Does anyone have any experience with the original Lowrance Hook units. Not the hook 2. I'm looking to buy a new GPS sonar combo unit and found a great deal on a 7 inch unit with charts included for 399. It has 500w rms and can be paired with a 50/200 transducer. Just wondering if it would struggle with getting to prawning depths? I'm now using an old humminbird 365i that is starting to pack it in and it struggles to read any deeper than 300 feet. Any experience would help!
Lowrance Hook questions
- Thread starter Nahee27
- Start date
Burban
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure they do an 83khz scan as well. Im not sure if mine is hook1 or 2, but my hook7 is 2 years old, but it has low 83, high 200 hz.
I split screen them both as they both pick up stuff the other does not. I love it, it was a game changer for me. Ive picked up arches and turned around to see my rod pop on more then 1 occasion. When Im jigging, it marks my lure going up and down.
http://ww2.lowrance.com/en-CA/Products/Fishfinder/hook-7x-en-ca.aspx
I split screen them both as they both pick up stuff the other does not. I love it, it was a game changer for me. Ive picked up arches and turned around to see my rod pop on more then 1 occasion. When Im jigging, it marks my lure going up and down.
http://ww2.lowrance.com/en-CA/Products/Fishfinder/hook-7x-en-ca.aspx
Have you had any issues with it freezing up or the charts not loading fast enough to keep up with boat speed? I've been doing some research and seems to be a common problem....
Nahee27, be careful here, you are comparing apples to oranges....sounders and transducers are very confusing and every 6 months they add more features to them to confuse us more.
I had a lowrance elite 5 with their 83x200 transducer, could pick up bottom, bait, and a few fish dots! Would lose bottom with boat speed. Bought a P66 transducer and the results were night and day. Finally fish arches and bottom on speed!
Upgraded last year to a lowrance Ti unit with “chirp” technology plus other down imaging etc that I don’t use. The “chirp” technology made a bigger difference again in sounder readings.
You have to do your homework and find what unit and transducer will work for your needs within your budget. Best to visit a few stores like harbour chandler, cabellas, etc. to see their display units. Good luck in your quest!
I had a lowrance elite 5 with their 83x200 transducer, could pick up bottom, bait, and a few fish dots! Would lose bottom with boat speed. Bought a P66 transducer and the results were night and day. Finally fish arches and bottom on speed!
Upgraded last year to a lowrance Ti unit with “chirp” technology plus other down imaging etc that I don’t use. The “chirp” technology made a bigger difference again in sounder readings.
You have to do your homework and find what unit and transducer will work for your needs within your budget. Best to visit a few stores like harbour chandler, cabellas, etc. to see their display units. Good luck in your quest!
Thanks Trophy,
I have looked around at a few places, problem is my budget is only around 500. I live DT Vancouver and only get to fish when I get to go back home to Powell River and get the boat out so hard to justify spending 1000 on a new unit. From my research and talking to a couple retailers the most important thing is the transceiving Rms of the unit and a low sonar frequency for deeper water fishing is this correct? I have also read that transducer quality is important and heard good things about the airmar p66 which I could upgrade to in the future. Just interested to know if the hook unit can handle deeper water for prawning and such and scared it's just a piece of junk in general....
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
it will read bottom, you just might not have a lot of detail. my experience with my Elite 5 similar to Trophy. i could see bait. never fish arches no matter how much i messed with 83khz vs 200 khz.. messing with sensitivity etc
Burban
Well-Known Member
Like i said in my previous post, I see arches regularly and I can see my jig fluttering up and down on the screen while jigging and know exactly what depth Im at when targeting springs and bait balls mid column.
No it does not sound at speed. I've always been curious why people are interested in that?
I have no problems marking bottom and skiffs of prawns themsleves in my prawn spots.
Ill post some pics for you tommorow night, I'm out of town at the moment.
No it does not sound at speed. I've always been curious why people are interested in that?
I have no problems marking bottom and skiffs of prawns themsleves in my prawn spots.
Ill post some pics for you tommorow night, I'm out of town at the moment.
Cookie's Cutter
Well-Known Member
Tell me more about this magical sounder that can see prawns?
Burban
Well-Known Member
You ever skiffs along the bottom in your prawns spots?
Use your imagination jackass.
Burban
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the late reply, been super hectic lately. Here's some example pics of the hook7 I have sounding. Not sure which hook7 I have, and I'm not sure exactly what frequency HIGH is, as I cant power up my sounder atm and look around. Most of these pics are fairly shallow but I have no problems with clarity or detail up to the 200' range I usually fish in. I have no problems marking bottom to 350-400 while prawning. Hope these pics help some.
Herring exploding away from a group of chinook:
Massive school of herring at Sangster last year with some chinook below gorging:
This ones not a bad example of how the 2 frequencies show differently on screen:
This pic is super shallow, but I often see my lure when I'm jigging the side of the boat my transducer is on. I usually target springs 50-100' mid-column when jigging.
Herring exploding away from a group of chinook:
Massive school of herring at Sangster last year with some chinook below gorging:
This ones not a bad example of how the 2 frequencies show differently on screen:
This pic is super shallow, but I often see my lure when I'm jigging the side of the boat my transducer is on. I usually target springs 50-100' mid-column when jigging.
Slabbedout
Well-Known Member
I own the older version of the hook 7, bought it 2 -3 years ago for a deal. Found out shortly after the the older hook units where being sold off cause a newer unit was being released.
I find the sounder great to depths of 400+ ft and use it for prawning all the time. The sounder is great and I can definitely see clouds of what are prawns or squat lobster on the bottom. I will say the sounder won’t keep up/ update while ripping along much quicker than 5-7 knot in deep water.
My biggest complaint is the gps/ plotter does not load quickly at all so if you have it zoomed in and are heading from prawn spot to spot at any speed it’s painful. I use the sounder function on full screen and then a iPad with Navionics for the plotter while prawning.
I find the sounder great to depths of 400+ ft and use it for prawning all the time. The sounder is great and I can definitely see clouds of what are prawns or squat lobster on the bottom. I will say the sounder won’t keep up/ update while ripping along much quicker than 5-7 knot in deep water.
My biggest complaint is the gps/ plotter does not load quickly at all so if you have it zoomed in and are heading from prawn spot to spot at any speed it’s painful. I use the sounder function on full screen and then a iPad with Navionics for the plotter while prawning.
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