Humminbird Mega Live 2

How well is it built?

The Mega Live 2 is a transducer built to sit on a trolling-motor shaft, and it mounts on either side of it. Because it's fixed to the shaft, it should point wherever you steer the motor, which is pretty much the whole idea of forward-facing live sonar.

It runs on 12V, with a power draw of 0.93A nominal and 2.5A when operating, so it shouldn't put a heavy load on a boat's electrics over a day. A 3m power cable and a 6m Ethernet cable are supplied, and that length of Ethernet gives you some room to route it back to the display.

I think a 9.2 is fair for what's essentially a transducer and a mount. It's built to work with Humminbird's APEX, SOLIX G3 and XPLORE displays and with Minn Kota trolling motors, so the parts are designed to fit together rather than being bodged into place.

To be fair, though, it's only ever as good as the display and the motor you pair it with, and that's worth bearing in mind.

Sonar & Features

So, what makes live sonar different? A standard fish finder draws a scrolling history of what has already passed under the boat, while live sonar shows what's in the beam right now. With the Mega Live 2, that means watching fish and structure in real time, out to a range of 45m.

There are three views. Between them, Forward, Down and Landscape show what's down, out and around the boat, so you can choose the one that suits how you're fishing.

The transducer covers 20 x 120 degrees and runs a 1005kHz CHIRP frequency, while MEGA Imaging detail and an optimised cone angle are there to keep the returns clear. Bottom interference is removed too, which should help when fish are sitting tight to the bottom.

You also get 15 colour palettes, and with the optional AS GPS HS receiver it can mark and view waypoints. For seeing exactly where pike are holding around a drop-off or a weedbed, I think the 9.4 is deserved.

Ease of Use

Fitting it should be fairly straightforward if you already have the right kit, because it mounts on either side of the trolling-motor shaft and runs back to the display on the supplied cables. The catch is that word compatible.

You need a Humminbird APEX, SOLIX G3 or XPLORE display, and the Mega Live 2 relies on one of those to show its picture.

Once it's running, the live picture should be easy enough to follow on a good screen, and 15 colour palettes let you set it up to suit your eyes and the light.

To be fair, reading live sonar well takes practice, because you're interpreting moving returns rather than a simple fish symbol.

The 8.6 comes down to the extra kit and the learning curve. You need the right display, a trolling motor and a 12V supply, and there's more to set up than with an all-in-one unit like the Humminbird Piranha MAX 4.

For anglers who already run a compatible Humminbird screen, though, it's a pretty simple upgrade.

Is it good value for money?

Is it worth it? It's one of the dearer pieces of sonar you can buy, and unless you already own a compatible screen you're buying a display as well, so the total outlay from scratch is a big one. That's why value is its lowest mark.

If you already own an APEX, SOLIX G3 or XPLORE, the sums look very different. You're adding live Forward, Down and Landscape views to a screen you've already paid for, and that's a big step up in what shows on screen around the boat.

For a pike angler working features from a boat, that should make a real difference to where you put your lures.

For me, the Mega Live 2 suits the committed boat angler who fishes for pike, zander or other predators from a boat with a trolling motor and already runs a compatible Humminbird display.

If you need a complete fish finder in one box, the Humminbird XPLORE CMSI+ is the place to start, and the Mega Live 2 can be added to it later.