Sonar Discussion - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Billy V · 12-14-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCS

Good discussion. Except that I don't understand the joke about shooting my eye out. Just a little slow I guess!

So here is what I have so far.

Lower khz: good for my application.
Color: required
Lowrance: good choice
GPS: still optional for me, I have a compass to make sure I don't get lost.

Here is my big remaining question:
If I get the Elite 5X instead of the HDS 5, how much difference will there be in actually seeing fish at LJ? The elite does seem to have a lot of power, but the peak to peak is different? Is there anybody that has experience with these two units that can compare performance?

Thanks!

Tom and Wade,

I have the HDS-5 on the skiff with the transducer mounted "in the water".
Kevin has the HDS-5X with the transducer mounted inside the hull.

- When we rafted my skiff next to his kayak to compare the pictures we were able to get pretty much the exact same bottom picture.

I believe that is the answer you were looking for.

--------------------------------------

It simply comes down to familiarizing yourself with a new fish finder , and what a yellowtail, wsb, or squid looks like on the screen.

-On that note I have pics of each fish for $5 a peice to shorten your learning curve.

TCS · 12-14-2010, 06:28 PM

Has anyone tried mounting the transducer to the mast in a hobie adventure? I'm wondering if the mast is in a low spot or if I need to put a well around it to add water.

Also, anybody want to share default settings for an HDS in LJ? If not, no worries, I'll just go 'auto'. Maybe use bottom lock? They don't seem to have a saltwater setting, just shallow or deep. Is 120' deep?

Billy, thanks for the transducer info, I was wondering about that. I think I'll pass on purchasing your sonar porn, although I'll admit I'm curious...

I'll probably go on Friday to try it out.

Wade, you get yours yet?

I'll be fishing with Josh in March for sure, just to make sure I don't hurt myself with this thing...

flydigital · 12-14-2010, 08:15 PM

It's worth a shot... It works fine on the revo, strapping the transom bracket to the mast with zip ties (ducer must be faced backwards though as it doesn't fit between drive well and mast). I do believe this is the low spot on both models. If it doesn't work or you need too much water for it to work right, you can easily add a foam well around it. On the revo about 2 cups of water does the trick, with no loss of signal with pitching/rolling movement.

As for settings, its pretty subjective as to what works best, but I was able to start with the default and try adjusting everything, and within 2-3 trips out I had a good handle on it and was able to get it working great. I don't use any auto modes, and manually adjust sensitivity and colorline each time out, sometimes adjusting throughout the day (diff settings for each freq). When I first tried the 'modes' I believe it was shallow water that worked best. All these modes do is adjust the settings, but its good to go through them while you are out and see how they look compared to each other, paying attention to the settings used. Hope that helps a bit at least until you get some better advice from those who have more experience with it. Good luck!

12-14-2010, 06:28 PM	#2
TCS Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 478	Getting the HDS tomorrow! A couple more questions Has anyone tried mounting the transducer to the mast in a hobie adventure? I'm wondering if the mast is in a low spot or if I need to put a well around it to add water. Also, anybody want to share default settings for an HDS in LJ? If not, no worries, I'll just go 'auto'. Maybe use bottom lock? They don't seem to have a saltwater setting, just shallow or deep. Is 120' deep? Billy, thanks for the transducer info, I was wondering about that. I think I'll pass on purchasing your sonar porn, although I'll admit I'm curious... I'll probably go on Friday to try it out. Wade, you get yours yet? I'll be fishing with Josh in March for sure, just to make sure I don't hurt myself with this thing...

12-14-2010, 08:15 PM	#3
flydigital Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 192	It's worth a shot... It works fine on the revo, strapping the transom bracket to the mast with zip ties (ducer must be faced backwards though as it doesn't fit between drive well and mast). I do believe this is the low spot on both models. If it doesn't work or you need too much water for it to work right, you can easily add a foam well around it. On the revo about 2 cups of water does the trick, with no loss of signal with pitching/rolling movement. As for settings, its pretty subjective as to what works best, but I was able to start with the default and try adjusting everything, and within 2-3 trips out I had a good handle on it and was able to get it working great. I don't use any auto modes, and manually adjust sensitivity and colorline each time out, sometimes adjusting throughout the day (diff settings for each freq). When I first tried the 'modes' I believe it was shallow water that worked best. All these modes do is adjust the settings, but its good to go through them while you are out and see how they look compared to each other, paying attention to the settings used. Hope that helps a bit at least until you get some better advice from those who have more experience with it. Good luck!