The Best Forward Facing Sonar (Garmin Livescope)

Time for a fun one. Forward Facing Sonar has been in the limelight lately and there is some significant controversy surrounding the technology. I’d like to share my take on this with the readers. First off, FFS is an incredible tool, but can be incredibly frustrating to learn. So you get it installed on your boat, now what? Where do you start? What are all these settings? It’s complicated and to be blantantly honest, there is no “one size fits all” answer. In my case, I spent a significant amount of money hiring the “top guides” and paying for courses to help me out. There’s one really nice course out there that helped flatten my learning curve and if you call me I’ll give you his website. I just haven’t asked wether or not he is okay with me sharing it on my platform so I won’t.

Even after these guide trips and a really great online course, I had to make it work best for my tournament partners and my eyes. This is where I really started to get a grasp on livescope. It’s important to note also that the way you put separation between yourself and and other anglers is screen time. There is absolutely no substitution for this. Hand eye coordination is one thing, we are looking for Foot-jig coordination and that’s a whole different challenge.

Why Garmin? Simply put, when I started tournament angling we had a pair of Lowrance HDS 7’s on the blue bobber. These were solid units but unimaginably difficult to operate. I had found a sweet deal on a Garmin Echomap UHD 63cv for my Jon boat. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to operate and boy did it flatten my learning curve when it came to marine electronics. With Garmin, things made sense for the new guy.

This brings me to the biggest selling point for Garmin; user interface. Point blank, things make sense and stuff is where it should be. For the new user, this is the biggest consideration. Your electronics are absolutely no good if you can’t get past the “on” button.

I firmly believe that good electronics and a good understanding of them, play a significant role in your success on the water. It is absolutely crucial to understand what you are buying. The “I always had _____” mentality is your worst enemy. There are plenty of great products out there, but from a functionality standpoint, Garmin stands out in the crowd.

So let’s talk about what I’ve owned. I started with the 63cv (down scan). I quickly realized I needed a side imaging unit and picked up the Echomap UHD 73sv. This was a huge upgrade but I hadn’t yet understood pixels, processors and screen size as it relates to the image you are receiving. I sold that after one use and Jumped to the Echomap UHD 106SV. I will say that this is my minimum requirement for Forward Facing Sonar as well as side scan and mapping.

I guess we can dive into FFS. It’s no secret that Garmin sets the industry standard in FFS technology. To start, I paired my 106SV with a used GLS 10 and LVS 32 livescope transducer. After many headaches, a steep learning curve, multiple software updates and a ton of money spent, I got this thing DIALED in. Your LVS 32, if set up properly, is better than the competitions top technology. Here’s my top 3 tips for LVS 32 technology paired with the Echomap UHD 106sv:

1. Night mode, blue color palette, 50 feet or less on your range, high gain for more detail.

2. Manually adjust every thing. The less work your unit has to do, the more processing power it has to dedicate to your picture.

3. Unless you are using a pole to track spinners or crank baits, mount it on a STURDY trolling motor, stay mobile and cover water.

On to the tournament set up. We fish local derby’s right now and frankly don’t have the rescources to buy that GPSMAP 8617. Garmin has a killer Echomap UHD2 126sv and LVS 34 combo out and this is your best bang for your buck when you try to go all in on a budget. We paired ours with the Garmin Force 57” trolling motor and I’ll tell you what, it’s an absolute power house. Just remember, Garmin designed their whole trolling motor line up to integrate with their technology. They knocked it out of the park and if you are going to do it “right”, a Garmin trolling motor is a necessity. My observation with the new set up is simple. It’s bigger, it’s better, it’s faster and it’s easier.

I’ll conclude with the following; you get what you pay for. At a minimum for FFS, sonar and mapping, I’d save your money and buy an Echomap UHD2 93sv. Honestly this is the “entry point” in my opinion. Garmin really starts to increase their quality at the 9 inch graph. They should give everything else away at the trade shows. They just aren’t worth the money. The 106sv is the middle ground for me. You can pair it with the LVS 32 and be efficient on the water and can also split screen sonar and mapping without loosing details. The 126sv is where things get really really good. This is close to the top end for us amateur anglers and I think I’ve caught the pros using it too.

Entry Level:

Echomap UHD2 93sv

Garmin LVS 32 Transducer

Weekend angler:

Echomap UHD2 106sv

Garmin LVS 32 or LVS 34 Transducer

Garmin force or kraken trolling motor

Competition grade:

Echomap UHD2 126sv

Garmin LVS 34 Transducer

Garmin Force Pro trolling motor

Reminder: this is strictly my opinion.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!