Just wondering suggestions for a good quality fish locator to buy which is worth the money and works excellent. I fish mostly Lake Winnebago. With GPS too.
Wisconsin Fishing Discussion
Best fish locator for the money
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I was leaning toward the Hummingbird Helex 7 with down imaging and GPS with G2. Now I am considering the Helex 5 with down imaging and Side imaging with GPS and G2 for the same money as the 7 inch model. Seeing that both are a step up from my Lowrance 522 c with less than a 4 inch screen. Is there a ostium depth for side imaging? I normally fish from 5 to 25 feet of water. Lund
Lund , down you can see more detail. you will see if it's a tree sticking up, on sonar it could appear as fish stacked. with the down the image is better, you'd see it was a log and sticks.
Side imaging is to the side, much harder to read if you don't mess with it but you can locate weeds, bigger rocks, structure more easily without riding over the top of it. I fish shallower lakes, so side imaging is much more useful for me. I can set it to 60 ft and run a shoreline. I've located fish with it, but it took me many times to realize what it what. you catch fish in a spot, then scan it, you'll know. it takes time...most don't have that type of time.
I use SI more to find the structure that "may" hold fish rather than using it to find the fish themselves. Personally, I think down scan imaging is a waste of money, I know guys with it, they think the same. Everyone will have a different opinion though.
Also what the manufacture doesn't tell you is that you should really run your SI off just one side WO the prop wash if you want the best detail. also that it should be run to 30ft. once you start doing 90ft or more it's just so hard to see anything. then again, i'm a novice at it. i catch fish now, i caught fish wo out it just fine. it has helped me most by way of marking waypoints off structure i see. then going back and fishing it.
lots if you Google... diff is transducer and detail
Sample : www.humminbird.com/Category/Technology/Down-Imaging/
I like the bigger screen. I have a lowrance HDS10 and Humminbird 999 (7 inch screen). Personally I like my Lowrance better (I had a HDS 7, replaced it with the bird 999)...neither have i had issues with so CS has never been called. HDS7 is on my snowmobile now.
If I were to recommend a unit...I can't. I'd just say find one that has a GPS, one you can buy maps for and that's about it. One that is in your budget.
I say buy the biggest screen you can afford. I came from a 5...I couldn't go back. I like running split screen and a 5 is pretty lame for that. I like to run the GPS screen with contours and 2D depth. I think brand is irrelevant.
Personally I think side scan you won't get the money out of. Frustration, yes. I personally don't think it's worth it, but I know many others love it. I catch fish, I don't need that side scan to catch a limit of walleyes. I don't need it to find a transition for perch. To each his own, but SS was a waste for me in hindsight.
Regardless of brand, many come base us maps. Don't be fooled, they are junk. if you want lake maps that are pretty accurate within 20 ft...you'll need to purchase navionics or lakemaster.
Helix 7 and nav chip on amazon. I paid 580 for both. Don' spend 199 on a Wisconsin chip, at most 130
I put a Hummingbird Helix 7 with a Navionics chip in it on my boat last fall. Fished Winnebago and up north a few times and it was everything I hoped for and more. I did get the unit with down imaging. Will need to play with that some to better understand it. In the little I used it on Bago I would run split screen with sonar and the map chip side by side. It was quite accurate. Anxious to use it again and learn more. Recovering from shoulder replacement surgery so no boat in the water for me till fall at the best. The Hummingbird unit was $450 and the Navionics chip $199. Covered most of the cost with Sheels gift cards as rewards from a Sheels credit card.
Displaying 1 to 15 of 21 posts
