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Posts: 285
Location: Eagan, MN | Considering a very expensive up-grade to my existing (6 year old) bow mounted electronics. I'm willing to go big, provided I can justify the return in terms of more muskies in the boat. So, to those that have already bitten the bullet and laid out the coin for cutting edge electronics, have they provided you the return you had hoped for relative to more and larger muskies in the boat? Can you be more specific to give me an idea of how this new technology will be useful for me? Examples of a muskie catch that resulted directly from your electronic advantage would be most appreciated.
BrianF. |
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Posts: 1937
Location: Black Creek, WI | Well... I probably shouldn't be responding as my electronics are dated and certainly NOT cutting edge:( fishing with friends that DO have the new cool stuff, however, I've noticed a few advantages of side imaging technology. First and foremost, it significantly reduces the time needed to master a landscape. You can position your boat correctly "first time through" an area. Example: with my older technology I need to drive my boat along a weed edge to lay a trail or drop some icons PRIOR to fishing the spot. With side imaging you know where the weedline/breakline is at all times. No need to dirve it first. Same goes for marking the honey. Yes, you can zig zag around and locate a crib, for example, and drop an icon on it for future use.... but side imaging not only speeds up that process... it will help you find structures you never new existed. Is it worth the money? I dunno. But if given the option, I'd upgrade in a heartbeat. |
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Posts: 32901
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Side Imaging is one of the biggest advancements in my fishing to date. Down imaging shows me exactly what I am going over in perfect relief, so a bunch of branches that use to be a somewhat solid signal is a tree top with a few small fish, etc. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I have watched A well known Montreal guide troll along make a U turn and make a reverse pass 60 feet or so over from where he was and immediately pick up a fish so I assume he marked the fish on side scan I know he uses it.
Another Lowrance guru who sells electronics and fishes tournaments tells me he uses his depthfinder while prefishing and turns off his depthfinder and uses only his chart and icons during the tournament. He believes todays high powered units can put down fish.
I have fished my home lake for 25 years and have no need of a depthfinder, when fishing new water wouldn't be without depthfinder GPS and paper charts.
Edited by horsehunter 2/11/2014 9:17 AM
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Posts: 791
Location: WI | I agree with side imagining being an awesome tool. That being said for a bow mount you will be using the readings from the back of the boat. I bought a lowrance elite 7hdi last year for the front of my boat. It has a bow mount transducer and and gives you down scan, standard sonar or overlay all from one transducer. Also a 7" wide screen all for under 700 bucks. I have mine linked to my other graph also to share info and way points. Best bang for the buck I think.
If you already have side scan by another unit and link them. |
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Posts: 43
Location: Waite Park, MN | My ideal configuration:
put an HDS-12 on the bow, networked to a HDS-9 on the dash, put in Go-free so you can WIFI to an Ipad that I mount for others fishing in the boat that I have a Rammount for; next, put a 36V Motorguide Xi5 on the bow that will connect to your Lowrance network, might as well put Spotlight Scan (http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Sonar/SpotlightScan-Sonar-en-us.aspx) on so you can image wherever you're headed, and top it off with Sonichub to have good tunes from your iPhone (which will also connect to the network via the GoFree) and the football game on while you're casting. Done deal, you'll love it.
Once you have a Touch you'll never go back to buttons. |
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Location: 31 | sworrall - 2/11/2014 8:36 AM
Side Imaging is one of the biggest advancements in my fishing to date. Down imaging shows me exactly what I am going over in perfect relief, so a bunch of branches that use to be a somewhat solid signal is a tree top with a few small fish, etc.
X2 with what Steve said, very well stated!
I would add that having state of the art electronics in an average boat will help you catch more fish than having a state of the art boat with 6 year old electronics. With that said; I'm supremely confident that I have identified and caught muskies using the Lowrance side scan, and as been previously stated, the side scan will also maximize search time too.
You asked for specifics and this past September the Lowrance structure scan pay dividends when I pointed out to what I was confident was a cruising muskie off the starboard side to my friend Phil (there's a bit of a learning curve there obviously), and we both watched the planner boards on that side closely.
We didn't see anything with the boards but one of the reels strangely made 2-4 kind slow dull clicks and if we weren't watching so closely, we would have probably just wrote it off as a weed or something. However, I immediately turned the boat port and canned it just to be on the safe side and bingo, we ended up catching a nice fish that we might not have caught otherwise.
It was one of those defining moments when everything just kind of comes together and afterward we just kind of looked at each other like “did that really just happen?” So, I wholeheartedly recommend you spend the extra money for the cutting edge electronics of your choice… my spotlight scan is back ordered.
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Posts: 1092
Location: Hayward, WI | I think the new Auto Chart and Insight Genesis are going to be extremely helpful. It will give you the most accurate mapping possible and make it easier see how the lake is laid out. I will be playing with the Auto Chart this summer and can't wait for open water to give it a try. |
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Posts: 443
Location: Duluth, MN | I'm also thinking about upgrading to side scan. The biggest question i have is if you are drifting down a shoreline lets say 50 feet out if there was a musky sitting next to a small rock pile say 20 feet from shore would you be able to tell that was a fish sitting there? Or if you are going past a dock would you be able to see that there are fish under the dock or if there is nothing there?
Thanks |
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Posts: 32901
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Yes to both. |
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Posts: 1084
Location: Aurora | December 2013/January 2014 Musky Hunter article, "The High Tech Musky Hunter" may address some of your questions.
Good tips on using some of the new equip with a focus on introducing more biggies to the net.
Couldn't find it on their website so it may be a mag only read.
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | Gotta throw in one of the coolest things I've seen in along time. A buddy of mine got his new unit Big One and he's all hyped for open water. So he goes into his shop mounts the bracket on a temporary mount (2X4) and hooks it up to a battery. Now he sits for days with coffee, Owners manual in hand, computer and unit running. Then he gets all his waypoints from his computer, and loads them into his unit.
I've had my units a couple of years and can still come across things it does I did not know about & looking for things it cannot do. He hit the water an expert! |
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Posts: 43
Location: Waite Park, MN | Here's one more thing to do over winter. Pick a few new lakes you want to fish, get yourself a copy of PC software like Lowrance Insight Planner, mark up the lakes in the software creating waypoints and routes you want to run, export them and import them onto your Lowrance equipment, and you have a great plan to execute on new lakes!!
Edited by cyberfish 2/13/2014 6:26 AM
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Location: 31 | jakejusa - 2/12/2014 4:33 PM
Gotta throw in one of the coolest things I've seen in along time. A buddy of mine got his new unit Big One and he's all hyped for open water. So he goes into his shop mounts the bracket on a temporary mount (2X4) and hooks it up to a battery. Now he sits for days with coffee, Owners manual in hand, computer and unit running. Then he gets all his waypoints from his computer, and loads them into his unit.
I've had my units a couple of years and can still come across things it does I did not know about & looking for things it cannot do. He hit the water an expert!
Along the same lines; buy another power cord, hook that up to a fused cigarette lighter plug so you have the option to tidy up your icons/etc. on the road as well.
Edited by Jerry Newman 2/13/2014 3:44 PM
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Posts: 455
| Think it is more helpful for other fish that you park on top of and jig for. I mean is seeing a perch fart in 40 feet of water going to help me catch a muskie? I do think you can target individual fish with side scan if you are good. At the end of the season will it add up to more fish? If your fishing the same lake for the last 29 years prolly not. If your fishing new water it will at least help you learn it faster. The bigger challenge for me is getting fish to bite. I have a good idea where they are most times. If it`s the same guide I'm thinking of he knew that fish was there all along. He`s just making it look like he saw it on the sonar first to look extra smart. |
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Posts: 455
| So Frank your saying the guy feels the transducer puts off fish? I turn mine off while casting but figured I was the only one who bothered to do that. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | That's what he feels and I have heard it from others. I can hear and feel my transducer so I am sure fish can hear or feel it. It is probably more of an issue on pressured waters for shallow casting presentations. Jocelyn is a Bass guy but his U tube
Lowarance seminars are worth watching.
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Posts: 455
| Thanks Frank I will check him out. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Jerry Newman - 2/13/2014 3:42 PM
Along the same lines; buy another power cord, hook that up to a fused cigarette lighter plug so you have the option to tidy up your icons/etc. on the road as well.
Or on the ice... |
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Posts: 2337
Location: Chisholm, MN | One thing about side imaging is that you can actually see a fish follow with in before you can physically see the fish. I've seen spitting images of muskies on SI following a bulldog deep. A lot of times the fish never showed itself besides on the SI, which told me that we get a lot more follows that we actually see physically. |
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | I bought my first new boat in 05 till then all ways used my dads boat. had 5" depth finders I said wish I would have bought bigger .in 2012 up graded boat bought 2 HB 1198 SI I did not want to be saying " wish I would of " do they help me catch more fish hard to say. do I like them better that is a big yes, have them hooked up to trolling motor set speed depth then just fish. spot lock is also very nice , |
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Location: 31 | http://www.ebay.com/itm/251449186690?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trks...
Although it's not state-of-the-art this used Lowrance Gen2 HDS 10 & HDS7M on Ebay has a lot of the same bells/whistles as the touch including structure scan, it will probably sell at an affordable price and hold it's value for a couple years.
Edited by Jerry Newman 2/16/2014 9:52 AM
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Posts: 455
| It would be nice if it could tell you witch ones are hungry. |
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Posts: 455
| Bet that spot lock is awesome for bait fishing! |
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Location: 31 | I think seeing fish is a bonus and most primarily use the Lowrance structure scan to save time on the water. For you guys that are considering one, it’s not just seeing things and fish off to the side, it's also knowing exactly what's under your boat as Steve touched on (I think he uses bird 360 imaging).
A good example of the difference between the new and old technology happened a couple of years ago when I was fishing with an excellent fisherman who was not yet familiar with structure scan, but was very familiar with the LCX because he was running one in his boat for years. We were shallow water trolling in an area we had both fished a lot in the past looking for emergent weeds in my boat using an LCX for the map/icons/depth, and a HDS for the down and side scan.
The excellent fisherman pointed to what he thought was weeds below the boat on the LCX, and I pointed to the blank bottom on the down scan of the HDS informing him it was for sure a false signal on the LCX. After some talk, we mutually agreed that at times in the past we had both been fooled by false readings… usually from having the sensitivity to high. I'm definitely no expert with these things, but would conclude that I have a serious edge now from when I didn't have the structure scan.
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Posts: 455
| Not to bust your chops but don`t your lures find the weeds shallow water trolling? |
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Location: 31 | muskyrat - 2/16/2014 7:25 PM
Not to bust your chops but don`t your lures find the weeds shallow water trolling?
Bust away Andy... but not so much with "emergent" weeds unless spoon plugging style. I'd guess everyone reading this has at one time or another gotten a false read off their sonar? |
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Posts: 455
| No doubt HDS is pretty awesome. I swear you could find your sun glasses if they fell in. If you fish a lot and can afford one get it because it will just make they day more fun and you will learn something. Would it help me catch more fish? No because like people from a lot of places my state has a few small muskie waters I have fished for 20 years or more. I`m sure the same holds true for people in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, KY, PA. I pretty much know what I`m going to do before I get to the lake. It really does not matter what kind of boat or sonar I have my day will be the same. I want to cover water so the fish can find my lure. The idea of looking around the lake for muskie with my side scan and then casting to them just does not jive with my overall philosophy. I had this argument with a guy in my club who insists HDS is something everybody needs. Now a friend has it and it does look cool but we still fish exactly the same as we always have. I mean if your trolling LSC are you going to do anything different than you always did if you go HDS? No it will just look cooler. If you can`t find weeds bait and whatever with a six year old color unit you are using it wrong. |
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Location: 31 | Haha, good stuff with the sunglasses... but I'm the old guy who's supposed to be set in his ways dude ? :).
Full disclosure; I used to think along those same lines until I began updating my antiquated equipment, and cannot imagine fishing without Structure Scan now. I think we are basically comparing an Impala and a Corvette here… yes, the Corvette looks a lot cooler but it will also outperform the Impala by a wide margin. However, one must be able step on the gas and be able to handle the Corvette to really appreciate the performance differences.
I hear what you're saying though, and I can't really comment on casting with SS. However, I can comment with a lot of insight on the advantages it has for muskie trolling, in a word… enormous.
You mentioned trolling weeds; I can map out a new area much more efficiently now, and the map will have greater detail than before too. I don't know about you, but I not only want to know where the weeds begin and end, points ect., but also where they are thicker and wider. On one particular body of water that I already had hundreds of hours on before SS, I basically ended up redoing my map… honestly, it was a little painful to find out how much I was missing before SS.
I don't do a lot of open water trolling, but locating and keeping track of baitfish with SS “almost” gives you an unfair advantage, but to each their own and I can certainly appreciate the fact that this stuff ain't cheap too.
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Posts: 285
Location: Eagan, MN | Well, I can find weeds and bait and even muskies right below my boat with my older color unit, but wondering if technology hasn't passed me by, reducing the opportunities that I would otherwise have with cutting edge technology. I'm a caster 100% of the time and want to be able to see a rock hump or a weed clump or a suspended muskie out in front or beside my boat before I run it over with the trolling motor. That, to me, sounds appealing, but wondered if that has been the experience of musky casters who have already invested in these new toys. As I've gotten older, I find my theories (e.g., that I will catch more muskies with these units) and my actual real world experience don't always go hand-in-hand. Don't need another expensive lesson. Still weighing the ROI on this...
Brian |
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