September 4, 2024

Whether you’re mapping out fishing spots with your morning coffee or reeling in catches, the Garmin suite of marine electronics equips you with everything needed for a successful day on the water.

Fishing is a timeless hobby, offering both relaxation and a sense of excitement with each cast. And while you’ve likely heard the same tips passed down from generation to generation, the right modern-day technology can leave less room for guesswork — and more time for flexing your muscles as you finally reel in the big one. Keep reading to learn what you need to know for an impressive day on the water — just as long as you’ve got the right Garmin marine products on deck.

1. Master the Basics

From finding the right time of day to fish to understanding how weather impacts your experience to working on specific techniques, you can turn yourself into quite the skilled angler. But once you’ve covered the basics — or maybe you’ve opted to skip this step (we won’t judge) — you may find yourself interested in modern-day marine tech to help you reel in schools of fish more quickly and more frequently.

2. Pre-scout Your Fishing Spots

Before you even set foot on your boat, preparation is key. Using the ActiveCaptain® app and mapping products such as Garmin Navionics+™ and Garmin Navionics Vision+™, you can pre-scout your fishing spots and identify areas of interest.

• ActiveCaptain: This app allows you to view your maps and scout preferred lakes, pinpointing potential hotspots before you head out for the day.  
• Garmin Navionics+: Depth range shading can help you easily identify targeted depth ranges and features 1’ contours to highlight structures such as offshore humps, river channels, flats and sharp channel breaks.
• Garmin Navionics Vision+: As an upgrade, this advanced mapping solution provides high-resolution relief shading, enhanced sonar imagery and the ability to spot changes in bottom composition — helping you distinguish between hard bottoms and soft bottoms such as mud flats.

3. Navigate with Confidence

Once you’re on the water, navigating to your pre-scouted spots is a breeze with our chartplotters, many of which feature scanning sonar technology. You’ll be able to identify schools of fish, rock piles, boulders and gravel flats, ensuring you’re always fishing in the most productive areas. You can add waypoints from anywhere on the ActiveCaptain app and easily transfer them to your chartplotter so you’re prepared to fish once you climb aboard. Then you can use Garmin mapping to get you to those waypoints to find the “spot on the spot” with the scanning sonar.

4. Stay on the Fish

When you’ve found your perfect spot, our powerful trolling motors help you stay right on the fish with anchor lock technology. The precise tech keeps your boat in place even in strong currents or windy conditions so you can focus on fishing rather than boat positioning. Plus, the motors are so smooth the fish won’t even see you coming and so efficient you can fish all day long.

5. Seal the Deal with Live Sonar

To truly maximize your catch, live sonar is indispensable. The LiveScope™ Plus System provides real-time, detailed views of what’s happening underwater. You can see how fish react to your bait and make precise casts to points of interest, including rockpiles and laydowns. Adjust your presentation based on the fish’s behavior, increasing your chances of a successful catch. To find a live sonar to fit your needs, check out this blog post about our options.

Fishing is more than just a pastime; it’s a passion that can be greatly enhanced with the right knowledge and technology. Our comprehensive range of marine electronics positions you to catch more fish and make a lifetime of memories while on the water.

Ready to upgrade your fishing gear? Explore our full range of marine products and take your fishing experience to the next level.