which speed/temp sensor to buy?

[hawkeye625]

Hello, I'm new to lake Ontario last year and hooked for life. We fished twice on lake Ontario, once in the spring near the Niagra Bar and out of Olcott in the fall. In talking with some folks at the docks it seems a probe is a must on this lake. Just wondering what you guys use and what you would suggest. I have 2 cannon unitrols and 2 mag 10's. I really don't know much about probes and don't want to get too complicated.

I also had some trouble picking up fish on my sonar (lowrance 520) in deep water (200+ ft). Tried different settings on sensitivity but still didn't get any marks, but we were catching a few fish. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff

[GAMBLER]

Fishhawk X4. No coated cable to replace (in turn your downrigger counters are still accurate), battery life is great (did not change batteries all season last year), works without skipping a beat 120'+ down, and a smaller probe so you have less blow back. Depth Raider and sub troll are good units also. They are a little cheaper than the Fish Hawk but the replacement of coated cable over the years will make up the difference.

[Fishtails]

IMO, depending on how much you fish, they all work well. We have had the subtroll for the past three seasons and it was fine. Like Brian mentioned, the coated cable can get beat up through the season and when that happens you start loosing readings deeper than 100 ft. That being said....we use our boat hard and often. I had to replace the coated cable every season....but many guys never have to replace it. It just depends I guess?

We just installed the new Fish Hawk X4 last month and I look forward to seeing it perform. As of yet, I have not tried it out.

[Silver Fox]

Ditto to what Brian said. No coated cable to screw around with. The x-4 works awesome. Steady readings well under 100'.

[Iceman]

Fishawk X-4 good down to 300', maybe further, as that is as far as I have used it.

The others have inherent flaws that will definately cause failure at some point, plus they read slower than actual speed, around .5/.6MPH.

[Big Dave]

X-4

[Tim Bromund]

Depth Raider, rock solid and 1 probe battery per season.

For the Fish Hawk, you gotta drill more holes in the transom of your boat below the waterline to install yet another transducer. I'd rather have the coated cable myself.

4 seasons and counting on my original spool of coated cable. you don't have to change that any more frequently than you do standard rigger cables, so all of those supposed superior features of the fish hawk are a bunch of crap IMO.

Tim

[spoonfed-1]

I have the subtroll and it's been OK. Have had some issues due to cheap components being used but nothing major. I don't have anything good to say about the coated cable and depending on Fish Hawks reports after the next few seasons ( with the X4 being new on the market) I will probably go that direction when it comes time to replace the Subtroll.

Glen

[chowder]

I have a Depth Raider, and have the older Fish Hawk 640. I understand the new X4 is an improvement (it better be, I dont like the 640 readout at all!) The Depth Raider is easy to use and w/ few simple precautions is an economical and accurate tool. Don't retrieve (or run for extended periods) the coated cable riggers pivoted out at an angle from the boat. If you do you will get abrasion on the cable as it rubs the pulley at an angle. This might be worse on Cannons than on some riggers w/ more of a swiveling pulley. Keep a roll of electric tape around to touch up problems as the cable gets older (can save the day).

[Iceman]

My bracket for my X-4 is attached to the transon above the waterline, so no "extra holes below the waterline".

Tim is very happy with his DR, so he supports it strongly, to each their own. But most people have problems with the coated cable, electrical connections & loosing signal below 150'. The DR also marks speed slower than actual by .5 to .6 mph.

My cousin has the DR & it was professionally installed, & during this falls LOC derby we trolled parallel to each other & confirmed that the DR marks speed slower than actual by the amount noted above. He also has no signal below 100'. He has issues with the electrical connections at the boat gunwale loosing signal with the antenna as well.

Needless to say his DR has been less than he had hoped for when he laid out the $$$.

If you like to fuss with your equipment instead of fishing, don't buy an X-4.

[Chromeslayer]

' The DR also marks speed slower than actual by .5 to .6 mph.

not to sure why people get hung up on what model reads faster or slower.. the point of the unit is to reproduce the same speed your catching fish at.... to each his own i guess... i prefer the DR myself

[Tim Bromund]

who says it is .5 to .6 slow, maybe the DR is dead nuts on and the X4 reads .5 to .6 fast. In any case, Chromeslayer nailed it, repeatability is the key, the actual number is just a target to get back to.

Tim

ps, I've had my DR down over 160 with no signal loss. Never had any need to go deeper on the west end.

[fishman08]

it's all about preference they all work and it's not like you will catch more fish with one unit over the other. i don't want to drill any additional holes in the boat so i went with the DR and it works just fine. As for how deep each goes...who cares once you go below 150 you really don't want more than two or three riggers deeper than that or you'll be asking for tangles, so we will keep the prob up a little higher in the steelie range.

[hawkeye625]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think I'll wait to see what sales come up before spring and go from there.