Fish hawk or not

[Sk8man]

You know the original question was whether to buy a Fish Hawk or not  and a lot of folks both have them and love them. I think that like many of the issues on LOU the critical question becomes: "Do I actually NEED a Fish hawk X4 or 4D"? The folks that have become used to and perhaps even dependent on or "addicted to"   them obviously feel very strongly toward the "need"  part of the issue and it much akin to the autopilot issue.  Many of the guys who have fished for a longtime may view things from the vantage point that "We never had those things in the past and we still caught fish"  .  I admit they are really nice, useful and handy as well for gathering data and formulating strategies or changes in tactics out there. With that said it boils down to whether you are prepared to layout $800 for one and whether it isTHAT useful to you (your significant other might also ask you what would be the price per pound equivalent buying fish ). I have personally witnessed a $300 probe going to the bottom of lake O on my buddy's boat and we were both speechless for quite awhile ....not a pleasant circumstance and to some degree they need careful handling because parts of them can be fragile...you need to know that this is a potential reality of owning one so they may end up being  $1100 at some point too. If you are chartering I'd say it may be more useful financially (as any useful "tool" might be than certainly to a weekend warrior out there). So far my Fish Hawk TD at less than $150 can do fairly well with temperature/thermocline estimates, water profiles as well as specific depths/temps setups may be running at, and the use of my fish finder combined with close monitoring of the angles of my downriggers, and wire rods and the downrigger rods and lines  themselves, the ripples created in the water by the wires and the boat speed itself and a lot of experience with the lures and tackle I use seem to offer at least something better than just pure "guesstimates" without having either the Fish Hawk or if someone without a lot of experience. What I am getting at here is that the Fish Hawk may be  highly desirable to me to have but it isn't essential and when you are committing a lot of money this may be important in the decision making.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Sk8man

[bigblue]

Good points Sk8man great unit to have. Early spring in the skinny water no so much early summer offshore looking for temp breaks , cross currents down deep the unit is invaluable . Late summer early fall with the pre stage and later staged fish not so much. Would I go without one not really .

[Chinook Chaser]

Thanks guys for the info. It get confusing and frustrating fishing this lake and its tough to figure out. The down speed is great to have but of course gives you speed at the ball. What if your down 80 and speed looks good for spoon that's down and your probe is 80 then your running another down 40. The speed will be very different between the two is what I am learning. What do I do in that case?

[sea yea 2]

You still have a better idea than you would without it, pull it up 40 ft for a min than drop it back down if you want.

Its not a perfect science and should be used in conjunction with the other variables that you know ie speed up top, bend of the rods blowback of the riggers etc... The biggest thing is experiance so go get some and you will find it coming to you!

Tightlines

[tlr426]

I am still new to the lake and made the decision over the winter to invest in a fish hawk x4. I can't say that it is the sole reason for my success this year because understanding the lake a bit more defiantly helps. But in 4 years in the water this has been my most successful spring yet. I think they can be very useful for a beginner.

[Chinook Chaser]

As always thanks for the info. Been out more this year then ever before and I may be a slow learner. My numbers have not gone up much, but they are up. Will rigger blowback give me a false reading on the hawk? Sometimes I am wondering if it's accurate. I have seen it give me 3.5 on top and 1.5 90 ft down. If my speed looks good and I think everything is correct for what I know then I start to question everything when not catching fish.

[CatskillBob]

With the fishhawk, do you need to run and install a second transducer? I currently run an older Garmin sonar/plotter with an airmar transducer. If the fishawk requires a second transducer, how to do you guys reduce interference with the two? Thanks.

[Sk8man]

Yes its own transducer.The Fish hawk operates at 70 khz which shouldn't normally significantly impact any of the standard depth finders.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Sk8man

[Bada Bing]

I use a lure jenson ball on a string on canandaiguia. I find that along with watching blowback and using a fish hawk temp sensor that you drop and reel up works ok. I also wonder if I had the money,would a probe at the ball make me a better fisherman? Has any one else used the old school ball a string?

[TyeeTanic]

You mean a thumper rod?

[bigblue]

You mean a thumper rod?

No he is talking about a ball on a string and eyeballing the angle . State of art devise in it's time and guess what it still works.

[TyeeTanic]

But I thought that's pretty much what a thumper rod did. Big weight on a rod, and you look at the angle/action to judge the speed?

[bigblue]

But I thought that's pretty much what a thumper rod did. Big weight on a rod, and you look at the angle/action to judge the speed?

It is a bracket with a scale and line and ball you hang it over the side when trolling . A lot of us started with the set up and I think they still make it to day. Basic cheap and they work fairly well.

[TyeeTanic]

What does the scale measure?

[bigblue]

The degree of angle is measured an shown as surface speed.

[TyeeTanic]

Smart.

[Chinook Chaser]

As always thanks for the info. Been out more this year then ever before and I may be a slow learner. My numbers have not gone up much, but they are up. Will rigger blowback give me a false reading on the hawk? Sometimes I am wondering if it's accurate. I have seen it give me 3.5 on top and 1.5 90 ft down. If my speed looks good and I think everything is correct for what I know then I start to question everything when not catching fish.

[Chinook Chaser]

Should I calibrate the speed of my hawk. Should I put it down 5 feet which is the depth it's supposed to be to read properly on a calm day and match that probe speed to the GPS ground speed or is this not needed.

[bigblue]

I wouldn't touch it the difference you are seeing is down currents and the probe is telling you that. it's not so much what the numbers are but repeatability to what's working .Gps speed is totally different than speed over water some guys use it but again it's all about repeatability . You will learn to trust the numbers .

[Chinook Chaser]

I have one thing to say about customer service at fish hawk.....it's amazing. My prove stopped working and they are sending me a new one for free!!!