Angler's Edge Mapping: a heads-up

Did not know that about Video refit, good to know!!!

 

http://www.videorefitshop.com/plasma-lcd-tv-repair/portage-avenue-winnipeg/

 

I didn't know that either, that is awesome!

 

I'm surprised that hasn't been brought up or "leaked" lol

Real good though, and not to get too far off topic, how sweet would it be for them to start doing marcum and vexlar etc!!!

 

The Phrase would be "stupid not too"
The Tec behind that stuff is really not to difficult , check power, replace a switch, test ducer , replace a board. Getting "certified" would be more difficult than stocking the correct parts

 

Humminbird's popularity is a result (in my opinion) 1)-- Marketing: Lindner's Angling Edge; Uncut Angling; Gussy; Kez; Darrin Bohonis and namely-- local tackle shops that push it way more than Lowrance or Garmin.

2) Price point-- average guys looking to rig a new to them boat, look at a list of features on the boxes and compare prices. I could be wrong, but i believe this directly ties into why the tackle shops focus on birds.

My thought is-- get a dedicated, knowledgable AEM dealer that carries Lowrance (and a good selection...not just Elite Ice units) to have at the minimum-- one HDS-12 powered up displaying AEM.

Easier said than done around here. Not a shot at Pro Am in any way, but it's very obvious they prefer to focus on being a Humminbird shop...fair enough, they have to make a living.

Bottom line-- Winnipeg is REALLY lacking a Lowrance shop...big time. Fricken birds everywhere.

Cabelas is about the only place in the city that has a Lowrance unit powered up....pretty sad. Trouble with Cabelas is, as far as I know, they do not sell certain products at certain stores....they buy for Canada when they buy...again, I could be wrong

The key is to get the guy walking into a tackle retailer considering Lowrance, when he or she has cash in hand and asking "what's the difference between this fishfinder and that one?" Today, in Wpg, you're gonna get "these humminbirds are very popular" ....cuz that's what they want you to buy.

Initially, the thought of making my own maps was really exciting.....now, I consider it a waste of money and time. Way prefer the completed, detailed awesomeness that only AEM can offer...and that's the God's honest truth.

Who (besides guys that fish for a living and are on the water 6 days a week) really want to blow away an entire weekend to get PART of a lake mapped...?? Even then, the maps are of questionable quality, generally full of errors. Fuggit, I like to fish...not go "boating".

 

We are looking into other retail options. I don't want to say any more than that right now....but I feel you guys have a pretty good grasp on why the sonar market is what it is in this region right now. There is a lot of inertia to contend with....but when a high-end Bird angler is willing to shell out for an HDS-9gen2touch just so he can run our maps on a big display (true story)....well, we're pretty sure we've got something good going.

Every 2nd question we get asked is "are your maps compatible with Bird" or "when will they be compatible with Bird", so I'm going to restate here: Navico (Lowrance parent company) provides the hardware and software tools for small companies like us to produce content compatible with their units. The other major sonar companies (Humminbird, Garmin) do not, so we have no choice to be Navico exclusive for the foreseeable future. That being said....I am very high on the quality of Navico products, and have been for a long time. Between day job, pleasure and now AEM, I have likely purchased 15 units....and despite putting them through the ringer (especially with my fisheries biology day job) have only ever had to send one in for repairs.

I can't wait for my new boat to arrive, and get Lowrance HDS + AEM + xi5 all rigged up....I think @Bryan is already well-aware, but the capabilities are going to blow a lot of people's minds!

 

Absolutely mind blowing, @craigm your going to love that combination.

I've had the Xi5 and gateway linked to my HDS since last year.The addition of the AEM last September, a second HDS and the point 1 this year is a game changer. Like I told @Ernie, if I was to do it again I would get the point 1 prior to the gateway. The functionality of the point 1, accuracy of the AEM maps and knowing exactly the heading location is truly remarkable. I am able to navigate into locations with my tiller that prior I would of only entered with the electric.

Its put more fish in my boat.

 

You will find the highlighted company will do everything to block you...I have witnessed it first hand. They do not want their consumers to have any other option.

 

Yeah, I had heard rumblings of that. We haven't actually tried to inquire with Garmin directly, but others like us have....no go.

 

Does AEM have maps for LOTW, Buffalo Bay and Minaki??

 

Nope, not yet @Tinman .

 

You've got a good chunk of shoal done though...

 

Craig does that mean you are thinking of doing LOTW for mapping? I would have thought with lake master and navionics and the vast size of LOTW that is just was not an option. I would consider switching if that was the case as would probably a huge amount of people. For the one lake that you have mapped that I fish 4-5 times a year its not even a consideration for me. If you guys could get LOTW done that would be a game changer for you IMO. There are a lot of serious cottager/fishermen on LOTW and lets face it if you have a cabin on LOTW your not really leaving to fish other lakes very often which would have the majority of people there never wanting or needing the AEM maps. That even opens up the tourist market for the droves of yankees that come up to fish it as well. Only problem is how long would it take to get that mapped? (2-3 years) Could you share data to get it done? I know people like Andrew Klassen have been mapping LOTW for some time now and discovered more than one hidden gem!!

 

We are thinking of doing Lotw. If we decide to tackle it, would have to be in sections released over a period of several years (same as shoal). Unwilling to say more than that right now. I know a few guys that have bits and pieces of data (and one guy with a good sized chunk mapped very well) that they have mapped with dr depth or more recently Insight Genesis or auto chart....to be honest unless the person has been meticulous with their data collection and management, I'm not sure we'd want it....have no desire to produce something that isn't high quality....and seperating the good from the bad might be more trouble than it's worth.

 

I'm glad to hear lotw is a thought in your mind thou. It's brutal to see how far out navionics is out on there. Was out with brett from pro am for half a hour on Saturday night and he had his auto chart running and we found a hump to be a long way off of what it was showing.

 

Yup navionics sucks, hit a rock last weekend. Chart showed it at least 75' over.

 

That's awesome !!
Sign me up when that gets done!!
May I suggest doing south of big narrows first

 

Walleye eater town by the Manitou would be interesting to see on a detailed accurate map. Tons of deeper structure.

There'd be some real cool stuff to see out west for Fall Smallies too!

What a total BEAST to map....yikes! Say good bye to your wife and kids for awhile if you tackle that one

 

There's no walleye In the Manitou... atleast to what we've found this year. Only pulled 1 limit of eyes from the Manitou and big stone this year.