Sonar for dummies

[FSH 210 Sport]

I’m always on the look out for new information, and sometimes I go back to the basics to see if there’s a nugget or three that I didn’t know about. I came across this guys videos which are pretty thorough in explaining the different types of imaging, how they work, how to use them, and how to interpret / use the imagery. It’s kinda long but worth the watch. I’m pretty impressed with image quality of the Simrad unit in the vid.

 

[biffdotorg]

Sonar technology has advanced so much in the last 10 if not 5 years. We bought our boat with a Simrad GO7 installed on it. It's way overkill for what that boat is used for. But I have to say, after using it for a few years, I love everything about it. The fact that it's all touchscreen really allows for a slim bezel and plenty of screen size for the space alotted on the dash.

Now I am restoring an old fishing boat, and thought about sharing the Simrad with that boat and just installing a transducer and move the head unit. OMG, that transducer was as much or more than just buying another sonar with 'ducer. The tech has advanced so much, that many of the cool features on that GO7 have floated down to more entry level models.

I've made the decision to purchase a new Sonar for the fishing boat, but spend a bit more on something that can do live imaging. As I really wanted to go with LiveScope for winter fishing more than anything. But it will give me a great unit to use in the summer months fishing as well.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

My first boat is the one I have now… I told the dealer (river valley in Red Wing) that I wanted the best unit I could get and I got a Solix 10. I still find it an amazing piece of hardware, especially when coupled with the Rip Tide Ulterra trolling motor. The Solix has a lot more capabilities that I have yet to exploit. Learning how to use the device was a steep learning curve and I’m still learning. I watched an associated vid last night about transducers, and apparently this is another area where you get what you pay for.

Late this summer my touch screen would stop working, talked to Humminbird and since it was so close ( two months) to my warranty expiring at the time Humminbird extended my warranty and replaced the the screen free of charge. The problem occurred in September and I didn’t ship it off until November so I could still use it (the buttons will do everything tge touch screen will do, just not as easily) for the rest of the season. I digress, through the trouble shooting process with the various csr’s I found another world of Hz settings that I will try out next summer.

The other addition I may make is adding another transducer to the port side to improve the side scan on that side, Humminbird makes a Y connector for this purpose. Thanks @Can0n11 ! The side scan is the most powerful fish finding tool since it can cover several hundred feet to each side.

I may add mega live imaging as well…. It would be great to be able to look back at the lures being trolled to see what the fish are doing. I get quite a few marks coming up to check out my lures but not necessarily bites.

The only fish finder I had experience with was back in the 80’s on my Dads Sea Ray, just a circle with the flashes, like the ice fishing ones today. I wish my Dad was still around to see these advancements but also to fish off my boat, he would have loved the CC layout.

 

[lazergeek]

I used his videos for setting up my Go9 when I got it

 

[Can0n11]

Definitely a nice unit.

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