boat locators

[glenn57]

OK i stole this idea from IDO. some guy posted over there about hummingbird locators, and some have added to it. they talked about how bad hummingbirds customer service is and how many of there locators dont work. this was the guys first post over there too so has me a bit sceptical!!!!!!!!

after using by buddies locator, yea he made me drive his boat, he knows i can catch fish  i was totally impressed with his HB helix 7 and plan on putting one on my boat next year.

so what do you guys run for locators, AND have you heard anything bad about HB locators!!!!!!!

my buddy is going to sell me his lake chip for $60.00. his wife ordered him the new and improved one, apparently that one has LOTW, red, and another lake.....cant remember which one where the one i'm getting doesnt. no biggy to me!!!!!!

[Jerkbiat]

I have always ran Lowrance in my boats. In the new boat I ended up going with the Hummingbird Helix 9 so we shall see. I went with that since the boat already had a helix 9 mounted in the bow from the factory. So now I have some learning to do. I have not heard any bad about them. If you get the helix 7 you could also set it up for ice fishing to I would think.

[glenn57]

never had a lake chip before and loved being able to see drop offs, points and other structure on the lake. i was impressed with how many lakes that was there, we dont exactly hit popular lakes. all i want in locator is to be able to read the depth and now the lake contour!!!    i could care less about anything else really.

winter fishing.............i already have a marcum and a marcum underwater camera!!!!!

[snow1]

glenn....for what it's worth,maybe IDO poster is confused? many issues with lowrance/customer service to date,pre fishing with a friend doing the walleye A.I.M tour had lowrance as a sponsor for years,he told me if it wasn't for lowrance having factory personnel at these tourny's to trouble shoot display issues(mostly the updates) he would be SOL now he's on board with hummingbird claims bird is the word these days,suggest the 7si for you to consider,bigger the screen the better,but I remember your boat is a 14'er so the 7si should be perfect.

goodluck...helping a friend purchase a helix couple months ago pickens were slim availability issues but maybe things are better now,come late summer most sport shops are sold out of product going in to winter so pull the trigger soon if supply is good in your area.

PS,lake master mapping data might be the best and is paired with hummingbird,a new lakemaster sd card new run's about $100 $60 for a outdated card seems a bit much but your call.

[glenn57]

snow, my boats a 16 ft lund 1600 stinger.

runnings had all kinds of hummingbird locators last week when i was in there. i thought of a helix 5 but decided to do it right and get the 7 right away instead of wishing....... but damn ther's 300 bucks difference in the 5 to the 7. 

that lake chip he's selling me was installed in his new boat last year!!!!!

[snow1]

Oh my bad,I thought you had a 14'er with a 15 hp o/b,hell a 16'er bump up to the 9...last year chip is good,years ago when I got onboard with lakemaster(before we had sd cards) I bought they're (lakemaster) cd rom and down loaded they're program on my laptop as we traveled to remote area lakes to fish,transferred waypoints to gps via usb cable,mostly  in the winter.I  had a few program hiccups back then,but the owner of lakemaster (mike woods) told me his goal was to map all of minnesota lakes with public accesses,he sold his mapping data at the time by regions,totally modified today but lakemaster was the pioneer at the time,my focus lakes were mille lacs in 1' contours and URL which was in 5' contours which didn't matter as no structure except for middle bar and the crappie cribs they had marked

[glenn57]

There is a 14 ft boat with a 15 horse merc at our cabin available for use. Its my stepdads, but said it's staying at the cabin.

I posted a picture a while back with it tied up to the dock. Might be where you got the idea from.

[snow1]

There is a 14 ft boat with a 15 horse merc at our cabin available for use. Its my stepdads, but said it's staying at the cabin.

I posted a picture a while back with it tied up to the dock. Might be where you got the idea from.

I remember now,it was a video of a guy power loading his 12 or 14' boat with a manuel o/b in the back of his cargo van,I labeled it "glenn"...lol a while back on your thread about loading your boat on your trailer,something about replacing your trailer winch rope.

[merc]

I have a Helix 10 in the back of my boat and just got a Helix 7 ice unit. Came with two transducers and a case for ice fishing. Nice to have the maps in winter. I bought a Lakemaster chip 9.0, which is the most updated one, and it was $125. The ice unit was $800 but can be used year around so that was nice. The only problem is in winter it is slow to read if you want to just keep checking holes, other than that it's great. The 10 has side imaging which I still haven't figured out but I'm slowly getting into all the settings as there is a ton to figure out. The more I use it the more I like it. There are updates now and then which you can download off a smart phone, which I don't have, buy my son in law is a programmer so he does all of them for me. Buy the best as I hear those union guys made big bucks.   

[LPS]

I have a Lowrance Hook Reveal 7 Triple Shot on my new boat.  Love it and was easy to learn how to use.  Has down imaging and side imaging.  That is really cool.  Has all of the lakes that I will ever be at already loaded in it or a chip in it. 

[glenn57]

I have a Helix 10 in the back of my boat and just got a Helix 7 ice unit. Came with two transducers and a case for ice fishing. Nice to have the maps in winter. I bought a Lakemaster chip 9.0, which is the most updated one, and it was $125. The ice unit was $800 but can be used year around so that was nice. The only problem is in winter it is slow to read if you want to just keep checking holes, other than that it's great. The 10 has side imaging which I still haven't figured out but I'm slowly getting into all the settings as there is a ton to figure out. The more I use it the more I like it. There are updates now and then which you can download off a smart phone, which I don't have, buy my son in law is a programmer so he does all of them for me. Buy the best as I hear those union guys made big bucks.   

that helix 10 must get good for finding cold beer!!!!

[Bobberineyes]

Lowrance here, but I don't think you can go wrong with either.   

[Gunner55]

 A Lowrance HDS 7 is on my dash & we have a Hook 7 on the bow. We have the Navionocs regional chip that has URL, LOW, Winnie,..............................everything in this area in 1' contours.

[Gunner55]

Lowrance went belly up & is now owned by Navico. They're a European company that has been doing salt water electronics for a real long time. The 5 pin blue connector on the Lowrance(~2005) had major issues & their CS sucked, that was the 1 of the leading causes of their bankruptcy is what I've read.

[glenn57]

A Lowrance HPS 7 is on my dash & we have a Hook 7 on the bow. We have the Navionocs regional chip that has URL, LOW, Winnie,..............................everything in this area in 1' contours.

i'd be cool with 1' contours.

i talked to my buddy the other day, now i'm not sure if he is going to charge me 60 bucks or give it to me?????? but at 60 bucks, i'm buying. not sure if that chip has winnie on it or not??? i'm buying an older hummingbird locator for my stepdads boat that the chip will work in, going to put it in there until i get a new locator for my boat. the lakes i plan to  hit with the stepdads boat i know well enough i wont need the chip, so no need for 2 chips!

[Gunner55]

Lots of older chips out there as people update, not too hard to find a usable older 1 for < $50, if you wanted.

[snow1]

A Lowrance HPS 7 is on my dash & we have a Hook 7 on the bow. We have the Navionocs regional chip that has URL, LOW, Winnie,..............................everything in this area in 1' contours.

i'd be cool with 1' contours.

i talked to my buddy the other day, now i'm not sure if he is going to charge me 60 bucks or give it to me?????? but at 60 bucks, i'm buying. not sure if that chip has winnie on it or not??? i'm buying an older hummingbird locator for my stepdads boat that the chip will work in, going to put it in there until i get a new locator for my boat. the lakes i plan to  hit with the stepdads boat i know well enough i wont need the chip, so no need for 2 chips!

glenn,you'll have winni in 1' contours,cutfoot souix as well.

[deadeye]

Lowrance Elite 12 TI2 on the front and Lowrance Elite 9 TI2 at the console.  These along with a Lowrance Ghost trolling motor are connected together via a NMEA 2000 network.  All units talk to each other and either unit can control the Ghost trolling motor.  Once I got things setup this spring I haven't had any issues. 

[Steve-o]

Jeez, guys.  I just look for boats that have big fish finders and anchor 20 yards off their bow.   

[Gunner55]

Had to look, ours is actually the Lake Insight Pro V16 chip. Over 9000 lakes including 3000 with 1-3' contours as well as all of the lower 48 states on 1 card is what the box says.

[Cooperman]

I have a similar setup to deadeye only Garmin. I have on the bow the Echomap UHD 93sv and on the console the Echomap ultra 106sv. Also, I have the Garmin Force trolling motor. All units are networked together.

[glenn57]

OK.......thinkin about upgrading my boat locator!!!!!! looking at a hummingbird with lake chip abilities. i just got back from Scheels. the 7 inch screen would be nice, but i dont think i want down or side imaging........that leaves me for the most part with the 5 inch screen.

my question.....do any of you have the down imaging? is it worth the extra 400 bucks to have that and the 7 inch screen?????? i just dont see the need for either imaging.

[Scenic]

There are several things to look at.  5 vs 7.  The 5 is a very small screen.  When running mapping in rough water it's tough to see.  Also very hard to split the screen to run mapping and sonar.  Often times I am looking for a spot on a spot.  This might be a small gravel hole just a foot deeper or a small hump. 

By splitting the screen you can see this on sonar and see where you are at on the map.  Sonar will tell you how hard the spot on a spot is. 

Side imaging is awesome when you see what is surrounding you.  Do you have rocks on the bottom where FIS are hiding?  Do you have spooky fish that you can't get over the top of?

If you want to know how deep the water is the 5 will tell you that.   Can you see much more...not really.

Is the 7 worth $400 more...in my opinion yes.  All depends on how much you rely on your electronics as a fish finding tool.

[glenn57]

I like knowing the depth first, but when I used my buddies that had the gps/lake chip knowing  the lay of the lake ahead of me was awesome.  It's all I really  need. Or want. I can find fish!!

[Scenic]

Don't need much to fish those saber toothed snot rockets. 

[Boar]

I like knowing the depth first, but when I used my buddies that had the gps/lake chip knowing  the lay of the lake ahead of me was awesome.  It's all I really  need. Or want. I can find fish!!

I just threw up.

[LPS]

Absolutely worth it to go for the 7" screen in my book.  What is $400 extra?  You spend it and it is gone and you have a nice 7" screen that is fun to watch forever.  You will never regret it. 

[Gunner55]

 What model did you look at, glenn? We have 2-7" Lowrance units on our boat, 1 on the bow & the other on the dash. With the zebra mussels here, the water can be really clear early season, so the fish are often pretty spooky. So, I've went to using my SideScan mode a lot more as conventional sonar where you go over top of them seems to spook them at times. The SideScan/SideImaging requires a 2nd, longer transducer which costs ~ $200 to replace, & that is part of the reason those units cost more. We've had ours 5-6 years now & I've found myself using the DownScan more the last couple seasons too.

[LPS]

I have a Lowrance too.  Must be just like Gunners.  Like it.  Hummingbirds are great too.

[Gunner55]

It's a HDS-7 Gen3 on the dash & a Hook2-7 on the bow.