Electronics for bass fishing

[travy]

What are some key features on some marine electronics? looking to add some to a boat for bass fishing and i don't really know where to start. id like to have a unit at the wheel, as well as a unit up front. just by the magazine ads and tv commercials i know the Lowrance hds8-10 seem to be what most use, but id like to keep mine under $500 per unit.

some questions i have; are the same functions used on both units? or is it best to get a map/chart plotter only for the wheel. is a side imaging necesary or is down imaging perfectly fine? any particular transmitting frequencies? if anyone has had some experience with some that im looking at any help is appreciated,id like to know some models and brands that i can look at as well.

thanks in advance for any input.

[arniejl]

I, sort of, just went through the same thing. I talked to a guy that I know pretty well who is a very good bass fisherman and has won a few tourneys. His exact words were "HDS 5", to me.

I questioned him and it all made sense so I ended up getting two HDS 5 units with Lake insight. These are the older generation, not the Gen2. They totaled up to $1,250 dollars with a $100 rebate on each, so I am set up for $1,050. Installed them with a friend in a heated shop and all is good.

You can link them together with a Lowrance ethernet cable (another $40). That way you can share way points by only entering it into one unit. To avoid cross talk between sonars, if you want to run both units at the same time, like one for you in the front and one for the guy in the back, you can share sonar, as well. So, you would have both units on but only sonar.

He recommended the units (again, this is for me) so when you are driving your boat you will have the same data, maps and everything else that you will have on your bow mounted unit. So, when you are up front fishing, you can see the maps and your way points without having to go back to the console. and visa versa.

I am not an expert on these, yet, but playing around with them, I get all giddy and stuff, lol. These things are cool.

I have no doubt somebody with some actual facts will chime in, I just wanted to share with you what I was told and, so far, I have zero regrets. Well, maybe one regret and that is that I will have to wait until next year to add Structure Scan:)

[travy]

thanks ill definetaly take a look into those. possibly just one for now :D

[davidwat1]

Travy, you have a ton of options and I definitely won't try to cover them all here, but I'll give you a few basics to start out with to hopefully shorten your learning curve. The rule of thumb on electronics is that you want to buy the best that you can afford, or to put it a different way, it's not the area you should think about skimping on just to save some money, if you have other options. However, clearly you don't have to have HDS units or structure scan and side imaging in order to have what would be considered good electronics. I'm a Lowrance guy, and for the money right now, I don't think you can beat the HDS 5X Gen1 units or the Elite-5 Finshfinder/Chartplotter units, the cool thing about them, is that you basically get HDS level downscan tech at the cost of a standard LCX finder. Because there is already a Gen2 version out there, you should be able to find the Gen1 versions at a discounted price. The other cool thing about the 5x is that you can start out with basic functionality and add structure scan later on as your budget allows. The second rule of thumb I like to follow is that if you are equipping both a front and rear unit on your boat, then get identical units if you can afford it. That way, you don't have to worry about different frequencies on your transducers (83/200 kHz is what you most likely want to run), and if one unit dies for some reason, you simply move the other unit back and forth depending on your situation. The other advantage to that is that you can actually share a single transducer for both units. Alot of guys won't do this because they want to know the view on the front unit is coming from the transducer on the bow mount, and that the unit on the console is from the transducer mounted in the hull, but it does work and it will save you money by only having to buy a single transducer. You can also share waypoints between both units which is nice as well, but I don't think you have to have identical units to do that, that's just how I do it.

The Chartplotter is way more important to have on the console than on the bow, but there are times where you want to follow countours while on the bow with your trolling motor, or you want to track a waypoint on your map, while you use the trolling motor to navigate towards it, and you can't do that by just having sonar only; waypoints only show up on your map or chart. In my opinion having a chartplotter on the bow unit is more of a nice to have feature if you're on a budget, but it's way more important and necessary, to have one on the console, especially if you are running a big body of water, or the columbia river etc..

Just for the record, I now run two HDS 8 units, and share structure scan from a single transducer mounted on my jackplate. I know there are die hard humminbird guys out there, and I'm not saying their units aren't great for them, but I wouldn't trade mine, I've always used Lowrance and I absolutely love them.

The latest Bass Pro Shops flyer has HDS 5X Gen1 (83/200 kHz) fishfinders for $399.00 and the Elite-5 Fishfinder/Chartplotter for $549.00, or the Elite-5x Color Fishfinder without chartplotter for $399.00.

Hope that helps, feel free to email me directly at davidwat1@msn.com or give me a call at 425.766.2167 if I can offer any other advice.

Good luck and happy shopping!
Dave

p.s. Russ and Limit Out handled the installation of my HDS units and did a fantastic job, so if you're not comfortable with the installation, give them a call, those guys know what they are doing!

[travy]

thanks for all the advice, thats the kind of info i was hoping to get. i dont want to skimp out on units but at the same time cant break the bank. i could spend about 4-500 per unit at seperate times. id like to get a whole meal deal with everything i need to just hook up and go

[arniejl]

Good luck with your decision, I hope that you get what you want. Also, Not sure which way you are going to go, nor do I know if you want to buy online, as there are some definite advantages to buying locally, but here is the site that I bought my two units from just to give you something to look at in the way of pricing.

http://www.anchorexpress.com/Lowrance-H ... -s/194.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT: Some of these have the rebate still going, as well, fyi.

[travy]

i guess some of the key facts i am looking for are things like side image and down imaging, which one would be best for front or console? should my console be a plotter that does DI and SI? or just a plotter with DI, do i need gps for the front as well. or just a unit with DI, is SI even needed for up front?

those are the kind of things i need to know, which clearly i dont :(

but once i know what to look for, i can then search for units based on what they do.

[davidwat1]

Side Imaging or side scanning is something that you want to use to locate structure more so than fish, Down scanning on the other hand gives you a great view of whats happening directly under the boat, including baitfish, predator fish, and more importantly, a clear distinction about what type of structure you are actually looking at ie...a tree with branches looks exactly like a tree with branches, and not just some blob on the bottom of the lake. Both take some getting used to if you are used to using traditional sonar units. Keep in mind that with Side scan, you need to keep your boat moving to get the best image. In my opinion its at its best when you are idling or going somewhere around 5 mph or so, which typically is going to be faster than you want to be running your trolling motor. Down scan will give you a clear picture whether you are sitting still, moving slowly with the trolling motor, or idling.

I spend more time and gas idling around with side scan cranked up, than I do actually fishing, I'm glad I don't have to choose, but honestly, if you told me I could only have one feature, I'd take side scan, because i can cover and eliminate new water so much more quickly than any other method I could ever use.

[travy]

so im thinking my best bet is a console unit that has gps/ side imaging and then a unit for the front with down imaging.

[spindog]

so im thinking a unit for the front with down imaging.

What? Your gonna want to know whats out to the sides while fishing up front, I'm sure you'll be sorry if you don't.
You'll see that log or rock out to the side, fish, you'll know where the fish are without having to go over them.
You'll be able to eliminate water void of fish and cover 4 times faster, better re- evaluate that one.

[travy]

its really not in the budget to get 2 SI units

[spindog]

its really not in the budget to get 2 SI units

If you can only have one SI, put it where you think is best for you....or wait for the second

I am purchasing a HDS Gen2 this season, then a second next year or later this summer or fall. It is hard
to buy 2 quality finders at once. For myself it's worth the wait. I can buy a higher quality and larger size sonar by
purchasing one "now" and one "later". I would love to go buy 2 SI units at once but I don't want to wish I had waited.
Remember this is an investment. Buy the best and biggest.
I'll settle for one trick unit now.

[travy]

that makes sense, i just got to narrow down which unit id like to get

[arniejl]

i guess some of the key facts i am looking for are things like side image and down imaging, which one would be best for front or console? should my console be a plotter that does DI and SI? or just a plotter with DI, do i need gps for the front as well. or just a unit with DI, is SI even needed for up front?

those are the kind of things i need to know, which clearly i dont :(

but once i know what to look for, i can then search for units based on what they do.

travy,

I cannot speak for the Humminbird's or Garmin's or anything, but in the case of Lowrance, you can buy an HDS unit today, and then buy another HDS unit in 4 months, and then buy Structure Scan next year. No doubt that other Lowrance products will do the same if compatible, just using "HDS" as the example.

Lowrance Structure scan is a unit of it's own.

http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/StructureScan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now, they may very well make units with the Structure Scan built in, but I am not aware of that. If you have compatible units, structure scan can be added and linked to BOTH of your units with Lowrance Ethernet cables:

http://www.cabelas.com/sonar-accessorie ... adType=pla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is a forum that I found that may help you understand the Lowrance HDS's and Structure Scan a bit better:

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=172505" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So, you really do not have to worry about where to have DownScan or Structure Scan in your boat as long as your units are compatible. They can all link together.

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Mar ... an/System/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is what I have done:
I installed two HDS 5 with Lake Insight units that I bought from Anchor Express for $619 ea. They had a $100 rebate each. $11 for shipping. So, $519 for each unit plus 11 bucks. I then bought the Ethernet Cable. Total bill was like just under $1,100.00.

I installed one unit at my console with a transducer at the transom. Installed the other at the bow and I have a built in sonar in my electric motor, so with a simple adaptor I am connected. This gives me maps, sonar, waypoints and all that on both units as they are the same.

I link the two together with the ethernet cable. Now, when moving along, I have my sonar and maps and all that. When I get to where I want to fish, I drop the trolling motor down, hit a couple of buttons, and the two will be linked. So, if I set a way point from up front, I can also save that same point to my console unit, which may come in handy on another day when looking for that spot as the point will be saved on both units. I can also share sonar so there is no "cross talk" between the two transducers as only my bow mount transducer will be on.

Structure Scan will be link in much the same way. As you can see in the picture's on some of those links. A couple of cables in between and you have have Structure Scan and Down Scan at both units, once again, if they are both compatible, as the HDS's are (of course there will be another transducer to add).

Like I said, as far as other manufacturers are concerned, I would have no idea how to get SS or DS. They could be built in or they could be add ons, nor do I know the cheapest way to achieve your goal. All I know is that I just went through all this a month ago and I, literally, spent an entire weekend surfing the net reading countless forums and articles and I still came away confused. Luckily, I found a guy that lives up north that has the exact same boat as I and the same HDS units. It finally became crystal clear.

Have fun in your quest.

[travy]

i would like to get an hds-5, just one to start, but i dont know which one to get,and do they come with the transducer ?

[arniejl]

i would like to get an hds-5, just one to start, but i dont know which one to get,and do they come with the transducer ?

They come with or without a transducer, just make sure which one you are buying.

Also, I was told that I would never regret buying the HDS's. I want to say that I hope I did not influence your decision. I could only give input on what I know and that is what I did. I know that having the ability to "add on" at a later date was big with me, but, hearing all good and no bad about the Lowrance, I did not even investigate the Humminbird's. I do not know if they have the add on stuff or not, I really don't.

As far as which one, well, once again I do not feel qualified to answer. I can only say what I know and what I did. I bought the older generation HDS because I was looking for a little more value for my buck. I do not see the older ones on the site that I bought mine. Thinking that place has sold out of them. In hindsight, but still no regrets, I kind of wished that I had forked out a little more for the Gen 2's. I guess if I was to go high tec I should have went as high as I could get but I didn't. When I buy computer components I go for the newest stuff that there is and this went against my way of thinking all for a hundred bucks or so.

Back to which one. Like I said, no expert here, but you should probably figure out what you want from it first off. I got mine with Lake Insight, which means, basically, that on my GPS the lakes have contour lines. Honestly, they are kind of cheesy, imo, but they will provide a definite help to me and I am glad I got it.

Another add on for these units would be Navionics. It is another mapping system that comes, I think, on an SD card (HDS units have an SD card reader built into them). I have read and read on the comparison of the two. I think more people like the Navionics better as they hold their shaded relief better while zoomed in, and better contours, but I have also read that their maps are not as accurate as Insight. So goes the debate. I do not know, but like I said, Navionics can be added at a later date and can even be added if you already have Insight. You can Google that stuff and make a decision if you are thinking about one or the other. Not all lakes are on them (they are because of the GPS, but not all lakes show contours), most of them, yes, but not all. Like for me, Alder Lake is not shown in contours:( Makes sense beings the lake is half empty half the year, I suppose.

You may want to head down to a boat dealership or maybe an outdoor type store and pick up a Lowrance Marine Product Catalog. They are online as well, as a download. You can try it. It will break down what each Lowrance unit will do. For example an HDS compared to an Elite-5X or whatever. Pretty much breaks down all their new products. Handy!

Other than that, there is not much choice to make, I guess, in which one to get. I mean you have already decided on the HDS 5. Then you got to figure which Generation and if you want Lake or Nautic Insight. Not much more too it.

One more thing. I had always heard that Lowrance customer service was not the best. That made me sort of leery. When I hooked my units up only one gps worked (I am not bright). After fiddling with it for a while, I gave up and called their customer service line and spoke to a rep. after being on hold for, maybe, two or three minutes (that was welcome). I told him my problem and he asked me to try one thing but I was at work and not at home. He then gave me a RMA number and what to do if his solution did not work. I got off the phone very satisfied in the service but skeptical that the unit would still not function properly.

I got home, turned it on, did his thing which took a minute, and all was good. It was, actually, me that screwed up on my initial start up. Oh well, live and learn, but, imo, the service was fast, good and professional. FYI

[KevinS]

Great information for when I upgrade my electronics in the future. Thank you all.

[travy]

well i started my setup, picked up an hds-5x for a really good price so i figured id start from there, next will probably be the structure scan unit, then this winter ill probably pick up an hds7 with gps for chartplotting