Looking for recommendations for trolling/fish finder combo

**beaujames05** · 07-24-2018, 03:22 PM

I currently have a cheap Hummingbird sonar and a Motorguide X3 with a 36" shaft on a Lowe 175 Stinger boat. I almost only fish for Crappie out of this boat year round on the Thomas Hill reservoir in Missouri. The lake is no more than 35 ft in its deepest point. I have put out many of my own brush and PVC hotels but it seems like I spend more time looking for my crappie beds than fishing. I have two little girls, so my time on the water is limited and I need to make the most of it when I actually get to go fishing.

I was looking at upgrading the Sonar first. I am looking for some opinions of people that use this in the field and what recommendations they have. Next year, I will probably upgrade my trolling motor for a Minn Kota with iPilot, but it seems like you can only get shaft lengths in the mid 40s. That seems to be too long of a shaft for my small boat. I would move my cheap sonar to the trolling motor to help me see below as I am trolling over brush.

Sonar:
Helix 7 CHIRP SI G2N vs. Helix 9 MEGA CHIRP SI G2N

Is the MEGA upgrade just for the HD transducer and is it ultimately worth it?
What features are compatible with Minn Kota trolling motors?
Minn Kota website seems to contradict FAQ on the Helix site about compatibility

I am also open to other Sonars, but side imaging is a must.

Trolling Motor:
I am looking for a Minn Kota for the iPilot features, but all the shafts are in the mid 40s. I am not sure if that is too long for my boat or is this not an issue. I would also like the transducer on this to plug into my old cheap Humminbird to mount on the front of the boat but is not required as I can move the old transducer to the trolling motor.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.

**Roy** · 07-24-2018, 05:39 PM

Sonar; Get the biggest screen you can afford and yes Mega is worth the difference.
I don't have my HB and my trolling motor linked as it was not worth the price difference to me for my style of fishing, single pole.
GPS on your front unit I think is a must.

**Cray** · 07-24-2018, 08:49 PM

A lot is going to depend on how you fish and how you intend to fish in the future. If your strictly a jig fisherman and fishing from front of boat a 45 in shaft is what I would recommend. If you ever intend to long line or pull cranks with it from back of boat then you need a longer shaft. I run a 52 in 55 lb thrust terrova on a stick steer about same size as your boat. Work great for spider rigging and pulling but I have to put motor all the way down when towards back of boat to keep prop from cavitate government at high speed. No comparability between a SI unit and terrova with Ipilot, you would have to step up to the link and larger unit to link. Where your fishing and how you fish would determine if added cost would be worth it. 9 inch would be better but perfectly happy with my 7 si mounted on trolling motor.

**rnvinc** · 07-25-2018, 10:45 AM

Any Ethernet capable HB unit can link to Minn Kota iPilot ...

This would include ...:

*7xx HD, 8xx, 9xx, 11xx
*HELIX 9, 10, 12 (generation 1)
*HELIX 7 G2N, 9 G2N, 10 G2N, 12 G2N
*ONIX
*SOLIX

Rickie

**ezfishn** · 07-28-2018, 04:19 PM

The only units that are not fully compatible with the newer MK Blue Tooth Ipilot/Link motors are the xx8 and older units. They can be connected via ethernet and perform all the same legacy functions of the older electric steer motors but will not have a couple of the newer functions like circle mode and believe jogging which are new. Humminbird never released an update for the new Bluetooth motors.

**beaujames05** · 08-01-2018, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Cray

A lot is going to depend on how you fish and how you intend to fish in the future. If your strictly a jig fisherman and fishing from front of boat a 45 in shaft is what I would recommend. If you ever intend to long line or pull cranks with it from back of boat then you need a longer shaft. I run a 52 in 55 lb thrust terrova on a stick steer about same size as your boat. Work great for spider rigging and pulling but I have to put motor all the way down when towards back of boat to keep prop from cavitate government at high speed. No comparability between a SI unit and terrova with Ipilot, you would have to step up to the link and larger unit to link. Where your fishing and how you fish would determine if added cost would be worth it. 9 inch would be better but perfectly happy with my 7 si mounted on trolling motor.

I primarily jig with a straight line into brush. I haven't tried cranking yet, but would like to start when I have a better fish finder. The spot lock will be great for keeping me on brush piles without having to fight the trolling motor while fishing. My lake is pretty windy most of the time, so spot lock will make life much easier on me. From what I have read, is that you can mark a waypoint on the Hummingbird and the Minnkota will troll lock on that position.

This summer has been difficult fishing. The water is really hot and the water is at least 3ft low, so my brush piles that were 18-19ft deep are now 15-18. I am catching alot of crappie, but they are not big enough to keep. Cranking will be a way for me to fish deeper water and hopefully catch larger crappie.

Thanks for the response on the trolling motor. It is appreciated.

**Cray** · 08-01-2018, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by beaujames05

I primarily jig with a straight line into brush. I haven't tried cranking yet, but would like to start when I have a better fish finder. The spot lock will be great for keeping me on brush piles without having to fight the trolling motor while fishing. My lake is pretty windy most of the time, so spot lock will make life much easier on me. From what I have read, is that you can mark a waypoint on the Hummingbird and the Minnkota will troll lock on that position.

This summer has been difficult fishing. The water is really hot and the water is at least 3ft low, so my brush piles that were 18-19ft deep are now 15-18. I am catching alot of crappie, but they are not big enough to keep. Cranking will be a way for me to fish deeper water and hopefully catch larger crappie.

Thanks for the response on the trolling motor. It is appreciated.

Trust me on this one if you plan to pull cranks do yourself a favor and get the 60 inch shaft. You get used to it sticking up and not hard to work around at all. And you can always cut it down if you have to.

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