Texas Fishing Forum

New Fish Finder

Posted By: JAlderson

New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 01:22 AM

Alright guys, I rigging up my new (to me) Hobie PA 14 soon and wanted some opinions on which fish finder to use. My old rig had a Hummingbird 345 kayak edition and I am looking to upgrade a lot from that. My questions are : which brand, size, SI/DI?, is SI worth it in a kayak?, what would you get if you had to do it over again. Thanks for any tips and time you have!

Josh A.
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 03:16 AM

Yes SI is worth the money, IMO. I also use my GPS mapping a lot.
I'm running Humminbird but Garmin and Lowrance also make very good products, it gets into the Ford vs Chevy debate.
Posted By: JAlderson

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 02:23 PM

Originally Posted By: pelican
Yes SI is worth the money, IMO. I also use my GPS mapping a lot.
I'm running Humminbird but Garmin and Lowrance also make very good products, it gets into the Ford vs Chevy debate.

Which SI are you running ?
Posted By: jasoniam

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 02:27 PM

This is a good thread! I'll be interested in seeing what these guys input is!! I have been looking at the Helix 5 SI/GPS looks like a good all round set up for under $500!
Posted By: C-Frog

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 03:26 PM

My 2cents , I have had a lower end Lowrance that was very basic but extremely reliable and user friendly, I currently own a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 that is fancy and HD screen. I have had issues from the start with the Raymarine and will be going back to old faithful Lowrance, but a new model.
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/13/16 04:04 PM

Originally Posted By: JAlderson
Originally Posted By: pelican
Yes SI is worth the money, IMO. I also use my GPS mapping a lot.
I'm running Humminbird but Garmin and Lowrance also make very good products, it gets into the Ford vs Chevy debate.

Which SI are you running ?


I'm running a Humminbird 999ci HD SI Combo
Posted By: shadboy

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 03:42 AM

Helix 7 on a PA. Look on hobie forums and there is thread how a guy installed the si ducer and how to rig it to pull it up when beaching. Good stuff.
Posted By: cbag1

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 05:53 AM

Originally Posted By: shadboy
Helix 7 on a PA. Look on hobie forums and there is thread how a guy installed the si ducer and how to rig it to pull it up when beaching. Good stuff.


Link to this Hobie forum please? Thanks
Posted By: Fish ZoMbiE

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 02:48 PM

Most bang for buck IMO. Hummingbird!
call around. you might find a better price locally.
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 03:40 PM

IMO, go as big as you can, bigger is better. Don't forget to size your batter to the power draw of your FF and how long you plan to be on the water.
Posted By: JAlderson

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 07:35 PM

So you guys all think SI is worth it and has become a must feature?
Posted By: Fish ZoMbiE

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 09:08 PM

Not a must but a game changer.
Posted By: Carver

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 09:46 PM

It is a must for me, but I am totally spoiled. It just makes me look like a lot better fisherman than I really am.

I want the biggest screen I can afford, but if faced with the choice between a larger screen without SI and a smaller one with SI, I would definitely go with the smaller one and SI.

If you go to humminbird's forums on their website you can get a lot of insight on what folks do with it. There is a stick in the crappie section on this forum also that holds a lot of info: http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...tur#Post7550468 it is at the very top of the crappie page. there are a lot of regular graph pics also and you can get an idea of the advantage.

Best of luck, Phill Pittman
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 10:38 PM

What ZoMbiE and Carver said.
Posted By: CCTX

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/14/16 11:29 PM

If you plan on fishing tournaments, having SI can be a huge advantage--finding structure/beds/deep vegetation much faster and easier.

Others like to keep things simple: not having ram mounts and things hanging off the kayak everywhere.

I know the PA 14 has the transducer shield on the bottom and I've read reports that SI works just fine in there; but to get the best possible image from SI, the transducer should be just below the lowest part of the hull=hanging it off the kayak or the rudder. Also, if you don't get a Lowrance ducer, you might have to modify the transducer shield and/or the mounting tree.
Posted By: JAlderson

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 03:04 PM

Thanks for all the help guys! I think I am leaning towards 7 inch SI unit but what do you think, Helix or Lowrance?
Posted By: CCTX

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 05:13 PM

Buying new, I'd get the Helix 7 from Shutupandfish here on TFF
Posted By: JAlderson

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 05:42 PM

Originally Posted By: collincountytx
Buying new, I'd get the Helix 7 from Shutupandfish here on TFF

Does he have good deals?
Posted By: CCTX

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 06:07 PM

Posted By: CCTX

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 06:23 PM

The only better price I've seen (never bought from Hodges Marine)

Posted By: shadboy

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 09:10 PM

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=55533
Posted By: ironmike104

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 09:48 PM

I bought mine from Hodges Marine for $590 excellent service and quick and I got mine during Christmas with everybody was selling for $699 I would do business with them again....
Posted By: ironmike104

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/15/16 10:16 PM

Quick question what battery are you going to use for the Helix 7????
Posted By: JAlderson

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 03:41 AM

Originally Posted By: ironmike104
I bought mine from Hodges Marine for $590 excellent service and quick and I got mine during Christmas with everybody was selling for $699 I would do business with them again....
Did this include the transducer?
Originally Posted By: ironmike104
Quick question what battery are you going to use for the Helix 7????

Regular deer feeder battery I think
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 04:29 AM

Originally Posted By: JAlderson
Originally Posted By: ironmike104
I bought mine from Hodges Marine for $590 excellent service and quick and I got mine during Christmas with everybody was selling for $699 I would do business with them again....
Did this include the transducer?
Originally Posted By: ironmike104
Quick question what battery are you going to use for the Helix 7????

Regular deer feeder battery I think


The Helix 7 shows to pull 800 mA you may need several deer feeder batteries if you go that route.
Posted By: pelican

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 04:34 AM

The Helix 7 comes standard with a XNT 9 SI 180 T transducer.
If you contact Humminbird before you open the transducer packaging, they should let you return that transducer and upgrade to the XHS 9 HDSI 180 T (Hi Def transducer) they will also require a upgrade fee I think around $80.
The XHS 9 HDSI 180 T is normally $250 +
Posted By: CCTX

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 07:23 PM

Good alternative to using several deer feeder batteries--I've been using one of these for two years with a regular battery tender jr. charger (they recommend a special lithium battery charger, but the regular one has worked fine.) A little pricey, but well worth it imo


Posted By: ironmike104

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 09:53 PM


I bought this one from Amazon for $142
Posted By: ironmike104

Re: New Fish Finder - 01/16/16 09:57 PM

yes it had a Transducer with it...
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