Do I need a Fish Hawk

[whaler1]

Tommy at East Fork Pro Marine in Hamlin. He’s the best.


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[Ship Shape]

Thanks


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[baitballin86]

Fish hawk takes the guessing out of temp it enables you to get on fish faster and you get the speed down perfect!

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[Adk1]

i started fishing lake O 4 years ago. i only make two trips a year of three days each. the first three years i caught one salmon. last year i bought a fish hawk x4d. i made one three day trip and boated 6 salmon and a steelhead and a brown. it makes a difference and i think more valuable for those of us who do not get out there much.

[rhorst77]

I was away from the Lo fishing for about ten years then got back into it heavily last year.  When I had my spoon business and charter I never ran a fish hawk but I was in the water daily from May through September.  Locating and catching fish was never a problem for me.  The fishhawk is a great tool but often times people become so reliant on temperature that it works against them. I have caught salmon out of temperature more frequently than some would believe.  My point is that if you run the fishhawk as your sole tool to locate fish, it can, and eventually will, work against you.  If you use it as a tool to assist it is well worth the money.  

[Sk8man]

On 4/18/2019 at 7:34 AM, rhorst77 said:

I was away from the Lo fishing for about ten years then got back into it heavily last year.  When I had my spoon business and charter I never ran a fish hawk but I was in the water daily from May through September.  Locating and catching fish was never a problem for me.  The fishhawk is a great tool but often times people become so reliant on temperature that it works against them. I have caught salmon out of temperature more frequently than some would believe.  My point is that if you run the fishhawk as your sole tool to locate fish, it can, and eventually will, work against you.  If you use it as a tool to assist it is well worth the money.  

 

Good point there. This website contains some of the best information you'll find anywhere on salmon and trout fishing. A lot of the information focuses on equipment and technology advancements that aid people in being successful fishing. People now heavily rely on technology in general to solve problems and "enhance" their lives and the Internet  and smartphones have created a great learning environment, but it also has drawbacks especially for inexperienced novices viewing information and assuming that the technology solves everything and can make them an "instant expert". When reading some of the posts on here it becomes pretty obvious that what is often missing is the actual experience fishing and learning to fish by learning the habits and differences among species the many different techniques and methods employed to catch fish. There seems to be an expectation that the learning curve can be totally eliminated by the purchase or use of some electronic device or piece of equipment  or vicarious information....no time or effort needed....problem solved. The purchase of the latest greatest technology or lure paint scheme or newly developed line is suggested to be the solution to not catching fish. To the person looking at the information here who has not spent the actual time learning to acquire the basics of fishing I would suggest you are making a huge mistake assuming that any of these aids is "essential" or "needed" to catch fish. Spend time experimenting without reliance on the technology and view the devices as aids or additions to your fishing arsenal and truly appreciate the basic experience of figuring out the fish and their behavior. In the long run you will become a much better fisherperson and will not be subject to "panic" when the technology breaks down out there. I do own a Fishhawk X4D and a decent fishfinder w/GPS and love them both but if they break down I'm not screwed out there either without them.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Sk8man

[rhorst77]

Sk8man....well said.  You were a bit more eloquent than I but the same sentiments here

[GAMBLER]

1 hour ago, rhorst77 said:

I was away from the Lo fishing for about ten years then got back into it heavily last year.  When I had my spoon business and charter I never ran a fish hawk but I was in the water daily from May through September.  Locating and catching fish was never a problem for me.  The fishhawk is a great tool but often times people become so reliant on temperature that it works against them. I have caught salmon out of temperature more frequently than some would believe.  My point is that if you run the fishhawk as your sole tool to locate fish, it can, and eventually will, work against you.  If you use it as a tool to assist it is well worth the money.  

You have to use your Fish Hawk with your fish finder together.  Fish the marks on your fish finder and use the Fishhawk  for repeatability. 

[HB2]

Just buy the damn thing and get it over with . 

 

Should I ? Shouldn't I ? 

 

When you go out and don't hook up and others are , the doubt will be in your mind at this point and you will regret it . 

[pvelyk]

Everybody talks speed but here is an example of the temp from a Fishhawk being the difference.  Two years ago I went out with a friend on a crappy cool rainy day late July.  We stayed inside and worked 35-40 water with great temp for browns.  We put a pretty good beating on them.  As the day wore on the temp started moving out deeper and so did the browns.  Nothing in the sky and the air temp led us to believe the shift would occur as fast as it was to deeper water.  But without the down temp we would not have been able to stay on those browns as they moved out deeper with the water temp.  Its not just about find the perfect water for the species because yeah you will catch fish out of temp.  But its also situations like this I am glad I have a Fishhawk for down temp and speed.

[Charlie P]

On 2/27/2019 at 12:11 PM, spoonfed-1 said:

I remember the old days when people caught fish because they were good fishermen.

A down speed and temp unit is just another tool. Does it help, yes. It is essential, absolutely not.

You use one? Asking for a friend.😳

[spoonfed-1]

20 hours ago, Charlie P said:

You use one? Asking for a friend.😳

 

No, I use two.

Tell your friend reading comprehension is also an important tool.

Edited April 21, 2019 by spoonfed-1

[Charlie P]

6 hours ago, spoonfed-1 said:

 

No, I use two.

Tell your friend reading comprehension is also an important tool also.

😀

Edited April 21, 2019 by Charlie P
Edition

[Charlie P]

I started fishing on lake o in a 20 ft wellcaft with 2 manual downriggers and I would watch guys trolling by by me going by me and wondering why they going that fast. I had a good speed on the top but had no idea what I was at on the ball.

Got out of it for awhile when my son was in youth sports. Then I got back in t salmon fishing. Found this site and hooked up with someone that needed an observer for a tournament got on his boat and he had a probe he explained the importance of the speed at your depth. Ended up buying his boat. It'ss a tool that greatly reduces your learning curve. For me it is essential I still have a lot to learn but I believe it has helped me put a whole lot more fish in the boat. 

I have a Moore(so) on the boat now when it goes I will spend the money on a fish hawk.$700 compared to what I have invested is worth it. Divide it by the years you get out of it what's it come to $30 a year? 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Charlie P

[KevinFarrell]

I say fishing 4 or 5 times a year is MORE incentive to get a FH.  You dont have the time to monkey around guessing, you need the data stat.   Get one.   If it doesnt prove itself worthy then sell it.

[garrymny]

I agree, maybe because I fish out of Mexico as well. It's a 3hr round trip drive for me and I also usually only get one weekend day to fish. Throw in the wind, current, weather and a week of time... it's basically like starting over every single time I go out. Something like a FH that can tell me that where I caught fish last week is no longer a good spot, saves me a lot of frustration trolling in bad water. Fishing marks is a good way to catch fish so sonar is important, but I have gone out and had good days fishing and not marked a fish all day. I wouldn't give up either my sonar or my Fishawk.

Yeah really. Many days I've caught fish and never marked fish or bait all day! I like both my FF and FH however. If you don't have a FF, maybe try fluctuations of your speed and 45 degree or more cable angle.

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[garrymny]

I'll just have to go with a fish hawk td myself
. Got any tips?

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That's what I did. Bought a fish hawk x4 within a week. The TD doesn't cut it.

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[Ric66]

My 2 cents. I bought one a few years ago. As some have mentioned I think it is more important for inexperienced trollers and people who don't get out much as it will help one understand the layers of water temps, but also how fast underwater currents can be. One trip last year it was as calm as could be but the underwater currents were incredible and my downrigger cables crossed. This is especially true here on Lake O because so much water is coming in via NFR and leaving by way of SLS. As garrymny said, I've also caught most of my salmon when not marking fish. A FH is a tool and can serve as a starting point. You'll at least know if you are fishing in 70 degree or 50 degree water and what speed your bait is running. If those two things are ok and you aren't catching fish, you can start to look at other factors or experiment with the temp and speed.

[Meant to be]

Nice thread thanks 👍

[Gill-T]

If you keep your fish, a fish hawk will pay for itself in two seasons with gas savings. 

[oceantechs]

You should follow a similar procedure as though you were buying a permit from the nearby natural life office. That is, taking a legitimate ID with a photograph, topping off some desk work, and a proof of living arrangement given that the ID  Walmart’s Fishing License Guide doesn't as of now show it.