Sk8man

I do exactly as Chris does and have done it for many many years and have never caught another downrigger or other equipment with it only occasional winding up the main line and cleared as Chris stated. I do more fishing these days on the Finger Lakes where the currents can be somewhat different too and the kings aren't a factor etc. but I'd say about 1/3 or more of my rainbows ,browns or landlocks come on sliders on the riggers......well worth the effort in my view.

Yes its own transducer.The Fish hawk operates at 70 khz which shouldn't normally significantly impact any of the standard depth finders.

WTG Nice fish! Maybe things are picking up now....

Nothing like a positive report.....you do have a strong future here

You know the original question was whether to buy a Fish Hawk or not and a lot of folks both have them and love them. I think that like many of the issues on LOU the critical question becomes: "Do I actually NEED a Fish hawk X4 or 4D"? The folks that have become used to and perhaps even dependent on or "addicted to" them obviously feel very strongly toward the "need" part of the issue and it much akin to the autopilot issue. Many of the guys who have fished for a longtime may view things from the vantage point that "We never had those things in the past and we still caught fish" . I admit they are really nice, useful and handy as well for gathering data and formulating strategies or changes in tactics out there. With that said it boils down to whether you are prepared to layout $800 for one and whether it isTHAT useful to you (your significant other might also ask you what would be the price per pound equivalent buying fish ). I have personally witnessed a $300 probe going to the bottom of lake O on my buddy's boat and we were both speechless for quite awhile ....not a pleasant circumstance and to some degree they need careful handling because parts of them can be fragile...you need to know that this is a potential reality of owning one so they may end up being $1100 at some point too. If you are chartering I'd say it may be more useful financially (as any useful "tool" might be than certainly to a weekend warrior out there). So far my Fish Hawk TD at less than $150 can do fairly well with temperature/thermocline estimates, water profiles as well as specific depths/temps setups may be running at, and the use of my fish finder combined with close monitoring of the angles of my downriggers, and wire rods and the downrigger rods and lines themselves, the ripples created in the water by the wires and the boat speed itself and a lot of experience with the lures and tackle I use seem to offer at least something better than just pure "guesstimates" without having either the Fish Hawk or if someone without a lot of experience. What I am getting at here is that the Fish Hawk may be highly desirable to me to have but it isn't essential and when you are committing a lot of money this may be important in the decision making.

As usual Paul's comments are dead center on the target. There are some parts of the season where water temperature is basically irrelevant as fish will move way out of their so-called preferred temperature range to either feed or perhaps "attack" lures (e.g. pre-spawning kings staging). It's always best to look for bait or fish on the screen to increase your probabilities of catching....it is still no guarantee but you're playing the numbers game and the chances improve with those things present. Many on us sport fishermen spend a fair amount of time out there especially us retired dinosaurs but the guys chartering as a rule spend much more time out there actively fishing than the average fisherman so from just that standpoint alone it may be worth the investment going on a charter and watching closely what is being done and asking carefully thought out questions so that you can fine tune your setups according to your own particular conditions or rig. When I've been on salt water charters in the distant past I actually took notes in a notebook and took pics of particular setups (with the captains permission). It all helps...and for the price of delaying buying a fancy setup you may be light years ahead of the game with the equipment you currently have.

Ditto on Dick's recommendation. They are first class folks to deal with.

I think Paul hit the nail on the head here and it is applicable to many other situations too. Often we trout and salmon fishermen get very concerned to the point of obsession with the "magic depth" and think that we have to get the lure right exactly in the face of the fish. All you have to do is look at a screen on the depth finder while jigging for lakers to see that they haul butt to get a lure on the move and will come right out of the depths to do it. Probably the more important factors in getting them to hit are having the right action and speed and having a lure that appears "vulnerable"... yes it may be important to have a lure in the "ballpark" but the whole EXACT depth thing for the most part is over-rated.

Real good tips Mark

OR get yourself a Fish Hawk TD and run your setups with it and it will give a little better approximation than the chart data and will give you temp data as well to work with.