depth raider vs fishhawk

price difference is BIG .. has anyone had both to compare ??

Feedback definitely seemed to help. Was out last Saturday and went 5 for 6 on browns. My best trip ever in my boat - I just started fishing Lake Michigan last year.  We found that we were catching in a small pocket of warm water (temp on the probe) and we looped back and forth through same area finding that temp and keeping speed at the probe consistent and hooked up at least once on every pass. I'm sure we could have got a limit if we had more time to fish, but we had to leave... But yeah the whole time was only caring about numbers on the probe. Exciting start of the year for me! Looking forward to many more fish in the boat this year! Can't wait for coho!

Big musky, I do not. Gps tells u nothing about the current really. I don't care if my surface speed is 4mph. As long as the down speed is right then I'm good. Use rigger cables, and boards to understand the direction of current. Direction is usually the tougher part for guys. Most days on the wi side de your current will be from a northerly direction, just have to work off of that.

I'm going to be blunt and to the point. Gps speed means nothing if u own a speed and temp probe. As a matter of fact I turn my sog on gps off during the season. Probes are for easy reference and repeatabily no matter what direction you are trolling. When I do my classes I say to do 1.9, but with all the different units out there, it's not concrete. Trial and error is the best way to find your"magic" number. Once u start getting bit that's your number. Use a 12lb ball as the more vertical the better. There are currents throughout the water column, including the surface. So the probe goes in the water everyday even if it's 8' down. You HAVE to learn how to read current to make your probe beneficial. Just because you have one doesn't mean that fish will be jumping in the boat! Lol. Good luck

The current varies. The unit is consistent but 0.4mph slower than GPS. The challenge for this old brain was to judge direction and velocity of the under current. When I was fishing with the DR-1000 my goal regardless of direction my goal was to keep the probe speed 1.9-2.0. Frequently that would require quite different rpms on the kicker to maintain that speed. Some days when the probe was kept at 1.9 mph heading in one direction the GPS would be up to 1mph faster and the reverse direction 1mph slower.

Honestly I don’t spend much time looking at the GPS and focus on the Depth Raider. I have the DRX-10 so when the speeds match I know there is little current in that area.

Not sure always best to just work one speed and if not getting bit will try faster or slower to see if that helps. Depending on which side of the boat a bite comes on a turn, can be helpful in finding speed for that day.

I generally try to figure out the direction the current is coming from and head directly into it. I also watch the angle of my downrigger wire in relation to the boom on my center rigger to help stay in the current. I adjust the angle of my troll to keep the wire in line with the boom.  Some days the current can be pretty wild and a challenge to maintain desired speed.

Grey Beard

Thanks Grey Beard, that's interesting... It is a  DR-1000 that I got, so if I'm understanding right, if I'm running shallow where there's likely no sub current, and the DR says 1.4, does that mean its really running at 1.8?

And if that's true, is there a trick to knowing when the variance is right or not?  Basically what I mean is - how would I know when to expect that its off by .4 verses when its accurate?

The speed reading on the Depth Raider as compared to gps depends on which model you are using. The original DR-1000 reads 0.4mph slower than gps in the absence of current. The DRX-10 is calibrated to read the same as gps.

Grey Beard 

depth raider will run about 0.5mph slower than your gps assuming no currents.  The angle of attack of the probe can also slightly impact the speed reading as well.  A heavier ball will help with that.  On a manual rigger I run a 10lber.  The importance of the probe is keeping a consistent speed at the ball and not so much the true speed.  Jason Woda's class will tell you to run 1.9mph at the probe for Kings.  For browns, I have run faster and slower and didn't matter much.

I just got a used Depth Raider over this winter, and tried it out the first time last Saturday.  Fishing in < 30 FOW, and lures running at 10-15', I had the probe down at around 12'...    I was noticing speed differences between my GPS SOG and the Depth Raider of as much as 1mph, is that reasonable to assume is legit for even that shallow? Or should I be worried about Depth Raider calibration (especially given it was used one).

Most cases my GPS SOG was faster (say 3.0mph) to my Depth Raider running at slower, 2.2 mph...

One last question (for now) does blow back impact the reading on the probe? Like I had it setup using only an 8lb weight since it was so shallow, but wonder if the angle the line/probe runs at changes the accuracy of reading?

When running a probe, what depth do you begin to notice current?  I was thinking it may not be required early season when most fish are near the surface.  

purchased X4d .. cant wait to use 

Had the Depth Raider and got sick of the coated cable so switched to Fish Hawk. If I had it to do all over again I would go with the Smart Troll.