Story by Hunter Sales | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
I’ve mentioned in previous columns that utilizing my electronics are one of my strengths as an angler and that I expect that trend to continue into 2025. However, the setup that an angler runs must be tailored to his approach for a season. With real-time imaging units (forward-facing sonar or FFS) being banned for 2025, my approach will have to change. I expect Humminbird’s Mega 360 to be the biggest player this season, and I’m going to discuss my idea of the perfect electronics setup to take advantage of this technology.
While I’m still not 100% certain which boat I’ll be fishing out of in 2025, I do have my electronics setup figured out. I’ve run every brand of graph over the years, and they all have their advantages. Humminbird’s Lakemaster has long been regarded as the best mapping solution available, while Lowrance users have bragged about their interface and waypoint management abilities.
In 2025, Humminbird’s “One Boat Network” will be a factor for me. The Mega 360 works great as a stand-alone unit and can certainly be implemented along with another manufacturer’s graphs at the console, the ability to mark waypoints at your console and see those units on your 360 at the bow will really help an angler be efficient. Adding a heading sensor to the unit will ensure the ability to have waypoints show up accurately so that if you see a waypoint on the 360 screen at 10 o’clock, your target will be located at 10 o’clock. This ability to hit your target on each cast without the use of live sonar will be crucial this season.
Over the past two seasons, I have found myself graphing far less than in years past. It was much easier to put the trolling motor down on places and utilize FFS to interpret what was happening below the water in real time. Due to this, I only ran one graph at the console in 2024. I would use that unit for mapping and would split the screen on the rare occasions that I was using side-scan. In 2025, utilizing side scan and down scan will be much more important, so I plan to run two 12-inch units at the console. This will give me one for mapping, sonar, and down scan and the other unit for side scan. Having a dedicated screen for side-imaging will allow me to pick up subtle groups of fish or pieces of structure that I could have missed on a split-screen view.
Aside from my 12-inch Humminbird XPLORE unit that I will be running for my Mega 360 up front, I will have a 10-inch unit dedicated to mapping and 2D sonar. This will allow me to follow contours, see fish below the boat, and have a dedicated screen for my 360 imaging. These graphs will be networked with the Quest trolling motor and the units at the console through the 5-port switch from Humminbird. This will ensure that they are all able to talk to each other and share waypoints. All of my electronics will be powered by two 16v 50 AH ProGuide lithium batteries wired in parallel ensuring that I keep proper, stable voltage all day long. My Quest trolling motor will be powered by two 36v 50 AH ProGuide lithium batteries wired in parallel.
I get a ton of questions around my preferred electronics setup and how this will be changing in 2025, so I thought it would be appropriate to address this for everyone who has yet to rig their boats for the 2025 season. I’m big on being efficient on the water, and there is no doubt that the proper electronic setup can make or break your time on the water. I’m excited to be able to put this setup to the test at Santee Cooper.
Hunter Sales – Angler Profile
