My brother in law has Active target on his boat, I had a Humminbird Helix 7 and Mega Live, I was not at all impressed with Active target. But I know you are wanting to network so you are kinda in a pickle. Active Target may work great for you,

Well I have fished from one several times but did not dare to try and stand being I am 62 years old, Bad knees, 6'5" 270 LBS

 I would have fallen out of the boat 3 times.

I use those and the Heavy cover hooks a lot down here in Florida Punching into the thickest, nastiest stuff you can find. A tip that will increase hookups even more is when you tie on the hook, use a snell knot. Line front the rod thru the eye on the barb side, Tie the snell then when your weight goes down hard on the hook set it pushes the barb into perfect position. Tie it wrong and you will not be getting hooked up.

I got hooked on the Krej, i like the way it falls  backwards a little

After sleeping on it you actually were fishing where many fail to fish because of the wind and boat traffic. Wind blown shores, waves breaking both have a positive effect, it adds oxygen to the water.

How far did he fly when you set the hook?