To Infinity and Beyond for Crappie Anglers and Electronics - by Brad Wiegmann

I think the fictional character Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story would have been inspired by today's marine electronics. "To infinity and beyond" definitely describes some of the new marine electronics where there seems to be no limit to new units available. Professional crappie anglers see the advantages of these almost video game like sonar unit and are using them to their advantage to catch more and bigger crappie.


Buzz would have been impressed with how angler friendly these new units are to see and comprehend the screen images. These lightyear advance units feature remarkable views from actual fish and bait swimming in real time to seeing fish along with baitfish, structure and cover.



Bobby Garland Crappie Baits pro staffers fishing team of Dan Dandemuller and Garrett Steele are deep into relying on their Garmin Electronics Panoptix to locate and catch crappie. It's part of their tournament preparation now. In fact, Dandemuller and Steele normally will plan on just graphing during the prefishing time as part of their preparation.


"It doesn't matter if we are one poling, pulling crankbaits or spider rigging to catch crappie. Crappie can be real finicky and while what Bobby Garland Crappie Bait we select and color are important it doesn't matter if we can't find them," said Steele.


"That's where our Garmin Electronics come into play. We always do our homework on the water before the tournament starts by looking at the water column where the fish are holding while searching for structure. I tell you what; it takes preparation and electronics to be successful in crappie tournaments today," said Dandemuller.

Two sonar units standout with advance viewing beyond your normal 2D viewing. First is the one Dandemuller and Steele are using which is Garmin Electronics Panoptix. Panoptix is like no other sonar unit with its ability to show actual fish and bait swimming in real time.


Here's a quick overview of Gamin's Panoptix.

• LiveVu Forward allows the unit to provide real-time moving images of what is going on in the water moving towards or away from the boat with a single ping.
• RealVu 3D Forward digitally scans forward creating a 3D view of the fish and bottom. Anglers can control how large an area they scan and fish are displayed by contrasting colors.
• LiveVu Down allows the angler to see baitfish and large crappie swimming around and pinpoint the distance left or right while telling the distance from the boat to the fish or baitfish.
• RealVu 3D Historical lets the angler scroll through past data from the bottom to the surface and everything in between. Bottom contour and fish are shown in color in three dimension views.
• RealVu 3D Down digitally scans the area below the boat from the back and side to side. The results are a full 3D view of bottom contour changes also with fish and structure even while stationary.

Here's a quick overview of Lowrance's StructureScan 3D.

• Lowrance StructureScan allows crappie anglers the ability to see fish, baitfish, cover and structure in stunning three-dimensional views.
• High resolution, 180-degree super-wide can see up to 650 feet from side to side.
• Pan-tilt-rotate control lets anglers view different angles with a touch of their Lowrance HDS Gen3 sonar unit.

Advancements in sonar technology are taking crappie angler to a new level of angling especially when it comes to fishing offshore. These are not just "demo mode" units. The Garmin Panoptix is available now and Lowrance's StructureScan 3D this fall. Both will take you "To infinity and beyond..."