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15 July 2024
Learn how Axiom takes the guesswork out of drift fishing.
Drift Fishing. Voodoo magic.
Until now, only the saltiest fishing captains had the experience, skills and natural intuition to make a drift work with repeatable success. Gauging the wind, tide and current to repeatedly land the boat over a reef or wreck loaded with gamefish is extremely challenging.
That’s why Raymarine developed Smart Drift™, a new feature for Axiom chartplotters running LightHouse 4.7 or greater. Now anyone can drift-fish like a seasoned pro. Smart Drift takes away the guesswork and replaces it with hard science. Drift, catch and repeat.
Today’s electronic charts hold a wealth of information about natural and artificial reefs, wrecks, fish attracting devices and other underwater habitat for fish. When you locate a feature, you want to fish, simply long-press on it, and select Calculate Drift to Here.
Do you have your own secret hotspot you saved from a previous trip? No worries, you can drift right over that spot in the same manner. Simply find your waypoint on the chart, long-press it, and select Calculate Drift to Here.
Sonar technology like CHIRP DownVision and CHIRP SideVision makes it easier to find and save locations of known and unknown underwater structures. Underwater structures provide cover for smaller fish, which become food for bigger ones. Effectively targeting an underwater structure can yield great benefits when seeking trophy fish.
When you see a promising object on the bottom on your fishfinder, long-press on the screen to pause the scroll and select Calculate Drift to Here.
No matter how you identified your target, Axiom can calculate the best starting point for your drift. After selecting Calculate Drift to Here, Axiom will prompt you to put your boat’s engines in neutral and let it move on its own for about 300 feet. Smart Drift calculates how your boat is moved by wind, tide, and current.
You can also specify the drift duration. How much time do you need for the boat to drift before reaching the target area? Ensure you have enough time to bait hooks, get lines in the water, and drop lures to the proper depth.
At the end of the test drift, Axiom will show a recommended starting point and drift vector. Drive your boat to the “ghost boat” icon on the chart. Put your engines back in neutral and start your drift. You’ll be amazed at how accurately your boat will drift back to the spot of interest, time after time. Don’t forget to put those lines in the water. The fish will be there waiting!
