New Depth Finder: Humminbird or Garmin?

[T-Boo]

Am leaning toward a Humminbird Helix 7 SI or a Garmin Echomap 73SV.
Just can't make myself take the plunge.
Curious to see if anyone can sway me in the direction of one over the other. Thanks in advance.

[jpeff31787]

tough call. Why did you throw out lowrance though? Doesn't lowrance have the best maps?

[T-Boo]

I want to be able to make my own maps.

[T-Boo]

The Garmin seems like it may lend itself to the auto-mapping thing.

[RichIsFishing504]

It all depends on your budget, the depth of water your fishing, and your expectations.

The best on water topo map making I've seen is the humminbird but that feature is only on the more expensive units.

Lowrance has some really neat new stuff with actual 3D modeling that just came out but again it's the more expensive models.




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[Elbert Chamblee]

I bought a HB 998 SI about 4-5 years ago and the factory standard map was very poor. No detail and 5' contour lines. I upgraded to a navionics card and a world of difference. Lake master didn't have Toledo Bend on it when it first came out so it was not even considered. Not all Helix units can be linked together. Do your research on comparing what you want the unit to do. Look at maps available with your areas you fish. When pricing maps for different units there are some that are pricey. Good luck shopping.

[captfields_sc]

Using my Navionics charts on my Raymarine, I am able to use sonar charts live which lets me create my own charts immediately. Pretty neat. I don't have much experience with Humminbird, but I have some close friends that run the Helix you are referring to with Nav. Charts and they love it.

[Broke Down]

Let us know what you go with T Boo, I am looking to buy something real soon as well.

[C-Bass2mouth]

No experience with the Garmins, but I've been running Lowrance for a while. If I had to start from square one again I'd go with the Helix units. Like they said you can't network the Helix - 7 and smaller units (share waypoints, charts, transducers, etc). So instead of needing 2 - $150+ chips you can run one and view it on multiple units. I installed a Helix 7 SI/GPS with a buddy a few months back. Only has one transducer for Side, Down, and regular sonar, and no need for a separate structure scan module (like my lowrance did, now the touch units have this built in without the need for the SS module, but still have multiple transducers) which is great. Really bright screen that you don't have trouble seeing with shades on in direct sunlight (compared to my Lowrances). I did have trouble getting a real clear picture on the Down scan but I think our transducer placement may have had something to do with it and caught a lot of prop wash. The maps that came on it (for Toledo) weren't any better than the standard insight maps that came on my Lowrances. I put my navionics chip in it from my units and it worked fine. I don't have any experience with the Lakemaster chips, don't think they are compatible with Lowrance. Not sure, but I don't think the 7's can do the live mapping? Might should read up on that. Honestly my navionics platinum chip is really accurate, and I wouldn't even worry about live mapping, or at least not on major lakes like Toledo / Rayburn etc. BUT, if you fish smaller bodies of water that aren't covered on the chips, then the live mapping could be really handy I suppose. The price for the Helix units are pretty good too. I like how they offer certain units that do certain things for different prices. For example, you can save a few hundred bucks by buying a DI/GPS unit for the bow instead of having to buy one that has SI capabilities that you won't really need on the front (have to be going at idle speeds to get a good picture on the Side Scan). If you have them networked and can share waypoints, you can use the console unit to find what ever you want with side scan while idling and mark it on that unit, then move to the front and see that waypoint location to fish it. No need to side scan up front. I do prefer the touch screens, but the Helix's are much easier to navigate through for a push button unit, compared to a Lowrance push button unit IMO.

[RichIsFishing504]

Helix 7 does not have autochart live. That feature allows the unit to make contour maps in real time when your on the water. The Helix 9 DOES have autochart live but is more expensive.

Just FYI.


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[T-Boo]

I'm leaning toward the Garmin 73sv.
It will be a trolling motor mount. Will having side-imaging benefit me? Most things I've seen/read say that side imaging works best at 3mph or greater.

[thatguytyler]

The lakemaster chips are outstanding and no the side imaging will not benefit you on the trolling motor, I have ran the Core units from humminbird(998s), lowrance hds 8s, and now the Helix units (10 and 12). Each one has its pros and cons but these helix units seem the best to me.

[C-Bass2mouth]

Originally Posted by T-Boo

I'm leaning toward the Garmin 73sv.
It will be a trolling motor mount. Will having side-imaging benefit me? Most things I've seen/read say that side imaging works best at 3mph or greater.

No it wont. You could still use the down imaging but it wont be as clear as if you were idling, but still better quality than the side imaging at lower than idle speeds

[RichIsFishing504]

I have a humminbird helix 7 side imaging on my trolling motor. It works well because with the humminbird you can slow down the scroll rate. I use it to find and position myself near drop offs.


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[T-Boo]

I do quite a bit of river fishing and my boat is in motion while trolling. Is regular trolling-motor speed not fast enough to do quality side imaging?
Another question: Does the wider scope of a side imaging signal help to draw depth contours on a Auto Chart map more quickly?
Thanks to you guys for all your help.

[cajun bill]

I'm guessing WishingIWasFishing will chime in here shortly. He knows his stuff.

[T-Boo]

I'm leaning now toward the Humminbird Helix 9 DI and the Lakemaster thing.
Side Imaging isn't a must for me.
I may add side imaging on the transom in the future.
Another question: Can I network the Helix 9 with another Humminbird unit to make Auto Chart maps on each unit, and combine the information from each transducer onto one map at the end of the day?

[RichIsFishing504]

The auto chart features are based off of your regular 2d sonar readings. Side imaging and down imaging is irrelevant to that. You can network them but I don't have much experience in that matter.

Based on my trips with down imaging on both the lowrance and humminbird units I can safely say it's not very helpful while your fishing in less than 20 feet of water.

By the time you see any structure or fish you have already run that great big fiberglass UFO over the fish and they are gone.

It is good for driving around and seeing what's under the boat but that's about it. The only time down imaging helped me is when I was outtering around the rock wall at MRGO and could actually see clumps of black drum in 40 feet of water. Made for an easy limit. Never could replicate it again.

Side imaging works even at a dead stop. It's all in how you interpret the data. Those nice pictures you see on the Internet are at a higher speed. Your not gonna get those with a trolling motor mounted side imaging unit. What you will get is information based on boat movement and the way the trolling motor is pointing. Which is handy for positioning yourself at drop offs. It's also a decent way to scan around the front of your boat if you just pivot your trolling motor to locate clumps of bait.


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[C-Bass2mouth]

Originally Posted by T-Boo

I'm leaning now toward the Humminbird Helix 9 DI and the Lakemaster thing.
Side Imaging isn't a must for me.
I may add side imaging on the transom in the future.
Another question: Can I network the Helix 9 with another Humminbird unit to make Auto Chart maps on each unit, and combine the information from each transducer onto one map at the end of the day?

If you're networking two units then you should be able to share mapping data. I doubt you need data off of both transducers for your custom map since they're probably only a few feet apart location wise. Every time you pull up the trolling motor, that transducer's readings won't do you any good either. Also, from a previous question, if you were to have your side scan / down scan transducer mounted on your trolling motor it's only going to read directly out each side if your TM is facing straight forward. When you turn it, it will turn also. FYI If I had to start from scratch again, I would no doubt go with the Helix units.

[T-Boo]

That's what I'll do. Thank you very much, Sir.