Don’t know how many hours it will take because I’ve only got about 40 hours of seat time using mine.
I started catching fish vertical fishing the second time out.
I will add that I spent countless hours (months) reading and researching everything about the system prior to buying. I was a pushing minnows guy.
The Garmin tech told me that I knew more about the product than people that had owned it for 2 years.(doubt that) Helped me a lot but doesn’t replace seat time and practical experience.
After a very windy outing a couple weeks ago I pulled the trigger on an Ultrex because the window in vertical fishing is very small and I couldn’t stay in the fish. Hope the spot lock will help that.
To answer your question, like the other guys said, it depends on how well versed you are with the electronics you have and how much work you are willing to put in. I plan to live on the water this year and fish at least 5 days a week and hope I get better and better.
Chuck


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app