Lowrance Eagle Eye 9 FishFinder Review
In terms of Forward Facing Sonar, Lowrance has offered Active Target and Active Target 2 for some time now. While being an excellent choice for live sonar, it can be expensive. Luckily, the all new Lowrance Eagle Eye 9 Live Fishfinder is an exciting alternative to the more pricey forward facing sonar options.
A 9 inch screen with live sonar for under $1000 is just what Eagle Eye 9 live is all about. This includes both the unit itself AND the live transduce. This price point opens up live sonar for many to purchase without the need to break the bank.
As far as the quality of the sonar itself, it is an excellent picture reminiscent of the picture of active target 2. The only drawback is that Eagle Eye 9 Live sonar is a single beam. Active Target consists of three beams stitched together, which is what gives us the “ghost tree” at higher contrast and gain settings. These three beams give us a look all the way from a short distance behind the transducer to the water’s surface. The single beam of the Eagle Eye Live won’t have quite that coverage. For a lot of fishing, especially crappie fishing, I don’t consider this to be much of a drawback. For crappie, shorter distances within 20 feet of the boat are ideal for the most part. For bass, longer distances are much better. The transducer can be moved to shoot for distance or for close distances and under the boat. This is find perfect in either scenario as bass, which are getting more wary of the boat getting close to them, are much easier to get to bite the further out one can present a lure to them.
My verdict for the Lowrance Eagle Eye 9 is that it’s an excellent budget friendly option that can open up live sonar for those who don’t want to break the bank. I feel it will be able to do a great job in many applications. It may not give quite the expansive view of Active Target 2, but it will certainly do the job and do it right.
