Head Hunter is fitted with a Simrad SY50C omni sonar. It’s one of the best tools we have for finding fish before we put a line in the water.
A normal fish finder (sounder) only looks straight down, so it shows what’s directly under the boat. An omni sonar looks out in every direction at once, all the way around us. It can pick up baitfish schools, tuna schools and other marks well away from the boat, and show us which way they’re moving.
That matters for marlin and tuna fishing, because the fish are often not under the boat. Seeing bait and fish at a distance lets us make a decision, rather than hoping we happen to drive over them. Marlin follow the bait, and tuna are often feeding on it, so finding bait is a big part of finding them.
It isn’t magic. The sonar finds fish for us, but it can’t make them bite. Weather, water temperature and conditions on the day still decide how good the fishing is. What it does is give us more information and better odds, and means we spend less time searching and more time fishing.
You don’t need to know how any of it works. Our skipper does the reading and decides where to go. Your job is to enjoy the ride and be ready when the reel screams.
There’s no extra charge for the sonar.
