Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Catching More Fish with a Fish Locator/Sounder

I consider myself a pretty hard-core angler. Success may be debatable but I have several boats over-equipped.
Even though I do use active target, I can't give it credit for putting fish in the boat.
The bigger challenge is understanding the species you are after and applying what you "see" to where they may or may not be.
I am more concerned with bottom depth, substrate and obviously, contours. Understanding fish movements and what they want is more important than actually seeing the fish. Seldom will you see WAE on a depth finder except in the case of suspended fish in deep water.
I use Lowrance products and have done quite a bit of beta testing for their C-Map Genisis mapping program. I've spent years building Bathymetry maps that I can bring up on chart page and decide where fish are "likely" to be with given conditions.
Livescope/active Target are not needed to gain advantage because as I said, they don't put fish in the boat.
I like dual frequency overlay capabilities and a unit that allows down scan and side scan as options. Bottom topography is your goal in conditions where fish hold away from shoreline structure. LMB tight to shore is something that requires you to pick a change in structure/habitat type and fish the transitions at the junction of those types. 1st drop or ledge off-shore will be the starting point for other species.
Price you are willing to pay will dictate the best unit for the job, and expensive is not always better but I would HIGHLY recommend GPS function so you can leave/make waypoints and navigate in pitch black conditions, which happens a lot if chasing SMB and WAE in summer conditions.