Forward-facing sonar has changed the game in professional bass fishing. While some anglers and pundits have mixed or negative feelings <\/a>about the relatively new technology there\u2019s no question that it\u2019s becoming more prevalent among non-pro anglers too. <\/p>\n FFS is not necessarily easy to learn or implement, but the best units from companies like Humminbird and Garmin are increasingly \u201cplug and play.\u201d Just by setting up your beam correctly, it\u2019s possible to see fish, and even a small lure, 60 to 80 feet in front of the boat \u2014 or farther. Besides helping you locate fish, Humminbird\u2019s MEGA Live and LiveScope can help anglers make adjustments to lure styles, colors and retrieves in real time. If you\u2019re ready to make the leap into FFS, you\u2019ll first have to decide on which unit to run. I compared two of the most popular units, MEGA Live and LiveScope, to help you decide. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tSee It<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tSee It<\/a> I owned Humminbird units on my past two boats, and switched to Garmin units on my current one. I\u2019ve also previously owned Lowrance units, so I started this testing process with a pretty solid understanding of the top companies\u2019 lineups. I supplemented that by getting into boats with top tournament anglers, practitioners and teaching guides including Texas pro Keith Combs, New York rookie phenom Kyle Patrick, and former competitor, now a provider of electronics lessons, Chad Morgenthaler. They all answered my questions directly and honestly. We fished water 2- to 60-feet deep, for largemouths, smallmouths, and spotted bass, in various seasons and water clarities. Without insights from the pros, I wouldn\u2019t have learned half as much as I did, and I still have a long way to go to become anywhere near as proficient as them.<\/p>\n While I was introduced to both the Humminbird and Garmin units in the boats of the many bass pros, much of my testing came in my own boat. I wanted to see if someone without those professional advantages could learn these units and maximize their effectiveness. I did get some hints through YouTube and the occasional calls stemming from frustration, but I found that just getting up and running was not that hard. The difficulty is in maximizing their effectiveness.<\/p>\n Read Next<\/strong>: The Best Fish Finders<\/a><\/p>\n I found Garmin\u2019s menus to be more intuitive and easier to scroll through and find what I needed. With Humminbird, sometimes it was less obvious. Once I understood the terminology and placement, they were close, but I\u2019d still give the edge to Garmin.<\/p>\n However, in terms of hooking up all of the wiring, particularly at a dark boat ramp in the pre-dawn hours, I found Humminbird\u2019s setup to be better. I could \u201cfeel\u201d the placement of the wires and figure out where they should be. I don\u2019t like leaving the units hooked up while trailering \u2014 not only is the vibration potentially a problem, but it\u2019s too easy to pry away these high-dollar electronics even with some sort of locking system. Accordingly, I do a lot of hooking them up at odd times and strange angles, and the Bird gets the nod here. I will say that Garmin\u2019s wires are better at staying connected in rough water. With both of them, be careful that you don\u2019t bend any of the pins.<\/p>\n It was also easier for a relative Luddite like me to get the Garmin to pick up objects at a distance. Yes, I needed a little bit of guidance on settings, but the process was relatively painless and semi-universal. Both brands need some adjustments based on conditions, but the Garmin needed less. That\u2019s a big advantage for someone like me.<\/p>\n Humminbird has come a long way in terms of picture quality. That was a major distinguishing point in the past, when Garmin\u2019s image resolution was vastly superior. Now it\u2019s close to a tie, with Garmin getting a slight edge. When Garmin units are dialed in properly, you can see the direction a fish is facing and other small details that can make a big difference.<\/p>\n If you fish long days, both units will likely require a dedicated power source. A drop in voltage beyond certain levels tends to degrade the picture quality. I found it to be a minor annoyance with both, but slightly more troublesome with the Humminbirds.<\/p>\n Before getting into Garmins, I\u2019d been told that Humminbird\u2019s side-imaging technology was better, and after using both, I\u2019d tend to agree. I can still pick up more objects more clearly at a greater distance with Humminbirds than with my Garmins. I know that this review is about forward-facing sonar, not side-imaging, but I think it\u2019s still relevant because if you have to choose one brand or the other, you\u2019ll want to consider both uses. On offshore fisheries, I still spend as much time scanning to the side as I do actually fishing, so give Humminbird a slight edge there.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 126sv and LiveScope, Tested and Reviewed<\/a><\/p>\n Overall, I found my Humminbird graphs to be a little more buggy and sensitive to change. I had to send one back after a short period of time because it flipped out on me. While the company took care of it right away, it was an inconvenience and not a confidence-builder. The only problems I\u2019ve had with my Garmin were a transducer not set up correctly from the company and a compass that needed to be recalibrated after two years.<\/p>\n I like the fact that LiveScope has a variety of transducer options at several different price points, but note that it can be a money pit. Be sure to choose the ducer you need for the way you fish, not to just to keep up with the Joneses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Humminbird had to play catch up for a while, but they\u2019ve done a good job, making their transducers more manageable and reliable. Moreover, they\u2019re compatible with Apex, Solix, and Helix models.<\/p>\n Photo by Scott Einsmann<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Choosing which of these technologies you want to employ may also involve other products. In an ideal world, you\u2019d run the same brand of trolling motor and graphs to take advantage of their \u201cone boat\u201d compatibility. Yes, you can run different ones, but it may put you at a slight disadvantage. I have a Minn Kota Ultrex with my Garmins rather than the Garmin trolling motor because I think the former is actually more precise with my foot movements than the latter, which allows me to stay focused on a moving target. That may not matter as much if you have the Humminbird graphs because their \u201cTarget Lock\u201d system takes care of that electronically. It\u2019s a much-needed improvement over manually locking and I assume that all brands will have independent motor control in the future.<\/p>\n Furthermore, there\u2019s the matter of Hummingbird\u2019s 360 versus Garmin\u2019s Perspective Mode. While I\u2019ve chosen to run Garmins, and would do so again, I do feel that the Perspective Mode is a little more difficult to dial in than 360, a definite notch in Humminbird\u2019s belt. In fact, if I wanted to spend some additional cash, I think that the best front deck solution would be a 12-inch screen for LiveScope and a 9- or 10-inch screen adjacent to it with 360.<\/p>\n
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Testing MEGA Live and LiveScope<\/h2>\n
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Megalive vs Livescope: Ease of Use<\/h2>\n
MEGA Live vs LiveScope: Clarity and Accuracy<\/h2>\n
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Garmin vs Humminbird: Customer Support<\/h2>\n
MEGA Live vs LiveScope: Additional Features<\/h2>\n
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