Recommendations for speed monitoring

[Cletus]

Need recommendations for monitoring speed while trolling, please, I used an etrex years back, but would like to know if there are more accurate methods. There is no speedometer on my fish finder. Thank you in advance.

[Sk8man]

Fishawk X4D. trolling speed at both the boat and downrigger weight and also water temperature at both surface and at weight (at probe and all information transsmitted wirelessly. You can also use an Android phone as an additional display.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Sk8man

[Bada Bing]

For inland lakes, lure Jenson makes a weighted ball on a string with a  pointer to a speed dial. It works, its cheap and no batteries are required. 

[sherman brown]

I used the ball and string many yrs ago and it just wasnt that accurate. I would suggest getting a cheap gps or upgrade your fishfinder to one that has a gps. you can get the helix 5 chirp with gps for 299.99 but I prefer the helix 7 chirp/gps for 449.99. I have the older helix 7 di gps combo without chirp. I love the bright screen and fast maping. you'll get real time speed with either unit.

[Sk8man]

GPS speed is calculated as "speed over ground" which means it is the speed of the boat moving over the lake bottom. You mentioned that you wanted something accurate for trolling.

Although the GPS speed is better than nothing, it tells you little about what is going on BELOW while trolling. You didn't mention anything about price so the suggestion of the Fishhawk X4D is based on the question you asked.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Sk8man

[sherman brown]

4 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

GPS speed is calculated as "speed over ground" which means it is the speed of the boat moving over the lake bottom. You mentioned that you wanted something accurate for trolling.

Although the GPS speed is better than nothing, it tells you little about what is going on BELOW while trolling. You didn't mention anything about price so the suggestion of the Fishhawk X4D is based on the question you asked.

 

doesn't the fishhawk require a downrigger and coated cable to work? or am I thinking about something else? I believe the fishhawk will give you a more accurate speed of the lure. but there are hundreds of guys that use gps speed and are happy. and if I get on the radio and say I'm running 2.8 mph that doesn't mean for him to run 2.8 with the fishhawk. the fishhawk with a gps is the way most people use them.

[FishingFool34]

10 minutes ago, Sk8man said:

GPS speed is calculated as "speed over ground" which means it is the speed of the boat moving over the lake bottom. You mentioned that you wanted something accurate for trolling.

Although the GPS speed is better than nothing, it tells you little about what is going on BELOW while trolling. You didn't mention anything about price so the suggestion of the Fishhawk X4D is based on the question you asked.

 

X2 on this^... you will be very surprised to see the difference between your GPS and the actual speed at depth. Depending on currents I have seen close to 2mph difference in the speeds.

[FishingFool34]

Just now, sherman brown said:

 

doesn't the fishhawk require a downrigger and coated cable to work? or am I thinking about something else? I believe the fishhawk will give you a more accurate speed of the lure. but there are hundreds of guys that use gps speed and are happy. and if I get on the radio and say I'm running 2.8 mph that doesn't mean for him to run 2.8 with the fishhawk. the fishhawk with a gps is the way most people use them.

Fishhawk does not need coated cable, the new X2 version actually doesn't technically require a downrigger either. I have seen 2.8mph gps speed be barely 1mph down speed. GPS speeds are better than nothing but depending on the conditions can be way off from what you want.

[sherman brown]

5 minutes ago, FishingFool34 said:

Fishhawk does not need coated cable, the new X2 version actually doesn't technically require a downrigger either. I have seen 2.8mph gps speed be barely 1mph down speed. GPS speeds are better than nothing but depending on the conditions can be way off from what you want.

 

doesn't the fishhawk cost somewhere around 650.00? and it doesn't matter what speed the lure is going as long as I'm catching fish. if my boat is going 2.0 and im catching fish im happy with my gps speed.

 

but we've dwelled on this subject long enough. im just happy that you posted and informed the op about the fishhawk. now he can make a informed decision.

[Fishnut]

I have used just a gps speed and have done very well. That being said I do plan to get a fish hawk this winter.
You can catch fish without one. in my opinion the gos is more important because every boat should have a good gps for safety. Add the fish hawk later.


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[Fishnut]

I have used just a gps speed and have done very well. That being said I do plan to get a fish hawk this winter.
You can catch fish without one. in my opinion the gps is more important because every boat should have a good gps for safety. Add the fish hawk later.


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[Tyee II]

Maybe you can get a paddlewheel ducer for your present fish locator? Or a seperate paddlewheel? I have a P66 airmar with a paddlewheel on one boat for my HDS, and a seperate paddlewheel on my small boat for the Lowrance X-85 on it. What locator are you running? I would think you already have GPS if you are fishing the Great Lakes and are specifically looking for surface speed?

 

Speed over ground is important, but so are surface and at-depth speeds. Comparing these to your GPS speed will tell you what currents you are dealing with and help you find your sweet spot in your trolling direction and speed so most or all of your lures in your spread are running correctly.

 

The fishhawk WILL tell you surface speed and temp without using the probe, BTW. Those readings are coming from the transducer that has a paddlewheel.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Tyee II

[TyeeTanic]

Fishhawk x4D or smart troll.

[Xxx]

I've been dragging lures around LakeO since the mid to late 70's before the invasive species when the water was blue/green at that time there was no need for such things as the Fish Hawk and all the others. Fish were much more shallow and weren't as spooked as they are now a days. Now you can see a jig head laying on the bottom in 20ft of water. This has changed the ways of fishing on the big pond!! after catching limits of walleyes doing what we did for 10-15 years it's hard to change. I've taken the advice of other on this board and bought a hawk. This year was a banner year for sure for everyone, this year I took my 2 daughters up and caught more fish in 3 days than previous years. In my opinion the hawk played a major roll as we were able to dial our speed in at the ball which in my mind was the ticket. There were days we were running almost 4mph to achieve 2.3 or so at 70-80ft almost every fish we marked we caught that exact fish probably not but we marked we caught. The fish that we the surprise fish were the browns. LOL. On our way in we were marking nice hooks on the bottom slowed down to 1.8 threw a flasher/Gambler rig out on a weighted dips I didn't even get the other rod in the water and the kids were hollering DAD-DAD 1/2 later and they had the biggest laker I ever saw not being hooked well and a poor excuse of a net man I blew it. I can say that to me that hawk is worth it's weight in gold. I'll never leave the dock without it. That's my take on it. I'm not rich it took a lot of thinking to make this decision, but I'm happy I did, to see my daughters be happy and enjoying the same sport I eat sleep and drink.

[whaler1]

If I had to choose between a fish hawk and a graph I’d take the fish hawk every time.


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[Xxx]

👍👍👍 I agree 100%.

[dawg]

X3


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[dawg]

Fishhawk or that 180$ Depth Raider in classifieds you need to know temp and speed at Ball I run both and like to compare readings to what my dipseys and riggers are telling me


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[Cletus]

Thank you for the input. Your comments have been very educational. I had no idea the lure speed 80 ft down could be so much different than the surface speed. I should have specified the type and location of trolling I plan to do. My boat came with downriggers, but I plan to do most of my trolling on the surface in the winter months on Cayuga Lake. My boat came with a 1990 Lowrance fishfinder. So before I invest in a Fish Hawk or Depth Raider, I should upgrade my fish finder with one that has a speed monitor.

I just looked for fish finders and am already confused, so I'll probably ask for recommendations in a new post.

Thank you again for the input and recommendations

[fishmaster13184]

12 hours ago, Cletus said:

Thank you for the input. Your comments have been very educational. I had no idea the lure speed 80 ft down could be so much different than the surface speed. I should have specified the type and location of trolling I plan to do. My boat came with downriggers, but I plan to do most of my trolling on the surface in the winter months on Cayuga Lake. My boat came with a 1990 Lowrance fishfinder. So before I invest in a Fish Hawk or Depth Raider, I should upgrade my fish finder with one that has a speed monitor.

I just looked for fish finders and am already confused, so I'll probably ask for recommendations in a new post.

Thank you again for the input and recommendations

I’d say as long as your fishfinder accurately tells you the water depth you will be way ahead of the game getting a down speed system like a subtroll, fishhawk or depthraider etc..... it doesn’t mean squat if you’re doing 2.2 top speed of your lures are doing a significantly different speed. Top speed basically means nothing. Also I use the navionics app on my phone to show my course and lake contours, it also shows gps boat speed

Edited October 2, 2018 by fishmaster13184

[scobar]

Smart troll is another option, no downrigger needed


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