—I mentally lose track of it all.
I see a detail here or there, but fail to visualize the big picture—the overall underwater landscape that really shapes where fish travel and congregate.
So I was jacked when I learned that Lowrance just unveiled its
HDS Gen2 units. They feature
StructureMap, a feature that overlays side-viewing imagery onto the units’ GPS map in real-time. This basically upgrades the standard high-definition cartography so it not only shows depth contours, but also a photo-like image of everywhere you drive your boat!
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| Drain The Lake: The Brand New Lowrance HDS7 Featuring StructureMap Technology |
Similar technology has actually been available for a handful of years—
DrDepth. It’s still available and still cool, but it requires the use of a computer (not to mention a ridiculous level of tech savvy) and the resulting maps are not always viewable on your boat-mounted GPS unit.
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| A Close-Up View Of Lowrance StructureMap Technology |
That’s why
StructureMap is so huge—you can do it all right from the dash of your boat and see the results instantly, without any additional hardware, software or degree from MIT.
The units are scheduled to hit stores this month. The flagship
HDS-10 Gen2 will go for about $2,449, but with StructureMap available all the way down the line to the
HDS-5, you’ll be able to get your hands on the technology at more reasonable prices as well.
Ryan