83/200 or 50/200 transducer?

[markmonkey1]

I'm about to pull the trigger on an HDS5. It comes with the 83/200 xducer. But I'm reading the 50/200 may be better for deep water Lake Ontario salmon trolling (200-600 fow). What are you using?

Oh, I'll be using it on the shallower Lake Erie for walleye too (<100 fow).

[Silver Fox]

I have a 83/200 with zero issues. I wouldn't spend the extra $.

[Andre wallyandre]

83/200 is what is needed for freshawater fishing

[Chas0218]

Are you set on a lowrance?

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/41913-looking-for-a-lowrance-repair-guy/

[markmonkey1]

I've had great luck with my previous Lowrance, but it was finally starting to crap out last season...but it's 15 years old so I can't complain.

[markmonkey1]

From what I understand, the 50 versus 80 KHZ transducer has to do with depth, and maybe cone angle, not freshwater versus saltwater. I read that the 50 is better for deeper depths, but I'm not sure if they mean deeper depths of water, or deeper depths that the fish are located at.

I sent to Lowrance an email inquiry. Just want to understand before I purchase.

[bulletny]

I believe the 83 is a larger cone angle than the 50 so would be better for trolling and showing down rigger ball on screen plus showing more fish

[markmonkey1]

Here's a link sent to me from Lowrance.

It doesn't get into the specific differences b/w 50 & 83 kHz like I hoped, but explains why the lower frequencies are better in deep or salt water.

http://support.lowrance.com/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1001&PARTITION_ID=1&secureFlag=false&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=2967

[jimski2]

When I used my old x16 paper graph if I changed the ping speed and frequency I would indicate salmon at depths over 150 foot that never showed up on the regular screen. Play around with the frequency and ping speeds if you can.