kentuckylakebuck
Well-Known Member
what kind of electronics are you boys using for crappie? side image, down image, trolling motor, etc?
sonar for crappie
- Thread starter kentuckylakebuck
- Start date
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
I use side and down to find them if they are on points... pretty easy the way they stack up. Even when they are on wood, the side will find them. It's almost unfair with the exception that you have to catch them. I use 2d if I'm sitting on top them but split screen it with down scan just because i feel i get an more accurate depth and size return.
Same as SilverFox here. Side scan is where it's at for crappie. We haven't figured out what bass look like on it but crappie and white bass are pretty easy. Schooling stripers are too. Dad and I were scanning the lock side below Watts Bar dam last week and found that most all of it was flat bottom with nothing on it. Except for two rocks that were pretty big...and had crappie suspended above both of them. Those were the only two places we marked fish on that side. We made two waypoints and trolled through them with Bandit 300s and nabbed two on the first pass through the first school and then got another when we made it to the second. We caught em steady like that for about 30 mins then left for other fish. We've caught more crappie this year than any I can remember and it's all due to finding them with side scan. No more fishing where the fish ain't at and saying "they just weren't biting today".
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
I've got a guy i crappie fish with that will only fish history. We only got to fish twice this spring since we had a baby but the first we both limited using my humminbirds. The next time he wanted to try his spots and we did... even after I told him I didn't see any fish. I picked up 8 or 9 that day casting to singles i saw on the side scan away from his brush. He and his brother caught zero. I admit I caught as many smallmouth and drum as i did crappie but 8 keepers vs zero is pretty good. We only fished a couple hours. Had he not got upset I'm sure at least i could have caught a limit. I don't know if he will call me this year or not... either way I'll catch them using sonar again if the Good Lord's willing.
kentuckylakebuck
Well-Known Member
thanks for the replies! what kind of units do yall have and where in the boat?
Humminbird 1199 SI HD at the console and Humminbird 598 on the trolling motor. The 1199 made all the difference with the bigger screen. You can see so much more stuff you miss with the smaller screen units. We started with the 598 at the console and quickly saw the need to upgrade to a bigger screen at the console.
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The first of the year I am going to make an investment in one of two things.
A kayak or a new fancy "fish finder" for the minnow.
A kayak or a new fancy "fish finder" for the minnow.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
I use humminbirds too but the 8 inch screens. One at the wheel and the other on the trolling motor. I cant afford the 1100 series.
I thought I would write a little more in depth (no pun intended) on the sonar units. I am no expert by a long shot, but here is what I have learned that may help you in the purchase of one of the units.
1. Yes they are expensive. BUT...the pricing you see in Bass Pro and online, is simply the MAP. MAP = Manufacturer Advertised Price. Some companies will regulate the price that dealers are allowed to openly advertise their products at. But they do not regulate the price they can actually sell the product at. In other words I am telling you to find a shop or dealer that sells them, and do some shopping around with them. You can find them A LOT cheaper than the MAP. With big retailers you can't do that...what you see is what you get. So keep that in mind when shopping around.
2. Humminbird will be coming out with some really affordable SI units for 2015. They will feature an overall larger screen....but will still be 5 inch screen units. Right now, the current 5 inch screen models are measured diagonal. So they are not 5 inch screens from side to side.
3. The bigger the screen, the more you can see. Example...with the 5 inch screen units currently available...the transducer sees exactly the same thing as the larger units do. BUT...the information displayed on the screen will be really micro size. You can adjust the distance the side imaging is "seeing" off to the sides of the boat. The thing most people try to do, is set it for 80 or 100 feet off each side of the boat....thus covering a swath of 160-200 feet total. Now think about this...the unit will then try to fit 200 feet of info on that screen. You might go over a tree laying in the water that is 20 feet long...and on the screen, it might show up as being the size of a match head. If you can barely make out stuff that big...you don't have a chance at seeing smaller things like schools of crappie or bait fish. SO what you end up doing, is shrinking the overall scan distance. With the small screen units...to make the images appear large enough to see bigger stuff like brush piles, stumps, etc, you gotta go down to about 20 feet off each side...no bigger or they will be so small you can't see them. In reality...that's no better than a standard 2D image because it's basically what is under the boat.
The larger screen units will "blow up" the same image and make it appear larger. So now you can get away with going 80 to 100 feet off each side and still being able to identify stumps, brush, etc. The crappie are still hard to spot with the scan size being that broad. BUT what you are doing at this point is just scanning to find the cover/structure in the first place. Once you find that stuff, you can go back over it with a smaller scan size and REALLY see the details of what is there or not there, especially fish. If we are exploring a new area, we will usually scan with 100-150 feet until we spot something of interest and then we go back over it with smaller scanning. You'll usually see the "shadows" of a school of crappie or white bass before you see the white specks when scanning with a larger swath.
4. Humminbird vs Lowrance. We have Bird units. But having seen what the Lowrance models can do...I gotta say I think the Lowrance units have it going on right now. Their down imagine blows the Bird out of the water. Their side imaging is pretty great too. I can't afford one of those...the units are crazy priced and that doesn't include the side imaging transducer either. It's an extra $600 on those units...or it was. The newer Bird units are pretty easy to navigate around with. They do a really great job. We stayed on top of white bass today after they would quit breaking...knowing which side of the boat to cast to and let the spinners and spoons sink to, and continued to catch them.
1. Yes they are expensive. BUT...the pricing you see in Bass Pro and online, is simply the MAP. MAP = Manufacturer Advertised Price. Some companies will regulate the price that dealers are allowed to openly advertise their products at. But they do not regulate the price they can actually sell the product at. In other words I am telling you to find a shop or dealer that sells them, and do some shopping around with them. You can find them A LOT cheaper than the MAP. With big retailers you can't do that...what you see is what you get. So keep that in mind when shopping around.
2. Humminbird will be coming out with some really affordable SI units for 2015. They will feature an overall larger screen....but will still be 5 inch screen units. Right now, the current 5 inch screen models are measured diagonal. So they are not 5 inch screens from side to side.
3. The bigger the screen, the more you can see. Example...with the 5 inch screen units currently available...the transducer sees exactly the same thing as the larger units do. BUT...the information displayed on the screen will be really micro size. You can adjust the distance the side imaging is "seeing" off to the sides of the boat. The thing most people try to do, is set it for 80 or 100 feet off each side of the boat....thus covering a swath of 160-200 feet total. Now think about this...the unit will then try to fit 200 feet of info on that screen. You might go over a tree laying in the water that is 20 feet long...and on the screen, it might show up as being the size of a match head. If you can barely make out stuff that big...you don't have a chance at seeing smaller things like schools of crappie or bait fish. SO what you end up doing, is shrinking the overall scan distance. With the small screen units...to make the images appear large enough to see bigger stuff like brush piles, stumps, etc, you gotta go down to about 20 feet off each side...no bigger or they will be so small you can't see them. In reality...that's no better than a standard 2D image because it's basically what is under the boat.
The larger screen units will "blow up" the same image and make it appear larger. So now you can get away with going 80 to 100 feet off each side and still being able to identify stumps, brush, etc. The crappie are still hard to spot with the scan size being that broad. BUT what you are doing at this point is just scanning to find the cover/structure in the first place. Once you find that stuff, you can go back over it with a smaller scan size and REALLY see the details of what is there or not there, especially fish. If we are exploring a new area, we will usually scan with 100-150 feet until we spot something of interest and then we go back over it with smaller scanning. You'll usually see the "shadows" of a school of crappie or white bass before you see the white specks when scanning with a larger swath.
4. Humminbird vs Lowrance. We have Bird units. But having seen what the Lowrance models can do...I gotta say I think the Lowrance units have it going on right now. Their down imagine blows the Bird out of the water. Their side imaging is pretty great too. I can't afford one of those...the units are crazy priced and that doesn't include the side imaging transducer either. It's an extra $600 on those units...or it was. The newer Bird units are pretty easy to navigate around with. They do a really great job. We stayed on top of white bass today after they would quit breaking...knowing which side of the boat to cast to and let the spinners and spoons sink to, and continued to catch them.
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
I think Lowrance may be better than Humminbird, but lowrance's customer service is the worst.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
IMO...Lowrance has the best down image... humminbird the best side image. 2d is a toss up now for me. Humminbird is made in the usa and serviced in the usa... no comparison to the crappy Lowrance service. Turn around on bird units is usually 1 week if you have to send it in.
With all the setting and easy to use on the Bird units combined with it being made and serviced here, I'll never go back to Lowrance. Humminbird has made some changes in their down image and i hear it's better. I haven't personall tried it.
i use BBG Marine in Georgia to purchase units. Brian is a good guy and has been the best price I've found when i was buying.
With all the setting and easy to use on the Bird units combined with it being made and serviced here, I'll never go back to Lowrance. Humminbird has made some changes in their down image and i hear it's better. I haven't personall tried it.
i use BBG Marine in Georgia to purchase units. Brian is a good guy and has been the best price I've found when i was buying.
kentuckylakebuck
Well-Known Member
Thanks fellas, ya'll are really helping me out! Crow I appreciate the info! I'm turning my 17 ft lowe to a center console crappie fishing machine , I want the best electronics for the money and i think ya'll have helped me with that.what kind of trolling motors do you boys use, electric or cable steer ? If any of ya'll are in the Paris landing neighborhood, I'll try to repay the favors! Thanks again
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
I use a cable... my crappie boat is also my bass boat, 20 foot Skeeter. If it was only a crappie boat then I'd have an i pilot.
blountcountyboy
Well-Known Member
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- City & State/Province
- Blount CountyTN ya know over next to Cades Cove
I parallel the banks walleye fishing and fish MILES of dead water every year doing so with a 2D depth finder. I've often wondered if a side scan could pick up walleye right against the bank or suspended against a vertical rock bluff.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
If they suspend off the wall a little, you can see them. Seeing anything on a bluff is difficult for me if they tuck tight. You get a lot of bright returns on bluffs. .. or at least i do when i try to scan to the wall. What you can see pretty easily is if bait fish are on a bluff.
Here's some screen shots for you guys that we have gotten over the last few months.
Here are several schools of white bass feasting on shad. We literally caught them until we got tired of catching them. They were breaking like crazy and then would go under for a bit. The fish are the white specks. You can see their "shadows" really well too.
This next one is of two schools of crappie that are suspended over a large rock. The crosshairs of the depth finder are hiding the rock but you can see the crappie just to the right of the cross hairs. Crappie are usually in that vertical christmas tree shape when you see them. On the right side of the screen you can see some logs and other things but notice there aren't any crappie over them. They were just relating to that one rock.
Same school of crappie from a different angle. In this one, the crappie and rock are to the left of the crosshair icon. There is a smaller school of crappie below the crosshair icon and to the right. And towards the bottom of the picture is a large school of shad.
This one is harder to see...not the best image in the world. It's also crappie...relating to a sunken crappie attractor or brush pile. You will probably see the shadows of the brush or attractor....look above and to the right of the crosshair icon. This is where side imaging is so handy. You can idle through a cove and spot the brush and stuff...and see whether it has fish on it or not. This one was a good one.
And this last one...is another example of side imaging coming in handy. Here you have a really nice tree. A big one. Submerged in 25 feet of water. And not a single crappie in the branches or around it. This is where it saves you from what SilverFox mentioned. Fishing the places you've caught fish on previous trips might work...and it might not. But this way you can mark a lot of places for future reference...and simply idle by and see if they are there or not on that given day.
On thing we've learned from this. Is that crappie are pretty easy to catch if you can find them. No matter what time of the year. Some people think the only time you can catch them is in the spring. But I actually think the fall/winter/summer are the easiest times. They might not be in the same place from day to day...but they wont be too awful far away.
Here are several schools of white bass feasting on shad. We literally caught them until we got tired of catching them. They were breaking like crazy and then would go under for a bit. The fish are the white specks. You can see their "shadows" really well too.
This next one is of two schools of crappie that are suspended over a large rock. The crosshairs of the depth finder are hiding the rock but you can see the crappie just to the right of the cross hairs. Crappie are usually in that vertical christmas tree shape when you see them. On the right side of the screen you can see some logs and other things but notice there aren't any crappie over them. They were just relating to that one rock.
Same school of crappie from a different angle. In this one, the crappie and rock are to the left of the crosshair icon. There is a smaller school of crappie below the crosshair icon and to the right. And towards the bottom of the picture is a large school of shad.
This one is harder to see...not the best image in the world. It's also crappie...relating to a sunken crappie attractor or brush pile. You will probably see the shadows of the brush or attractor....look above and to the right of the crosshair icon. This is where side imaging is so handy. You can idle through a cove and spot the brush and stuff...and see whether it has fish on it or not. This one was a good one.
And this last one...is another example of side imaging coming in handy. Here you have a really nice tree. A big one. Submerged in 25 feet of water. And not a single crappie in the branches or around it. This is where it saves you from what SilverFox mentioned. Fishing the places you've caught fish on previous trips might work...and it might not. But this way you can mark a lot of places for future reference...and simply idle by and see if they are there or not on that given day.
On thing we've learned from this. Is that crappie are pretty easy to catch if you can find them. No matter what time of the year. Some people think the only time you can catch them is in the spring. But I actually think the fall/winter/summer are the easiest times. They might not be in the same place from day to day...but they wont be too awful far away.
AllOutdoors
Well-Known Member
Cable steer tm. I use lowrance hds with down scan and side scan. It works great.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
I bass fished douglas yesterday. Crappie and white bass were schooled up everywhere and i didn't take a single crappie rig. I saw several boats fishing for them but didn't stick around to see if they were catching. I had a big crappie swat at a bandit crankbait as i was picking it up out the water to cast again.
It's probably a good thing for the crappie population that more guys don't use side scan. If they did there would be a lot more crappie caught.
It's probably a good thing for the crappie population that more guys don't use side scan. If they did there would be a lot more crappie caught.
Great Info Thanks Crow
