A short article going back to 1957 when Carl Lowrance invented a small electronic box that flashed instant water depths and possible fish targets, and looking forward to a near future where anglers will find their lake depth screens will appear in 3-D effect to more easily visualize the haunts of fish.
"In my fishing boat the other day I turned on a state-of-the-art Lowrance 104 unit that combines sonar with GPS and mapping capabilities. It's the fishing version of shock and awe. On a split-screen as clear as color television, the Lowrance 104 showed the bottom depth, possible fish or bait targets and bottom hardness � and that's just one side of the screen."(Lowrance at Amazon.com)
"The X135 has 4000 watts peak-to-peak power for depths to 1,000 feet. It comes with �Fish I.D.� This feature automatically interprets sonar echoes and displays them as fish symbols. The �FasTrack� feature lets you speed your boat over the water and watch the bottom contours and depths while you hunt out the perfect spot."
Humminbird's SmartCast Fish Finder Watch has been out for a while, and I've written about it before. But here is another link to it since a new weblog called Wrist Dreams has found out about it as well. They also highlight some other watches for marine use.
"The sensor reads water depth up to 100' with a 90� sonar beam to find the sport where fish hide. All controls are operated from the one-touch wrist unit, including the fish proximity alarm, sensitivity level, depth range, and fish identifier. The remote sensor provides 400 hours of continuous usage, and automatically shuts off after it is removed from water to conserve battery life." (Humminbird's Smartcast at Amazon.com)
and looking forward to a near future where anglers will find their lake depth screens will appear in 3-D effect to more easily visualize the haunts of fish.
Humminbird's SmartCast Fish Finder Watch has been out for a while, and I've written about it