Exploring Live Sonar Technology with Lowrance: How It Can Help Enhance Your Fishing Experience

What's the secret to catching tons of fish? 

We wish we had it. The wisdom held by the greatest anglers is usually a combo of hard work, years of experience, the right gear, and a little bit of luck. Putting in the hours to master your local spots or taking the time to learn a new body of water? That’s up to you. But we can help with picking out the right gear, and helping you learn how to use it to improve your chances of getting the fish to bite.

Anglers today benefit from tons of great tech, from near-silent trolling motors to user-generated charts. But the biggest game-changer of all is sonar, giving us valuable insight into what lurks under the surface. The most recent sonar tech on the cutting edge today is Live Sonar, also known as forward-facing sonar (FFS).

Have you discovered Live Sonar yet? 

Live Sonar first arrived in 2019 and has quickly become a recreational and professional core fishing tool for many an angler. So, what is it? And why is it so popular? 

We asked Jeremiah Clark, VP of Lowrance, to explain.

“Put simply, Live Sonar, or as some call it, Forward Facing Sonar shows clear video-like live images of the underwater world in real-time. This allows anglers to spot fish and structure easily, but unlike other sonar, with live sonar you can see what the fish are doing under the water, live. As an angler, It means you get instant feedback; it allows you to understand the underwater environment and fish behavior better and adjust your fishing presentation to try to catch the fish”.

Don’t cast blindly

We all know that one angler who can drop a line anywhere, anytime, and come up with a big bite. But for most of us, the perfect cast results from wisdom, practice, patience, and luck.  Using sonar to be our eyes underwater to understand better what is underneath the surface is another key part of completing this puzzle. 

Live Sonar helps you complete that puzzle in real-time, letting you see the bottom, in front, and around you, saving you tons of time in finding where the fish are and what they are doing to target your next cast. 

Win the battle

Live Sonar comes into its own when you have cast, giving you real-time readings of how fish are reacting, or not reacting, to your bait presentation. Allowing you to adjust the lure, the color, the presentation speed, etc. to help convince that fish to bite, and seeing it all live so you know exactly when the right time is to strike.

The Beauty of Lowrance Active Target 2

So, you’re sold on Live Sonar and want to try it? Lucky for you, Lowrance recently launched ActiveTarget 2, an award-winning and updated version of their debut in live sonar.

What puts Lowrance’s ActiveTarget 2 into a league of its own?

See more than ever.

ActiveTarget 2 provides the highest resolution Forward, Down, and Scout Views available. So, you can track fish, lures, and structure in more detail than ever. And, when two ActiveTarget2 units are paired with HDS PROs (Lowrance’s latest top-end fishfinder), anglers get the power to see additional views of 180 View, Scout Wide, or Forward + Scout, giving them more insight over larger areas of water. For us, that’s game-changing.

It ain’t complicated.

Another big reason people love ActiveTarget 2? You don’t need a PhD in sonar to figure it out.

ActiveTarget 2 comes ready dialed-in, working immediately out of the box. There is no need to sit there dialing in settings for each fishing spot or watching YouTube tutorials on your phone when you should be dropping lines. Lowrance has already done all that hard work for you. It's like having a sonar expert right in the boat with you.

The clearest, most consistent image in the industry

Lowrance pedigree counts for a lot. It’s no accident that ActiveTarget 2 delivers the clearest, most consistent underwater images available. That’s years of know-how coming out of the Lowrance team. No blind spots. No blurry spots. The clarity you see extends throughout the entire image.

Trust the pros

If you still need convincing, ask the pros. ActiveTarget 2 is used throughout the major fishing tournaments such as Master Walleye Circuit,  MLF and BassMaster, as well as by many guides and professional fishermen.  

“Lowrance Active Target has been a game changer for me as a fishing guide and overall angler,” said Lund Pro and fishing guide Jason Freed. “Its ability to pinpoint fish within the water column, their relation to structure, and show their live moods and reactions helps us simply put more fish in the boat.  Combine Active Target with other tools such as side scan, down scan, and 2D and I feel as if I am getting an accurate story as to what is happening beneath the water.”

As we said, success on the water isn’t all about luck. Becoming a better angler is as simple as becoming more informed and understanding what’s happening under the water.

ActiveTarget 2 is just one part of your fishing arsenal, but we believe it’s an important step to becoming a better, more informed angler. Because remember, it’s just like they say at Lowrance: the more you see, the more you catch.

Find out more on Active Target 2 and the ultimate fishing system from Lowrance