Humminbird Helix 10 Di

[Hawkeye50]

Opinions on this unit for lake O trolling.

[Yankee Troller]

Opinions on this unit for lake O trolling.

 

I recently got a chance to see DI and SI while trolling Lake Ontario. It's a great tool, but it's not necessary. 2D sonar is still your bread and butter. However, the SI could be beneficial in the spring, or after a lake roll, when bait is high. Being able to see bait off to the side of the boat might be an advantage. 

 

The HELIX line-up is an improvement over Humminbird's "core" units that were around for many years. You get faster processors and better screen resolution. The HELIX 12 is a CHIRP model, and CHIRP will show you a crisper image in 2D. It also helps separate fish from bottom. From some of the testing I've seen done with this model it's impressive.

 

Given all of this info these units aren't set it and forget it type fish finders. You need to learn how to use them. They will show you EVERYTHING under the boat, and you need to learn how to tweak it to show what you want it to.

[Hawkeye50]

Thanks for the info.

[Yankee Troller]

No problem

[RD9]

I just purchased a Helix 10 GPS/Sonar. It includes the Contour xd map. I looked through the lakes listed and I did see Lake Ontario included. It has 3000 lakes I would assume Ontario would be included?

I have been watching tutorials via utube and have a quick question if anyone could answer. While motoring out at what speed will I be able to mark bait pods / fish reliably. What mode would I want the unit in and should I have the chart speed to the highest capabilities.

[Yankee Troller]

I just purchased a Helix 10 GPS/Sonar. It includes the Contour xd map. I looked through the lakes listed and I did see Lake Ontario included. It has 3000 lakes I would assume Ontario would be included?

I have been watching tutorials via utube and have a quick question if anyone could answer. While motoring out at what speed will I be able to mark bait pods / fish reliably. What mode would I want the unit in and should I have the chart speed to the highest capabilities.

 

First off if you plan on fishing just Lake Ontario get the Lakemaster chart for your Humminbird. It's pretty good! If you expect to venture to Lake Erie, Oneida, Cayuga, and Champlain stick with the Navionics. 

 

Your clarity on plane will ultimately result in your transducer and it's placement. If you're running a thru-hull you'll have a much better picture on plane. I can mark bait as fast as my boat will go (which isn't that fast  ). My tutorial on here will help you with settings for trolling. I usually run the unit in dual mode so I'm looking at both beams overlay, and I always run it in the fastest chart speed.

 

I'm sure you'll love the unit. Let me know if you need anything else answered.

[RD9]

Thank you for the reply. I'll dig up the tutorial. I fish Erie and Ontario. Pretty excited to see the difference with this model on marking fish deep and bottom related. On Erie this year we took eyes 110ft right off the bottom. On my 798 hummin bird which is probably 7 yrs old, these come as just small undefined humps.

[Yankee Troller]

The 798 has the same power as the 8xx, 9xx, and 11xx. I'm guessing it was more setting related unless they were glued to the bottom. When we fish Lake Trout, which hug bottom as you know, they show up as hooks right on the bottom. With the HELIX you're getting a larger screen, way better resolution, and a faster processor. If you can put a thru-hull in do it! If it's a glass boat, and you trailer it, look at the B60.