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Thread: need some advice on a depth finder

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Default need some advice on a depth finder


    First off, let me start by giving a nice hello to all here. I've been a long time lurker (about 4 months now) but never posted anything.

    I'm faced with a delima that i need some help with. So i decided to register and post it.

    I purchased my boat about 3 months ago, and it came with a lowrance x52. This is the first depth finder i've ever owned or seen in action. Here are the specs for those interested. http://www.lowrance.com/marine/Products/x52.asp

    There are some things that i dont like about it. This could be that the unit simply does not support it, or i have not figured out how to truly use it yet.
    1. would be the fact that i cannot see my line/bait/lure when trying to hit suspended crappie. I can see the fish, just not my rig.
    2. It seems hard to read at times. either being cluttered with "noise" (no defined structure, fish arches, etc) or void of almost anything. (yet oddly at other times i get the "Picture perfect" structure and arches together.
    3. and probably the most important, the unit sits on the console, and the transducer is in the rear of the boat. This makes it extremly difficult to troll up front and try to guess where the transducer might have been when i heard the fish alerts.

    So i am debating on buying another finder to put up front on the trolling motor.
    So i guess im really asking, what do you need to know about my lake/fishing style to help me make a good purchase?
    Im not going to say price is no obstacle because it is. But Im budgeting about 400 for unit and extra hardware. If i spend less, awesome, if not... I'll deal with it.
    I talked with a guy from basspro about 3 minutes before he started pushing a hummingbird 565. But again, im so new to depth finders that i dont know what is good and what is not. I think i generally have the basics, but none of the possible gotcha's.

    Also if you have any good references on "getting the most out of your depth finder" im all ears ( in this case eyes). There isnt one place on the net that i have found yet that is a good one stop shop for learning to get the most out of my finder. I'll find a pearl of wisdom here and there, but thats it. and its frustrating.


    Sorry for the Novel i just wrote. Again Hello to all, and thanks for the help.

    Slab_Stalker

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Hertford, NC
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    Default

    Welcome and good question, as I have asked the same in the past and some of the guides that post here can answer this question on use your depth finder... I however will not say much about it, because it is all I can do to fine tune mine...

    I know the sensitivity can be adjusted to see your jig and when I got my answer the reply was that he could see the jig and the fish come up and hit it. Now that is sensitive... Ain't figured that one out yet, but several of these guys can tell you how...

    But welcome and I'll B C'n Ya... Happy Fish'n
    This only my opinion, but nothing you can say will change my mind. That makes it a FACT.

    Today is a Blessed Day and a Prosperous Day

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Just my opinion, but I like Lowrance and the 332c mapping unit ($449) with a Navionics MMC card is what I would do. If you want a GPS included then it's gonna cost more, like $600. The x102 is also a good unit and if you are lucky maybe you can find some dealer that still has a X100c which is last years model (much like the X102) for a good price.

    I don't think your unit that you have now has enough pixels to see your jig. If you have 480X480 or anything close to that, believe me you will see you jig.

    I am sure other Mfg's units are good too, but I will stick with Lowrance.

    Peak Vise Dealer
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  4. #4
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    Apr 2006
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    Here is some information on how to use fishfinders. Doc fishes for cats (obviously) mainly on the Ohio River near Cincinnati.

    http://www.hookedoncatfish.com/Electronics.html

    Lowrance has a nice tutorial on their website too.

    http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/So...utorial_01.asp

  5. #5
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    Hey Slab Stalker,
    Welcome to Crappie.com. I am sure you will find a wealth of info on this site. Never a dull moment here.
    If all you are wanting up front is a sonar unit, then the Lowrance 102c is a great unit. The 332c is the same unit with gps in it. I own one of each and I really like them both. Once you learn how use it and get the most out of it, I think you will be very happy with it. If you are wanting to be able to see your jig and line while fishing, you will have to get one of the higher end units that will cost pretty big bucks. If you are going to be fishing structure or drops and ledges, you really need a sonar unit up front with you. That way you can see what you are fishing and not have to guess about what is there. Feel free to give me a shout any time with any questions you might have.
    Good luck.
    [email protected]
    Have a crappie day!:D [email protected]

  6. #6
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    Oct 2006
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    I think right now im kinda torn between the lowrance 107cdf and the x135. Im just not sure if i can bring myself to pay the extra 250 for the 107cdf. I looked at the 102c and 332c and i keep getting hung up on the 2400 watts. Granted its pretty much double what my current x52 is. but everything i keep reading says i should go higher in screen res and wattage if i can.

  7. #7
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    Hey Slab-Stalker:

    I have a Humminbird Matrix 12 - http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=637 - on the front of my boat with an Angled Puck/Shoot Through the Hull transducer close to the front of the boat - about two feet from where I sit.

    The Matrix 12 retails for about $150 without the GPS receiver (I use a Garmin Map 76 hand held GPS) and has plenty of resolution to see a 1/16th-ounce jig and to identify fish, cover and bottom hardness. It shows very much the same picture as the Lowrance LCX17M that I have in the back of the boat (an $800 unit with GPS).

    Color graphs are real pretty to look at but don't give you any more information than a grayscale graph. Really for me it's easier to understand that the darker the image of an object shows on my screen the bigger or denser the object is rather than thinking about which colors represent which levels of density.

    Personally I would spend the money for a larger screen and/or better resolution before I would spend it for color. The screen on the Matrix 12 is plenty big enough if it is right in front of you. My Lowrance is mounted on my console about 10-feet from me and it has a large enough screen that I can see it from up front and use it right along with my HB while I'm working over and around a brushpile. It's a big plus to have a graph up front and another graph with the transducer on the transom so you can see what's under both ends of the boat.
    FISH ON!
    Jerry Blake

    www.BLAKETOURS.com

  8. #8
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    Here is the bait on my Humminbird 987c-SI
    And humminbird states that it can track a BB on the screen,.
    Pete
    Last edited by ShilohRed; 11-02-2006 at 07:36 AM.

  9. #9
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    Oct 2006
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    Thank you to all who replied to this thread and offered their input. I am home from basspro a wee bit sick to my stomach due to how much i spent. But that should pass if i start catching more crappie.
    For those who may be in the same boat as me, i bought the X107CDF. link here: http://www.lowrance.com/marine/Products/X107CDF.asp
    I will give a report on it shortly after i get a chance to use it.
    I will go out this weekend and try and get it fired up. Hopefully it wont take me more than a couple of hours to do. I havent decided if i am going to continue fishing throughout the winter months, but if i do... that report will come sooner than later.
    -SS

  10. #10
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    Jul 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Blake
    Hey Slab-Stalker:

    I have a Humminbird Matrix 12 - http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=637 - on the front of my boat with an Angled Puck/Shoot Through the Hull transducer close to the front of the boat - about two feet from where I sit.

    The Matrix 12 retails for about $150 without the GPS receiver (I use a Garmin Map 76 hand held GPS) and has plenty of resolution to see a 1/16th-ounce jig and to identify fish, cover and bottom hardness. It shows very much the same picture as the Lowrance LCX17M that I have in the back of the boat (an $800 unit with GPS).
    I'm looking at buying a Lowrance X96. It is comparable to your unit but has 1500 watts peak to peak power vs 2000 watts peak to peak power for the Matrix 12. How important is this difference?

    Thanks...Dan

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