Our July/August Featured Sponsor is Lowrance Electronics Inc.

by Pete Robbins
(Who is Pete Robbins & what else has he written?)

Where would bass fishing be without sonar?

We probably wouldn't have developed techniques like dropshotting, carolina rigging and deep cranking? You wouldn't be able to find deep brushpiles, and the terms "dropoff," "ledge" and "creek channel" wouldn't be used so frequently, if at all. In fact, we'd probably all still be beating the bank, with our backs to offshore structure.

We wouldn't catch nearly as many fish, either.

And that doesn't even consider the damage we'd probably do to our boats, running them up on all sorts of shallow underwater obstacles.

The introduction of sonar to bass fishing, and thus the development of all of the advantages outlined above, can be traced back to the Lowrance family, who founded the first company to bring sonar to sportfishing. Some of you, particularly the older fishermen among us, may remember the "little green box," also known as the "Fish Lo-K-Tor," that Darrell Lowrance and his father and brother developed approximately fifty years ago.

Lowrance remains the leader in the sportfishing sonar industry, bringing new developments to market nearly every year while retaining a focus on customer service and on the grassroots nature of our sport.

EMPHASIS ON THE FEDERATION
Bill Callaway, Vice President of Marketing for Lowrance, states that the "company started at the grassroots level." To illustrate, he tells stories of Darrell Lowrance personally instructing bass fishermen throughout the country on how to operate the little green box when it was first introduced.

"Over the years," Callaway says, "we have made an effort to never lose sight of the fact that the grassroots fishermen are the backbone of the industry." He admits, however, that even though the weekend angler is "vital to our efforts, to some degree we had lost sight of just how critical they are." In order to make up for that lost time, Lowrance has been a sponsor of the B.A.S.S. Federation, including the Virginia Federation, and Callaway stresses that Lowrance has been "working really hard for the past year or so in particular to grow that relationship.

Lowrance National Director of Marketing Communications David Ittner adds that the Federation is our "highest ranking" constituency, and the "foundation for going forward." Still, Lowrance does not appeal to the bass fishing community only -- they also work with groups and tournament trails related to walleye and saltwater fish as well, and advertise in over thirty publications. Rather than hindering their support of bass fishing, this has actually proven to be a boon to bass fishermen, as the cross-pollination of ideas has spurred on technological and conceptual advances that might not otherwise have occurred. For example, when Lowrance first came out with color LCD units, they thought they would appeal primarily (if not exclusively) to the saltwater market, but they have seen increasing interest from other sectors. Now, Callaway says, the company is going to make a serious push to get color units on the Bassmasters Classic boats, as many of the fishermen have raved about the ability of colored screens to help them differentiate underwater objects.

MUTUAL BENEFITS
The President of each state Federation is given the option to participate at one of three levels of involvement with Lowrance. Depending on which level is chosen, that state is given a certain amount of discounted products, pricing breaks and financial incentives. Tournament success is rewarded -- the Federation which produced the winner at the recent National Championship on Lake Tuscaloosa received substantial financial bonuses.

Tournament success is not the only barometer for a Federation's overall achievements, however. Lowrance looks to the Federations to use their products for other goals, as well. For example, training seminars are encouraged, as is involvement with youth activities and environmental causes. Hats, stickers and banners should be prominently displayed, and there exist criteria that require for advertising and signage to show mutual support.

The Federation judged by Lowrance to have the best overall program also receives substantial rewards. For two years running, the leader in that contest has been the Indiana Federation. It's time to wrestle away that crown.....how about it, Virginia?

As many of you know, there have been rumors, on the internet and elsewhere, that B.A.S.S. is planning to cast off the Federation from its programs. When asked about this, Ittner is strong in his support of maintaining the marriage of the two. Simply put, he says, "one without the other is not nearly as strong," and Lowrance is committed to keeping that union whole.

COMPETITION
Lowrance was the first, but does that necessarily mean it remains the best nearly fifty years later?

The answer among bass fishermen is a resounding "YES!" The reasons for this are simple: service, innovation and reliability.

Callaway admits that the entrance into the market of other sonar companies has been good for Lowrance. "All of our competitors produce a good product," he says, "but we remain the leaders, ahead of everyone else." He says Lowrance is in constant contact with fishermen, pros and amateurs alike. "We listen to them," he says, " and design all of our products in direct response to their needs."

Additionally, Lowrance's reputation for service is unmatched. "If you have a problem," Callaway says proudly, "you make one phone call and if it's repairable we'll repair it. If not, you'll get a new unit."

TRENDS IN ELECTRONICS
Clearly, the biggest thing to hit fishing electronics in recent years has been GPS. This, coupled with increasingly powerful sonar units, has made some fishermen feel as if they need a degree in computer science in order to operate their bassboats.

Callaway stresses that Lowrance has made substantial efforts to make their units user-friendly. "It’s like the VCR pre-record problems," he says. "If you can’t use your equipment efficiently, you lose the benefits of the features."

While Lowrance has managed to simplify the operation of their sonar and GPS units, this has not come at the expense of technological superiority. Callaway says that feedback from Lowrance pro-staffers consistently indicates that fishermen "need to understand that our products do so much more than just find fish. With so many features, you can change, modify, fine tune and personalize settings to fit your style of fishing."

Compared to the earliest LCD units, today’s versions are light years ahead. Callaway says that on the early models, you "were lucky if you had 100 pixels vertically. This means that if you were in 100 feet of water, each was represented in a single pixel. If you had two or three fish grouped together, they would show up as a single fish." Now, however, models such as Lowrance’s popular X-97 feature screens boasting 320 vertical pixels and 320 horizontal pixels, all at an affordable price of only a few hundred dollars.

Lowrance has also pioneered the use of digital memory cards for sonar and GPS applications. Fishermen can record portions of their favorite waters, take them home, and then pull those recordings up to study, print, or email. The Lowrance website is a tremendous source of instruction in this regard, providing a sonar emulator, a great tutorial, and the ability to change settings with a single click of the mouse. Also, the memory cards are not only available from Lowrance dealers – they can be bought at virtually any computer or camera store in the country.

Lowrance recognizes that some fishermen may not have computers, or may not be particularly fluent in using their computers, but may still want to get the benefit of Lowrance’s advanced technologies. For them, the company has provided for the use of "Freedom Maps." There are a total of 15 such maps that cover the entire country. Similarly, the Lowrance GPS units are compatible with Navionics Hotmaps, which provide not only geographical guidance, but also contour lines. Additionally, whenever Lowrance comes out with a software enhancement, they notify all databased customers. At that point, customers can go to the Lowrance website and download the enhancement. Those not comfortable with that process can contact the company and receive the appropriate card in the mail. "In other words, you don’t have to be a computer expert to get the most out of our products," Callaway says.

FUTURE TRENDS
Both Callaway and Ittner express great excitement over Lowrance’s short-term and long-term plans for future enhancements. The average Federation member is already pretty advanced, they say, many having an LCX-15MT (sonar/GPS combo) on the console of their boats, a smaller LMS 320 on the bow, and perhaps a flasher as well. Still, progress can and will be made in the future, and fishermen will reap substantial benefits.

First and foremost, they stress that the future will bring smaller units, which will be as strong if not stronger than those currently attached to our boats. With this said, however, it must be noted that the current flagship of Lowrance’s line is the 104c, a color combination GPS/Sonar with a massive 10.4" screen. Although originally targeted at the saltwater market, it has quickly gained a following among serious walleye anglers as well. Can the bass market be far behind? In an age of 300 HP motors, $20 crankbaits and 100+ lb. thrust trolling motors, don’t rule it out.

Callaway also believes that color screens will also become more commonplace on fishing electronics. "Some guys already strictly want color." Toward this end, Lowrance has developed the X-67c, a color unit with a suggested retail price of $299. "It’s just a fabulous sonar unit," he says.

Bill Callaway and David Ittner can be reached at bcallaway@lowrance.com and dittner@lowrance.com, respectively.

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