Fish hawk probe .

[treerat]

Thinking about purchasing a probe . I mainly fish the finger lakes . Are the currents enough of a difference ? Does it really change your fishing that much . Lots of money for these things . Could buy a few more lures or electric riggers for that kind of money .

 

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[whaler1]

Buy a Fish Hawk. You won’t regret it. Single most important part of your setup.
Rather have it than a fishfinder.


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[dawg]

I have 2 a depth raider and a fishhawk x4d In case some thing happens to the other it is that important


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[just me]

a must

[katydid]

  The single best purchase I have ever made

 

[Ray4852]

save your money. you can see the thermocline on your fish finder.

[katydid]

  Hey Ray.....that is true when it’s set up strongly.....but before and after it sets up, it tells you the EXACT water temp.  down to 100’....just my amateur opinion!

[whaler1]

Thermocline, when there is one, is a break in temp.
Being able to know specific temps, and speed provides exponentially more opportunities.
It’s not what you run, it’s where and how.


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[billbobthorpe]

I thought the same thing treerat. Bought one last year and it made a world of difference. Finding the right temperature was so quick and easy. When you change trolling direction was the biggest surprise. You can get right back to the speed the fish are wanting so much faster. Even the wife noticed how much more info it provided and admitted it was worth the money. That should be proof enough.

[Fishstix]

Nutt.In the fingerlakes.  Basic trolling. Zig Zag pattern. They hit on inside turn,your to fast, outside your to slow.

If they dont bite one direction go the other way.In my opinion invest in a couple good wire dipsey rods. Run dodgers and watch your rod tips pulse.

Fish the hooks on the depth finder.Pay attention to the wind. Works for me

The down rigger wire that breaks will be the one with the $150 dollar probe or whatever they cost now.

 

Lake ontario yes. But I fished out of Hughes and you just get on the radio and ask for temp.....

 

You have to pay your dues,put your time in there is no sure fire fish catcher. After awhile you can tell by the bend in your dipsey if your speeds right.The angle of the downrigger cable at whatever depth your at.Even the vibration in the boat if things are not right. The more you fish the better fisherman you become.

 

Yes i have down speed and temp.has not been down in years.

 

I dont want to cause a argument  here this is just my experience.

I see I am in the minority.

 

what a $7500  fish  looks like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Frisco]

Man's quest to build a better mouse trap!

[treerat]

Thanks guys .think it will get ordered after Income tax gets back .

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[reeldilemma33]

Worst case scenario you don’t like it and you sell it for $100 less than what you paid for it on here. You probably have $100 worth of lures you don’t use anymore. I think it’ll help you and someday you’ll say “wow, how’d I ever get by without one?”


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[alex1young]

I had an X4D and used it several times without any difference in my catch rate. It’s a very interesting tool to have especially if you travel to many different lakes. Like others mentioned experiment with other techniques and more fish will come.

 

 

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[rolmops]

3 hours ago, alex1young said:

I had an X4D and used it several times without any difference in my catch rate. It’s a very interesting tool to have especially if you travel to many different lakes. Like others mentioned experiment with other techniques and more fish will come.

 

 

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Alex, fishing in a small lake like Owasco where you know all the ins and outs does not require a probe or a fishfinder, because for guys like us, Owasco has no secrets left. If you are a stranger to a lake, a probe makes a world of difference

Edited January 5, 2019 by rolmops

[Sk8man]

A lot of valid points  here in both directions. As a fishing dinosaur (kinda like Fishstix) I've spent a lot of time during my life  fishing without the aid of the newest and greatest :"gizmos". I do use an X4D at this point and years ago I used the predecessor to it that was a temp device that was on a reel with 100 ft or so with a thermistor probe at the end that measured just temp, but do I depend on it to solve all the fishing riddles? NO. It is merely one more tool in the fishing arsenal. For anyone looking to become a skilled fisherperson it is a huge mistake to think that any one tool can "magically" make you a stellar fisherperson. All of these instruments have a learning curve and fishing itself for the different species has  different learning curves as well. The basic level is data collection, interpretation, and adaptation to the information presented to be successful. Fishstix is an "old school" very competent fisherman and his points should not be ignored. Learning to fish successfully for the target species before reliance on all the "gizmos" is critical. Very experienced fisherpersons do a lot of things seemingly automatically such as perceiving changes in the wind direction and verlocity, surface changes in the water surface, the appearance of rod tips, estimation of current direction and numerous other things involving attention to detail. This information gathering serves as a baseline for figuring out what tactics, setups, or changes might be be productive. Extensive experience with this process makes for a successful fisherperson and can be far more effective than just the reliance on any one instrument or piece of data for that matter. The Fishhawk becomes most effective when you already have these learned skills because of the value of the specific information it adds to the situation, as does a capable depth finder. Both these items require interpretation based on experience in their use. Combining all these things is what gets consistent results and makes one a skilled fisherperson.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Sk8man

[Lewis863]

Dang... what sk8 said....I dont have time to be too old school I use the hawk for speed and temp equally important and I get as much as 1 mph difference between top and bottom speed on cayuga. If you can eliminate variables that stop you from catching you will catch more... in my humble opinion...


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[Fishstix]

I had a old guy up at Hughes ask me. Temps at 50ft Your marking at 100ft where do you fish?

Raise your hand if you know the answer,no shouting.    (answer below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no correct answer.

 

[Lewis863]

Where ever the fish will bite...

Edited January 14, 2019 by Lewis863

[Sk8man]

Some of it depends on the particular point in the season. Early and late in the season the specific temps can become less important than other things and all during the season a couple things stay important:
"Fish the bait" and "Fish the marks". and they may have little to do with specific water temp. On the other hand, having the speed at the weight and knowing where it is running from the X4D may be important all along.

Edited January 14, 2019 by Sk8man

[Lewis863]

Agreed I found plenty of fish way outside temp ranges they should be feeding in and slammed them... but I found them first on sonar, then put the lures on them, at the right speed, then varied presentation and lure color to find what they wanted, as well as speed as a last resort via the zig zag.  As you say all the tools in the box... and some days it takes ALL

[fisherdude]

Don't forget the fish call and the wacky dance does it every time [emoji3]

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[Lewis863]

Shhhhhh about that dang it!!!!🤔😂😂

[Fishstix]

I always figured if I have to go down 50 they can come up 10.

 

 

[ifishy]

Temp is nice to pinpoint a break but far and away speed at the ball is the biggest factor the lures have to be running right I've had days where 2 tenths at the ball difference is critical does not take much current to change that the fingers have typically less current and more consistent direction than Ontario but still enough I would rather have a probe and only 10 spoons than hundreds of lures and no probe and that's after fishing many years without one on the first boat

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