Chirp vs Traditional sonar

[jigstick]

On 7/22/2019 at 5:37 PM, dry net said:

MFD ?

 

Multi Function Display

[jigstick]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:25 AM, No Clue said:

Hello from a long time ago!  This is a very timely topic for me.  I sold my Bayliner in 2011 and now eight years later, I couldn’t stay away any longer.  I bought an old Carver last week which will serve me well for living aboard for the weekend and jigging off the back.  It came with an antiquated Humminbird Wide View FF up in the flybridge but nothing on the stern.  I have two FF’s on hand and I will probably install both of them.  I stuck with Humminbird because my old 565 served me so well and I was familiar with the menu settings.  I have a Helix 5 Chirp DI GPS which I had installed on my fishing kayak.  I actually made it up to Seneca twice this spring and I could see my jig falling for the most part although I did have to “hit it just right” to get it within the cone.  I may replace the antiquated FF up in the flybridge with this one.  I also just bought a Hummingbird Helix 5 G2 for $180 (paid $300 after rebate for the Chirp model!).  I think for fishing off the stern, the Sonar G2 will probably win out.  Because the boat is so huge, Barrett Marine will have to lift it for an hour or so, so I can drill a couple holes, install the transducer, and seal things up with marine grade silicone.

Does this sound like a plan for a jigger only?  Thanks for any feedback and I apologize if I’m hijacking this thread but it’s all in the game.  I’ve been out of the game for eight years but hope to be back in by this weekend and I will contribute again as I did in the past.  I see a few names I knew from years ago and some of the peeps knew me as a regular contributor on the Sanders boards.  Good luck, Jigstick and thanks for any input on my plan of attack.

 

Joe

 

 

for jigging you may benefit from down imaging and chirp sonar.  you get much better detail and target separation with chirp.  the depth you plan on jigging will determine the band of chirp you want.  high band chirp is going to give you the most detail, but is best for shallow water.  Mid band chirp will give less detail and target separation, but is better for deeper water.  Low band chirp is for "very deep" water....800-1200ft etc.

 

what depths do you plan on fishing?

[Followed The Waves]

I called Barrett Marine Saturday morning, hoping they could lift the boat so I could get the transducer installed and the fishfinder set up but Fran said weekends are just nuts up there.  I’ll have to catch up with him on a weekday; hopefully this Friday.  With some materials I had on hand, I was able to set up a temporary Rube Goldberg fishfinder.  I attached the transducer to a pressure treated 2 x 6 which I hung over the starboard rear with a bungee cord and zip ties.  It bounced around quite a bit in the waves but I was able to mark fish and see my jig.  I have no complaints about the old school sonar fishfinder.  I didn’t get out on the water until 3 PM but managed one “good eatin’ fish,” so at least I broke the ice.  It’s a nice to be back on the water and the new marina at Sampson is state-of-the-art, other than still lacking a pumpout.  Unfortunately, the 1993 vintage fishfinder in the flybridge took an official crap.  From the water, I was able to download a Seneca Lake fishing map so I could try to find the depth I wanted to fish while driving from the flybridge.  I really had a few strikes against me on this trip.  I will probably mount the Helix 5 Chirp-DI-GPS in the flybridge, since it tells current speed and whatnot.  For the way I fish, I can't see any advantage with the Chirp FF.  I’ll attach a few photos…

 

This photo shows my jig dropping to the bottom and then me retrieving it.  It looks like a V.

 

 

A little more jigging action on this one.

 

 

Rube Goldberg/MacGyver fishfinder mount (patent pending)...

 

 

First lake trout in eight years!

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by No Clue

[Sk8man]

Might have better stability of transducer if use a suction cup (I think they have them at Lowes)

[Followed The Waves]

Sk8man, thanks.  I rigged this on the fly with what I had on hand at the marina.  I will look into the suction cup if I don't think I can't get the boat out of the water this weekend. 

[Yankee Troller]

Airmar just dropped this this transducer, and I like that they are going wider with the cone angle. Right now it's only made in a transom model, but they have thru-hull options on the drawing board.

 

http://www.airmar.com/uploads/PressRelease/PressRelease-TM165HighWideTransducer.pdf

[Sk8man]

Looks pretty good Rick. Thanks for the "heads up"

[buckblaster]

Very good topic. I was just thinking about this yesterday as I was searching for bait as a place to start. I agree, chirp is not needed, and a wide cone angle will be an advantage. I need to research and see what I can do for my HDS 7.

Sent from my moto z3 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I called lowrance and had this discussion with them. I primarily troll for salmon on lake O. Gave them my depth and speeds and target fish species, they recommended the HTS-DFSBL 50/200kHz transducer. I'm trying to figure out where to install it with my other ducers so I don't get interference. See the next post I just started " Transducer installation location advice ". Good luck, I will be following.

Sent from my SM-S767VL using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[buckblaster]

I called lowrance and had this discussion with them. I primarily troll for salmon on lake O. Gave them my depth and speeds and target fish species, they recommended the HTS-DFSBL 50/200kHz transducer. I'm trying to figure out where to install it with my other ducers so I don't get interference. See the next post I just started " Transducer installation location advice ". Good luck, I will be following.

Sent from my SM-S767VL using Lake Ontario United mobile app

HST-DFSBL not HTS

ITS PAIRED WITH LOWRANCE HDS7 GEN2

Sent from my SM-S767VL using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Followed The Waves]

This may be of interest...

[Copperliner]

Hey Joe, hello and welcome back!  I just switched ff's this summer (again!) from an old Lowrance X85 to a Garmin 93sv plus (Gt-52 'ducer) unit for jigging and it works great.  I like the 200kHz vs.the chirp setting for clarity.  It's definitely overkill for what I use it for (almost entirely jigging), but the ease of use and large touch-screen is super.  I haven't taken the X85 'ducer off the boat yet either, that was a wonderful unit for jigging lakers.  Good luck!  

Mike

[Followed The Waves]

Thanks Mike!  I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t had a chance to do much reading on the board but I think a bunch of the old guys are still around---Wire Ray, Rabbit, Bullet Bob, Jeff Bacon, Pete Collin…

Finally got my transducers permanently installed on Monday at Barrett’s.  Fran pulled my rig and I did the install.  I had to get to the DMV to register my boat and didn’t have a chance to try them out.  That board on the bungee cord over the side thing was getting pretty old.  Tried the suction cup, as suggested, but it didn’t stick.  Tough fishing for me so far---picked up one and lost one at the boat Saturday night and had a short bite window Sunday around 5 PM---managed two nice fish on 3 inch white tubes.  Lots of lookers and chasers but not enough takers.  Not sure I will make it up this weekend due to the wind on Saturday.  No fun sitting at the dock all day.  Idle hands are the devil’s workshop! 

 

 

[Sk8man]

Not sure why the suction cup didn't take. May be wax on the exterior? . You do have to wet the inside part of the suction  cup and sometimes have to kind of slide it up or down ti create suction. A long time ago when I used the method I used two suction cups by the way.and it created enough suction that it took a bit of pulling to get it back off Having transducers permanently mounted is the way to go anyway. Good luck out there

[Followed The Waves]

Sk8, the boat had been in the water all season down in the canal at the Glen and had a lot of crud on it.  I did what I could to clean it off from the swim step but I just couldn't get a good connection.  It held for a little while and I couldn't take a chance on having it detached while under power so I went back to the MacGyver rig. 

[Sk8man]

Gotcha. Yeah the crud is hard to overcome. Fran B. is a great guy (and Deb nice lady too) by the way known him for over 40 years. He knows as much as anyone on the planet about Merc motors and probably has  about every part  someplace in his shop

Edited August 9, 2019 by Sk8man

[garrymny]

Ok I'll have to check and see what mine came with.

HST-DFSBL not HTS

ITS PAIRED WITH LOWRANCE HDS7 GEN2

Sent from my SM-S767VL using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Sent from my moto z3 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Followed The Waves]

I really didn’t get rigged up until mid-late August with permanently installed fish finders.  My Humminbird Helix 5 GPS Chirp Down Imaging unit ended up in the flybridge, so I can see a map of the bottom as I move around.  I ended up buying a Helix 5 basic sonar unit for the back of the boat where I fish.  I’ll attach a pic, showing my jig going up and down and a few lakers giving it a look.  I have no complaints other than not turning those lookers into hitters.  Looking forward to getting out this spring and spending some time getting reacquainted.  Seems like much tougher fishing than when I sold my last boat (No Clue) in 2011 but I’m aware of the lamprey situation.  Hopefully things will pick up this year and in future years.