Fish finder features

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Kye
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Fish finder features

Post by Kye »

Howdy yakkers,

So I'm looking around for a fish finder and I'm curious to see what everyone uses.
Obviously water temp and depth are a must but that is pretty much standard on all FF.
I have a good understanding of fish finders and how to use them including the various sonar types.
What features do you find most important and what do you use the most?
What is the general opinion on side Imaging for kayaks.
I mostly beat the banks but do fish the depths sometimes too.
I prefer to save up and buy the right one the first time so I don't have to upgrade in the future. I have been looking at the Lowrance Elite-5 TI with TotalScan (Chirp, DownScan, StructurScan).

Thanks in advance for the help,
Kye
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kickingback
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Re: Fish finder features

Post by kickingback »

If you are willing to pay $500 for a sonar then I would suggest a Humminbird Helix 5. It has the 7" screen, side imaging, two beam selects, time, date, GPS, water temp, battery level, jigging mode, etc. you name it.
I use my sonar mainly in the shallows to see the temp and when it is getting shallow or finding deeper spots to fish. With the side imaging you can see objects or structure or deep holes out 150 yards from your kayak to see what is left and right of you instead of having to do a back and forth paddle to see what is below you. Of course being shallow you can only see about 10-20 feet to your sides but that extra imaging lets you see and find things you may have missed had you not had SI.
As you go deeper the down scan and side imaging are superb. You cannot beat this little sonar as it is bigger than the smaller 5" units and it is easy to read.
I have mine mounted on a ram ball on my seat (Hobie PA 14) and a ram ball with a swivel arm up front for my ducer. Works well!
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Kye
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:09 pm
Location: College Station (originally South Africa)
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Re: Fish finder features

Post by Kye »

kickingback wrote:If you are willing to pay $500 for a sonar then I would suggest a Humminbird Helix 5. It has the 7" screen, side imaging, two beam selects, time, date, GPS, water temp, battery level, jigging mode, etc. you name it.
I use my sonar mainly in the shallows to see the temp and when it is getting shallow or finding deeper spots to fish. With the side imaging you can see objects or structure or deep holes out 150 yards from your kayak to see what is left and right of you instead of having to do a back and forth paddle to see what is below you. Of course being shallow you can only see about 10-20 feet to your sides but that extra imaging lets you see and find things you may have missed had you not had SI.
As you go deeper the down scan and side imaging are superb. You cannot beat this little sonar as it is bigger than the smaller 5" units and it is easy to read.
I have mine mounted on a ram ball on my seat (Hobie PA 14) and a ram ball with a swivel arm up front for my ducer. Works well!
Thanks for the reply. I think you have changed my mind for the humminbird. I believe the GPS features are better on the humminbird than the lowrance Elite Ti. I have quite a while before I buy anything so plenty of time to de the necessary research.
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richg99
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Re: Fish finder features

Post by richg99 »

Since I ripped the transducer off of my 1652 Tinny yesterday, I too, am looking at options. I can buy a replacement T'ducer for $130.00. I may be able to use an older 200DX t'ducer, that I already have, on my 500 series Humminbird FF.

If I choose to NOT do any of those things, then I am looking for a full replacement. The $500.00 Helix 5 sounds good with side imaging and GPS. Never thought about needing the GPS part, but, when I use the Aluminum boat, instead of my yak, I can see that GPS would be a good thing to have.

I'll follow this thread with interest. Thanks for posting. richg99
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