Importance of depth/speed probe

[jgrenier]

We are new to trolling for salmon on our own in Lake Ontario, and were just wondering exactly how important having Fish Hawk Probe is to your success at catching fish?

[LongLine]

I don't leave home without it.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[skipper19]

I leave home without mine (wishlist)...but everybody is on the radio giving down temp most of the time. Speed is nearly the same as GPS if you go on a north south troll from the south shore. I still catch my share of fish...maybe I could catch somebody elses share of fish too, if I had one..I don't know

Mark

[jgrenier]

Have the chance to buy an older fish hawk 840 but not shure if that is the right thing to do or should i buy a new fish hawk x4 any thoughts or pros and cons to ether of them thanks

[Yankee Troller]

Get the new one! I have heard some great things about it. Yes, it is critical to have one on board. Will you catch fish without it? Heck yea! Will you catch more with one? Can't say you will. What i will say though is you will have peace of mind knowing your lure speed, and you will also have some good info as far as temp is concerned. That comes in handy on a slow day. This way you can put your lures in the right area.

[Gotta Bite]

I bought a depth raider last year and improved my catch by double. It's nice to know what's going on down there with the currents and the affect it has on your ball speed. I chose the DR because at the time the DR's battery life was longer than the Fish Hawk. I heard the new X4 has improved capabilities over it's predecessor. So I am sure you can't go wrong with either. Good luck.

[jgrenier]

Thanks for the help hopefully this will improve my sucsses

[chinook]

Absolutely agree with Yankee in all regards. First off get the X4. It is like night and day from the old Fish Hawk probe. And as Rick also mentioned, you can catch targets without speed and temp . I fished many years without such a unit, and caught my share of salmonoids through the years, by other means. Such as reading the rigger cables,watching the angle and for bubbles. Watching the diver rods, and rod tip on a thumper rig. These will help to monitor speed but will not in looking for preferred temps. You can fish the marks, but once the thermocline sets up, its rewarding to fish the ice water of 39-42 degrees and up if targeting mature kings. But as staging time arrives,matures will be caught out of temp anyways, for mother nature takes over. So does it put more fish in the boat? I would have to say yes. Is it absolutely needed, that's for you to decide. But an item I would put high on the -to get- list.- Duane

[CBish]

I second or third Yank and Duane.

My experience if the fishing is good you don't need it, when the fishing is slow it makes the difference between a 1-3 fish day and a 6-9 fish day. The X-4 is the way to go, rock solid reading and big letters you can see from anywhere on the boat. Still using the same batteries I put in on April 6, 18 - 8 hour trips (and one night left on) on them now.

CC

[Shade]

There was a similar discussion a few months back on speed/temp units and over the last month I have had the privilage to fish on several different boats all equiped with speed/temp units. Just Sunday in the pro/am the boat i was on was on a SW troll and his ground speed on the GPS read 3.1 and his probe speed read 2.3, difference of .8mph. His GPS is a Raymarine and speed/temp unit is a Pro Troll. We passed another Charter boat on our starboard side and the Captain asked us how fast we where trolling and we told him 2.3 at the ball. Capt. Pete told Capt. Bob he was going faster then 2.3 so Capt. Pete increased his speed until he was along side us and he said his ground speed was 3.7 and 3.2 at the ball.

In conclusion I believe what was said on the earlier post. If you are catching fish and your probe says you are at 2.3mph and the water temp is 48.5 degrees then that is the speed you want to maintain. I know have doughts that any unit is anywhere near accurate with trolling speed and it makes me wonder on water temp as well. I personally use the Cannon unit on my 26' boat and the Fishhawk on our 21' and we catch our share of fish on both. So I can say both units do their job.

Shade

[Pj Weber]

I never thought that it would make that much of a difference but when I got my new boat it came with a Ray Jefferson unit. Went out on tuesday afternoon and put out flasher fly combo and noticed that it did not seem to have the action that I had seen on charter boats I had been on. Went out on wednesday and decided to run the unit. Found my down speed was .7 mph picked it up to 2.0-2.3. Had to adjust almost every turn as speed would go from 3.7 to about 1.3 depending on direction. I am now a believer that if you want to catch fish you need a unit. I do not know which is better but get a unit to tell you speed at the level you are fishing!!! PJ

[SMann40]

Knowing your speed at the probe will definitely increase your catch. With the currents you run into down there your surface speeds can be quite a bit different from below. Your speed and the direction your trolling in can make all the difference. And the lures your using should be used at the right speeds.