Fish Finder - Jigging

[PCPete]

Seems my hummingbird Fish Finder has given up and therefore its obviously time for a new one 

 

Combined with the fact I now have a proper aluminum fishing boat and not a big Jet Ski to fish off, I'm ready to do this right. 

 

I was decently impressed with the ability of my hummingbird PiranhaMAX 170's ability to pickup my jig and the fish but it was always a bit of a guessing game, as even when I did hook onto a fish I was never able to see lines intersect like others have mentioned or a fish come up from the bottom... possibly due to the Fish-ID setting making it a symbol instead... I had turned this off before but then was unable to determine if there were fish sitting on the bottom or not (at all) and so ended up with it back on. I understand that seeing them on the bottom is sometimes impossible due to the fact they sit so close to bottom and blend in. 

 

All that being said I am looking for an upgrade at this point. Looking to spend around $200 or less but could be convinced to go further if there is a good reason to do so. Id like something pretty good at picking up any kind of abnormality down there that may help in my quest for the fish. 

 

I have never had a Lowrance but I know there are a few guys on here that do have them. I'm open to going down that road if that's the best option. 

 

Any and all suggestions welcome. 

 

-Pete 

 

 

[Sk8man]

If you are looking at $200 or less I'd go with a Lowrance Mark5xPro model. They are dual 83 and 200mhz and have good bottom discrimination as well as target separation. You mentioned the Fish ID function. It is not nearly as accurate as using the unit without it especially in shallower water. Color is a nice feature to have but not necessary or essential despite the fact that it is looked at that way now days by many fishermen..... The reason I mentioned the Pro model is because it has a speed impeller as well and that can come in handy in a number of situations and can be especially useful if you decide to troll sometime or if your gps goes out (if you rely on it for surface speed). It meaures in 1/10's mph so you can monitor drift speed as well when jigging. You can also re-examine previous screens by scrolling back on the screen. It really is a decent unit for the price and if you were to decide on an expensive unit when you hit the lottery it would serve as a good backup unit .

Edited July 9, 2013 by Sk8man

[zackblain]

If you can swing an extra hundred or so go for a humminbird 386ci. It's a color unit with built in gps. I have a 597ci hd and love it. It has a flasher mode if you're used to that for ice fishing/jigging. I use it in regular graph mode with the RTS(real time sonar) on the side for jigging and it's awesome. I have no issues picking up a 3/8oz jig in 100' of water while jigging. Gps is also very nice for when you want to run around and mark fish before you actually start fishing them. I'll load up some screen shots when I get time

[bulletbob]

 The Garmin 500 C is $250 on ebay, and they are great units.. I have had a Garmin color unit for years, and they are simply terrific.. The Garmin is extremely powerful.. They are 500 watts RMS.. If you check power specs you will see the are double the power of most units in their price range... Power wins out over just about any other feature on a fish finder.. Power is where the sensitivity and ability to get a good return comes from.. lots of pixels looks nice, but power is the key... Garmin  typically makes the most powerful color units in he under $300 range.. Check out online reviews before you purchase anything.... bob

[hermit]

I have the 5x Pro and don't like it.  It's a step up from your old unit but it's not ideal.  If you absolutely have to stay under 200 bucks then it's either this unit or the similar Humminbird model.  The dual frequency is nice, I usually run them side by side,  sometimes one will pick up fish when the other doesn't.  Also if there is a lot of bait around the narrow cone can be a big help, otherwise you won't see the fish for all the bait.  But it's not very good at tracking the jigs past 80 feet or so.  My old discontinued Fishmark 480 was better and it was in the same price range.  

 

More power like bulletbob suggested would be a big plus.  Also a color screen is another big plus like zackblain said.  It's not so much the color as it is the brightness, with a grayscale unit it's very hard to see in bright light and I find myself bending over to get close to it all the time.  The color units are much easier to see.  I would strongly recommend a more powerful color unit if you can swing it, if not, the 5x Pro is serviceable. I'm sure the Humminbird equivalent is just as good or better also. I wish I had spent more for a better unit myself.

[Frogger]

Go with Lowrance, spend the money and get one with GPS. You'll be glad that you did. When your in search mode looking for fish, bait etc, it will be worth it. As far as models, Elite 5 base combo, the dsi stuff I wouldn't worry about, is a good start. I had one and loved it, then they came out with the elite 7 lol.

[zackblain]

heres a few older shots from my 597

[Copperliner]

I still enjoy using a Lowrance X85 after testing out other updated units over several years of jigging.  Its "Fastrac" (quick scrolling) mode makes it easy to track jigs, fish on bottom, etc. without delay.  3000W P-P, 375W RMS.  A bottom-lock feature would be my only wish for this unit, but that's just a minor inconvenience.  Discontinued, but they pop up quite often on auction sites for well under $200.

 

 

[guff]

Question - I have a $200 Lowrance (which I like better than my $200 Humminbird) that tracks jigs well but I have problems seeing the screen in bright sunlight. Was thinking of buying a color model (until I had to spent $2330 to repair my motor).  My question is, can you see a color screen a lot better than a black and white screen in bright sunlight?

[Frogger]

My elite 7 is awesome during daytime. I'm sure most of the new units are better these days than older units. Anybody remember cupping your hands around the Interphase 20/20 back in the day lol

[guff]

Sorry Hermit (Alec) - Read your post after I asked above question. Looks like should go color route. Do love watching the lakers attack my jig on the fish finder. Need to save up I guess and hope no more motor problems. Notice you haven't been out jigging much lately but sounds like lakers have not been cooperating much from other LOU reports. I have not been out for 3 weeks myself (been visiting first grandbaby in Portland, Oregon) and am chomping at the bit. Will head to Belhurst come he.. or high water this week and report back here.

[Sk8man]

Sorry about that I neglected to mention the problem of bright light...it is true that in direct sunlight the display is hard to see. I fashioned a visor out of plastic and velcroed it on and it helps. Iused some of the thin plastic edging material used in gardening (approx the same color as the unit)...probably not the most elegant solution but workable and cheap.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Sk8man

[zackblain]

on humminbirds you can adjust brightness, change backdrop color, change color palates of sonar returns and so on. I keep mine on the same max brightness with a white background and never have issues with visibility

[PCPete]

wow - I appreciate all the responses to this... did not expect this kind of turnout 

 

It seems the extra 100$ for the Humminbird® 386ci is worth the investment... (now just have to convince my wife of this...) usually I just use the GPS on my phone to track and mark fish but its likely not as accurate as the one in this unit. Also the power output is 500 watts (RMS)/2,400 watts (PTP) therefore technically making it equivalent to the Garmin mentioned by Bulletbob. I have as well had issues with seeing the screen in the sun and mieswell solve that problem as well by getting the color screen. 

 

Time to get a Fishfinder that can see my jig and that I can see in the sun... I guess at this point I don't see a big difference between the Hummingbird and the Lowrance at this point but the Lowarance Elite 5x DSI model is priced 50$ more then the Hummingbird 386ci and therefore the hummingbird is winning at this point. 

http://store.humminbird.com/products/604309/386ci_Combo
http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder/Elite5xDSI-en-us.aspx







 

[zackblain]

keep in mind that the lowrance dsi models ONLY have the down imaging, no traditional sonar. I dont think the imaging will work well for jigging purposes

[ERABBIT]

Just a fishfinder for $195.00 and no color BUT looks like a winner for jigging........

 

http://fishfinders.factoryoutletstore.com/details/1379-54521/humminbird-fishfinder-561-di.html

 

 

 

Product # 408980-1

The Humminbird 561 DI is a fishfinder that features a high resolution 16 level grayscale 320V x 320H 5" FSTN LCD display. The Dual Beam Plus™ sonar has selectable 16°, 28°,45° and 75° beams with 4000 Watts PTP power output. It uses Down Imaging function to reveal the detailed cover and structure below the boat.

561 DI Fishfinder Features:

• Fishing System
• 5" FSTN LCD Display
  - 320V x 320H
• Transducer Included
  - Mounting Type: Transom
  • SwitchFire Sonar (More Details)
  • DualBeam PLUSâ„¢ (More Details)
  • Selectable 16°, 28°,45° & 75° Beams
  • 455/800/200/455kHz Sonar Frequency
• Speed Capable w/ Optional Speedwheel
• Power Output
  - 500W (RMS)
  - 4000W (PTP)
• Depth Capability:
  - 250' DI
  - 600'
• Split Screen Zoom
• Large Digits View
• Custom View Selections
• Real Time Sonar
• X-Press Menu System
• Fully Waterproof

Includes:

• Mounting Bracket
• Power Cable
• Transom Mount Transducer

 

 

The Humminbird Fishfinder 561 DI has many exciting features for users of all types. It's one of FactoryOutletStore's best selling 500 Series Fishfinders. You can extend the lifetime of your Humminbird Fishfinder 561 DI with the purchase of a FactoryOutletStore Extended Warranty. See the Humminbird Fishfinder 561 DI gallery images above for more product views. FactoryOutletStore stocks a full line of accessories like 10' Transducer Extension Cable, 30' Transducer Extension Cable, and 6' Power Cable for the Humminbird Fishfinder 561 DI. The Humminbird Fishfinder 561 DI is sold as a Brand New Unopened Item.

 

 

 

[PCPete]

Hmm... that looks like it has everything the 386ci has except GPS and color... now to decide if that's worth 100$ or not... 

[McDragon]

I have a 1 yr old Humminbird 597ci HD. I upgraded to the 598 ci SI because I wanted the Side Imaging. $350 and it's yours.  The unit head and transducer are a year old, but the rest of the hardware is brand new. PM me if interested.

[guff]

Well after an almost 4 week shutdown, finally made it to Seneca Belhurst area for a an 8 hour solo trip last Friday. Same old story unfortunately. Lots of jig chasers but not many hitters. Ended up with 2 in the boat . One was a really nice 30 incher that put up a heck of a fight. Sure is fun fighting them on light tackle. Still lots of LT in the 60- 125 fow area but a lot of them don't show up on the fish finder until the jig gets over their head.  When they finally decide they are hungry there should be some good times in that area in the near future.

Water is really murky right now. Maybe from all the runoff. On the trip to the launch you can tell we have had a pile of rain when you look into the corn and soybean fields. Lot of stunted growth. The murky water may be affecting the bite. Just another of the hundred or so excuses I have used over the last 60 years. Ha Ha.

Coming back to the launch (at the old chamber) I got a little concerned. The parking lot was FULL of cars. Thought to myself," Man, I hope my truck isn't blocked in". Think it was the Musselman contest going on. Turned out the nice people had left a hole I could get through so was not a problem. But this old heart does not need those kind of suprises.

Another item is in the pm I was getting some hits that did not feel like lake trout. Last year we got some 15 inch perch on our big lake trout jigs in the same area (50 fow) and I wonder if they are not there now. Will drop down some smaller jigs and see if they are back on next trip.

 

[Lively1]

Spent most of this past week jigging lakers on Keuka recently.  Used a Fishing Buddy II fishfinder.  It seemed to show depth and structure accurately.. to 130-140 feet which was bottom where I was fishing, but rarely marked fish, and never any bait fish. In spite of that I managed to catch 2-5 fish almost every day in a couple hours of fishing. Is it worth putting a new and better fish finder on my shopping list?

[guff]

Wow - What an easy question to answer. Yes it is worth every penny to get a better fish finder. I used my fishing buddy too when I started jigging. It is great for our Canada walleye jigging trips (75 walleyes last week) but does not cut it for the Finger Lakes I believe. My older $200 Lowrance does cut it and I would put it at the top of the list of absolute necessary fishing equipment to have on board. Just wish I had the mula to upgrade to a color model. Some day.

[PCPete]

I highly recommend upgrading and am very pleased with the performance of the Hummingbird 386CI if you can swing it...

 

It was a bit more then I wanted to spend but it was worth every penny to be able to accurately identify baitfish and see lakers sitting on the bottom. I wish I had some more screenshots for you but did not take more then one on my week long trip.

 

This fishfinder far exceeded my expectation when it comes to level of detail and ability to see lake trout sitting on the bottom of the lake. 

 

I will take some more screenshots in the future for this thread for future reference, as most of the fish caught on my trip were in places where we had seen a bait-pod recently but were not ontop of one. We were however ontop of fish we could see on the bottom... There is nothing better then watching your jig fall and watching a fish come off the bottom and hit it on the way down... Vice versa on the way up. To know whether a fish is chasing your line either direction is a great advantage that allows you to be better prepared for a strike and ultimately hook more fish. 

 

This is a screenshot of a large bait-pod we found. 

 

 

 

 

[guff]

Wow new@this. You just talked me into taking the plunge. Just ordered a Hummer 386ci. $294 plus tax from Factory Outlet Store computer site. Now to break the news to my wife. Ok - here is the discussion "Well honey, I will catch so many more fish with it that we will reduce our grocery bill by that much. Plus, just think of all the extra Omega 3 fish oil we will be eating". Think that will fly?

[Sk8man]

Better get your sleeping bag out for tonight Guff   Good luck! Les

[PCPete]

Ut oh...

 

Wow new@this. You just talked me into taking the plunge. Just ordered a Hummer 386ci. $294 plus tax from Factory Outlet Store computer site. Now to break the news to my wife. Ok - here is the discussion "Well honey, I will catch so many more fish with it that we will reduce our grocery bill by that much. Plus, just think of all the extra Omega 3 fish oil we will be eating". Think that will fly?

 

I like that proposed discussion... I tried a similar thing with my wife but then she started googling how much fish your "supposed" to eat from the lake a week and ended up at the number 1 (due to mercury and other possible contents". For the record the answer is one but to be honest I have eaten much more then that a week with no ill effects (so far). 

I had better success going in the direction of.... Honey, if I can go out there and catch fish more efficiently then I will no doubt spend less time fishing and more at home with you. This one had the better success out of the two for me. 

Either way you will not be disappointed, the 386ci is all it says it is and more. The GPS is also awesome for marking bait pods and fish on the bottom with different symbols on the map. One of the the best features may be the drift alarm so you know when you have drifted X feet away from where you dropped your line and also what direction to move the boat to get back there. 

Your welcome to come out for a Jigging trip n see how I have mine setup if that's helpful - always more fun fishing with company.