jigstick

If you already have hydraulic steering installed on the boat it really isn't that hard of an install to do your self. If you can prime brake lines on a trailer you can install the hydraulic pump and lines for the autopilot. FWIW, It wouldn't shock me one bit for a certified installer to charge upwards of $1500-$2000 to install it for you. And it is honestly something you can do in one day with a few beers.

I purchased mine from north woods. And it was the X4D. And for some reason it also came with the hard case and foul weather cover at no extra charge. Usually you have to buy them separate I believe.

From what I have heard in the past, even though the transducer is rated to those depths, you lose a substantial amount of power shooting through the hull. Especially if your hull has a wood core. If its just fiberglass on the bottom if will perform better. I honestly am probably just going to drill the hole and put a thru hull transducer in. It really isnt that big of a deal. Just determine the dead rise of your hull and pick the appoprriate offset on the transducer. Choose your location. Drill a pilot hole. use a hole saw to drill your hole. Clean up the edges with some sand paper. Clean up all the dust with some acetone or alcohol. Coat the edges with some MarineTex if you want, to get a nice tight fit. Smear some 3M 4200 on the flange of the ducer and push it up through the bottom of the hole, oriented properly of course. Little more 4200 on the lock ring. Lock it down hand tight. Give it 24hrs to cure. And thats it. Its all mental man. Remember, any hole you put in a boat can be patched with fiberglass and appropriate epoxy. Even big holes.

Why cant you put a thru hull in? Ive been looking into going that route. I get some interference on my Airmar transum mounted transducer when I use my trolling plate. Ive heard that the "shoot thru the hull" transducers lose a significant amount of power. however this may not be a problem for you. It should still perform well enough down to the 500-600ft mark. Now if you were ocean fishing, and had to reach depths of 1000ft or more, I would think you would have performance problems. Im interested in this as well. Anybody use a "shoot thru"?

I personally do not like any down rigger with a horizontal spool. Especially manual ones. Poor design if you ask me….for multiple reasons.

I fish from Northeast harbor up to Dunkirk. Last year it really seemed like the ticket was lead core. I want to get into it. A local Field and Stream by me has a package set up which includes an Okuma Classic Pro GLT 8ft 6in rod + Okuma level wind reel + 18lb lead core + 500ft of backing for $139. I believe it has maybe 10-12 colors. Can someone school me on how to go about using it? I understand that you get maybe 5ft of depth for every color let out, at trolling speed? Do you just put them in your rod holders and let them go? Can you run inline planer boards on them? Does the lead core basically run right behind the boat? I typically use two Dipsy Diver rods, two down rigger rods, and two inline planer board rods. And Im wondering where the hell I am going to squeeze two lead core rods into the spread. THanks for any advice. Doug Pittsburgh, PA

Look at the new Simrad NSS EVO units. Very impressive. And can be found in packages with radar. It's fits your bill.

I was fishing out of Olcott 2 weeks ago in 4-5ft waves. I had just installed a new Fishhawk X4D. My readings were all over the place. Also lost communication a lot with the probe. Can terrible waves and the boat thrashing all over the place cause goofy speed readings and poor connection with the probe?

Scotty power grips are the way to go. Very easy to adjust tension, and no tools required. I've never had one fail

Both. Depending on what I am fishing for and how deep they are. Typically have one down 150ft for those slob kings. And one up high for steelies.

When I tied the new swivel on, I pulled off atleast 25ft of wire to get all the spirals out. To my knowledge, I did not feel any kinks...atleast within 2 rod lengths of the knot. Weather or not there was one on the spool, I dont know. Any idea where I can get that crimping kit with that thimble thing? I do like how it functions. Really keeps stress off of the swivel.

I fished saturday, in 5 footers. I was about 8 miles out, in 450-480ft of water. Trolled from the harbor east past the stacks. I did hook up with good sized steelies and a few kings. Water temp was all over the place. Surface temps ranging from 65 - 71. Down deep the temp was all over as well. In some spots it was down to 45 degrees at 90ft, in other places it was 60 degrees at 90ft. It was a mess. No solid thermocline. Just a real gradual change the whole way down.

so i was king fishing this weekend. Had my dipsy rod back up in action, using a Sampo 60lb swivel with coast lock snap. I used the knot mentioned above. Went to pop the dipsy in order to reset at a different depth, and the wire SNAPPED. Lost my brand new dipsy. I was skeptical of that knot. I stopped at the Slippery Sinker baitshop by Olcott and had them put on a new swivel. They used this kit that had some wire sleeves in it, as well as what looked like a brass thimble / horse shoe shaped piece of brass piping. They threaded on two sleeves, then passed the wire through this "thimble", then into the sleeves and crimped. Then crimped the tag into the 2nd sleeve. all covered with shrink tubing. Seems very solid. Does anybody know where I can purchase that "thimble" / brass pipe piece? its shaped like a horse shoe, has a diameter about 1-2mm.