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Posts: 2317
Location: Chisholm, MN | Does anyone who has a Lowrance Elite-5 use it for ice fishing? I got the ice pack last year and I pretty much hate the sonar for ice fishing. Maybe there is some way to set it up better but I can barely see my jig on the screen. Anyone figure this out or does it pretty much just suck?
I realize this isn't an ice forum but I like this site more than the others. | |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | There's definitely a way to tune it in, I saw one in use last weekend. Looked really good, too. | |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | Though I use an x-67 on the ice, the Elite-5 should tune roughly the same way.
Start with these settings:
1) Turn the ping speed to max
2) Turn scroll speed to max
3) Turn surface clutter/clarity to off/low
4) Turn noise rejection to off/low
5) Turn auto sensitivity OFF
6) Turn auto depth OFF
Then, adjust these as needed:
1) Upper depth range (default at 0)
2) Lower depth range - this lets you dial in to the exact lake depth
3) Sensitivity - 80% is a good starting range, adjust up or down to your liking. Sometimes it it's too high you'll have trouble seeing your jig, especially smaller ones.
4) If you are getting interference, adjust noise rejection & surface clarity starting from low to high as needed.
It depends on your style, but on units like these I much prefer the graph mode over the flasher mode. Hope this helps.
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Posts: 2317
Location: Chisholm, MN | Thanks for your help. I'm dinking with it right now and pretty much have it set up that way anyway. The only thing I don't see is how to change the scroll speed. Maybe I need a software update. You say if the sensitivity is too high it is harder to see your jig? I used this thing a few times last year during late ice for crappies in like 15 feet and it worked out pretty good, even with a small jig, but now this season I've been fishing in at least 20 ft for walleyes and can barely see a buckshot jig down there. I can see the fish though. In my experience, a normal flasher is 1000 times better. The only benefit to this thing is the nice mapping. I'm gonna try it again tonight but if I can't make it work perfectly I'm gonna buy another flasher!!!!!!! | |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | Hmmm... I just glanced through the Elite-5 manual online and couldn't find how to adjust scroll speed. I know upping ping speed automatically increases scroll speed on some units, maybe here too?
I don't know why, but sometimes if you have the sensativity up too high it's hard to see the jig - especially if it's stationary. Do you have trouble seeing the jig in zoom mode?
I went from a flasher to a standard graph, personal preference, but I'll never go back to a flasher again.
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| I have this same unit, have encountered the same problem with adjusting scroll speed, and have asked the same question on a handful of forums. Have had zero useful feedback.
From what I can tell, there IS no way to actually adjust scroll screen. Have this unit as a front unit on my boat and have an x67c for ice fishing, so its no biggie, but thought I'd try it on ice and ran into the same problems.
Only way I can figure based on the manual to increase scroll speed as much as you can is to run it in "Shallow Water" mode. Its the only mode that DOESN'T say it scrolls slower if you read what each water depth mode does. All others custom set of features slows scrolling speed per the description in the manual. These modes are each a preset package of settings.
I'm hopeful that if you run it in "ice mode" (different menu area than the water depth modes) that it will give you max scroll speed. Only had mine on ice once and was so frustrated with the real time delay due to the scroll speed setting being absent that I found the unit sub par for ice fishing because it is no where near instant on the readout, and put it back on the front deck of the boat and forgot about it.
There are some updates available, but none of them are specific to scroll speed. I've not tried the update but cannot see that it will help.
This unit is OK, but it is almost a dumbed down unit. Lots of preset little packages of settings, no real way to adjust all of them by turning the presets off and going full manual.
The other thing I really don't like about the Elite 5 is that you have to be traveling about 1 mph or faster in order for the GPS screen to orient itself properly. Still lays down your tracks, but it sure is annoying when what's ahead of you on the water isn't ahead of you on the map. So for casting using the trolling motor, or for a slow drift, it kinda sux. Has some handy icons, but very few of them to choose from. As I've found in a season plus of use, its a unit better suited to the console, rather than up front or on the ice.
Also, I run my x67c on high surface clutter reduction. Otherwise you get all kinds of "stuff" on the screen when you're in shallower water. Found the same for the E5.
JMO
-Eric
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| One afterthought on not seeing your jig.....
Make sure you have a good battery. Mine was taking a dump this year and I was running into that same problem. Had to crank my sensitivity all the way up to see a spoon in 20 fow and ran into horrible interference from other nearby units while using my x67. A new battery solved this problem. | |
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Elite-5 ice pack