If there’s anything that’s become apparent about Raymarine in recent years, it’s that they’ve put saltwater anglers squarely in their sights. Rather than trying to be all things to all fishermen, this company has its focus on creating MFDs that are ideal for offshore and coastal inshore saltwater fishermen, with cutting-edge sonar tech, easy and efficient chart-plotter navigation, brighter and higher-resolution touchscreen displays, and blazing-fast speeds via quad- and six-core processors. Net result? Whether you’re trying to hook up with snook, sailfish or anything in between, Raymarine has got you covered. And with the latest Lighthouse software, your angling abilities are boosted even more.
The first new trick in the Raymarine Axiom playbook is called Smart Drift, a feature that’s sure to be appreciated by any angler who’s ever tried to set up for a pinpoint drift across structure that’s holding fish. You know the normal drill: Get up-current/upwind of the structure, take your best guess as to where to position the boat to drift across it, shift into neutral, then deploy the lines and cross your fingers. If you guess right and drift where you had hoped you would just half of the time, you’re doing great—but Smart Drift takes all the guesswork out of this equation. Using this function, you can simply select the target hotspot you want to drift over on the chart-plotter screen. Then the big brain inside that box of Raymarine magic will take precise measurements of the wind and current effecting the boat to calculate the direction of drift, and create a drift vector line and starting point for you to work from. Position the boat as the electronics advise, drop your lines, and get ready for red-hot action. Added bonus: You can utilize Smart Drift not only from the chart plotter, but also from the fish-finder view by long-pressing the screen and selecting “Calculate Drift to Here” when you see an attractive-looking mark.
Along with Smart Drift, LightHouse OS brings with it enhanced fish-finding abilities with a zoom mode that auto-tracks bottom and provides a streamlined magnification window on the sonar screen. You can now also enter a GoTo destination or add a waypoint directly from the fish-finder screen itself. Simply long-press on any target that looks fishy, and a pop-up menu lets you choose from setting a waypoint, GoTo, adding a depth marker, or utilizing Smart Drift.
Anglers who take advantage of Power-Pole tech will be interested to hear about their new compatibility with Raymarine, another advancement that this LightHouse update delivers. You can now bring up controls for Power-Pole MOVE trolling motors right on the MFD screen. Then you can choose between manual control, set a route for the trolling motor to follow, use GPS anchoring, or hold a heading or course over ground. A slide-out sidebar provides the interface, and also allows you to seamlessly switch between a MOVE motor and Raymarine Evolution autopilot while navigating to the next hotspot. Power-Pole shallow-water anchor control is in the cards too, with another slide-out menu including control of individual Power-Poles or two Power-Poles in synch. And you audiophile anglers will enjoy the fact that you can now control Wet Sounds WS-BB-10 marine stereos too, via NMEA2000 and the MFD, negating the need for an additional remote at the helm.
One more new trick for the latest LightHouse is optimized compatibility with Florida Marine Tracks marine charting, which serves as more evidence of Raymarine’s dedication to serving anglers with saltwater running in their veins. These meticulously designed charts provide unparalleled accuracy and detail in the expansive flats and shallows of South Florida’s waterways, as well as high-resolution imagery that’s zoomable to 50 feet. You could spend decades learning a single slice of South Florida, or load a Florida Marine Tracks chip into your Axiom and run from the marked channels to deep in the mangroves without worry.
The bottom line? Some electronics manufacturers try to be all things to all anglers, even when some fishermen are more interested in walleye than wahoo. And diluting their focus means diluting what they ultimately deliver to you when you’re out on the water hunting for fish. That’s not the case with Raymarine, and if you’re a saltwater sharpie looking for the latest and greatest fish-catching abilities, it’s clear that LightHouse OS delivers more than ever before.
Check out LightHouse and more here raymarine.com/en-us/learning/online-guides/lighthouse4-7.
