Hey guys, was out catching some white bass today and started playing around my humminbird helix SI frequency 455 versus 800. I've alway ran 455 and never switched it to 800 before...have no idea why lol I was very impressed with the 800 for at least certain applications. I was curious what frequency does most people on this forum use?

Here is a picture of a school of gar that I have been watching for the past month lol

455 most definitely

On the Gen 3’s I run MEGA. On Gen 1 & 2 I run 455

Thanks micheal! That’s what I’ve been doing but was pleasantly surprised at the higher definition on 800 in shallower water but noticed on softer bottom with moderate depths it was actually harder to see the fish.

Look forward to meeting you and fishing with you Dec 12th!

455 in deeper depth. Mega in 25 fow or less. You have a good graph.

Hey Clay a lot of people think it’s funny,till just a few years ago I only ran a flasher and I did just fine. I will fully admit that since I’ve gotten the high tech graphs I do love it but I still just run it on factory settings I don’t do anything to it I just leave it the way it is because it’s really great and I just don’t see any way I could improve it but seeing your little post here makes me think...

That’s kinda how I was about just leaving it on default. My helix is not far off of default settings until I started playing with this 800 khz after three years.

I have a helix 9 mega g2n and here’s what I do.....
Whites hybrids stripers, 455 out to 105 feet
Crappie, same thing when looking for brush or submerged timber. When I locate said structure I will switch to mega (800 in ur case) and put the range to 60 feet each side. Then I’ll drive over/by the same structure to get a better detailed view to see what’s on it...

That seems like a good approach and was thinking the same.

That’s kind of funny, because seeing this post makes me re-think buying that new finder with all the bells and whistles...

That’s kinda what I’m wondering too. I will say I’m not a big fan on my gen 1 helix’s 2d chirp sonar. Not enough tweaking can be done in my humble opinion. Everything looks significant and sure enough it’s just shad under the boat. The new models allow for a “contrast” setting which is like the color line on lowrance. You can teak where the color palate colors are based on hardness/softness so you can easily tweak it and make the shad appear softer and less significant and only game fish like a 5 lb hybrid will have the harder returns or a hint of it...

The newer gen 3 have dual spectrum 2d. The dual spectrum has what's called a low q. The "low q" is important when using chirp. The gen 2 helix units can be compatible with the low q 2d transducer with the latest update. The dual spectrum is far superior than the dual beam of the older units. A lot better separation and cleaner returns.

Good to know. I haven’t dove into the terms and technology but have sure noticed a difference between the units on 2D

I have a Gen 2 Helix 12. Love it. I use the MEGA 1.2 GHz frequency most of the time as it works very well out to 90 feet on a side.
For farther reaching scans the 455 KHz has better range so I switch to that. They both will do the deal but the MEGA has finer
detail and it's more fun to look at the image. The 455 KHz is better in really deep water, as has already been mentioned.

Here's some screen shots using 1.2 GHz frequency of a couple of big schools of gar. The first one was in the Nueces above
Lake Corpus Christi and the other one was in Canyon Lake in the upper end of the lake.

If you all really want to see what your graphs can do, you gotta go see the doctor.
AKA Slade Dougharty at Lake Fork Electrics.
Nuff said.

That's stunning detals. Wow!