# DSI or Sonar?



## s.anderson (Jun 11, 2012)

I plan on eventually upgrading the electronics on my boat so I've started the dreaded task of researching the options.

I lean toward Hybrid/Striper fishing and don't know exactly what features are best for this type of fishing.  I don't need a crazy expensive unit that does everything, just something that works well and will aid in fishing.

I have been looking  at Lowrance HDS-5X but it seems like they are more geared toward seeing structure rather than marking fish.

I think the HDS-5X gen2 might be a good choice but I can't find many reviews on it.  

I've yet to check out the Hummingbirds but I thought I'd ask on here because the information that's out there is pretty confusing.

What units would you recommend for an average fisherman on local lakes?   And what about DSI vs. regular sonar?


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## T.P. (Jun 11, 2012)

s.anderson said:


> I plan on eventually upgrading the electronics on my boat so I've started the dreaded task of researching the options.
> 
> I lean toward Hybrid/Striper fishing and don't know exactly what features are best for this type of fishing.  I don't need a crazy expensive unit that does everything, just something that works well and will aid in fishing.
> 
> ...



Lowrance sonar shot. It finds fish too!


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## pbmang (Jun 11, 2012)

The biggest question is going to be what is your budget?  Both Lowrance and Humminbird make some great units, and depending on the price, one may be clearly better than the other.  

IMO, down scan is a great feature to compliment the traditional 2d sonar.  I think if I had to pick either a 2d sonar or down scan, I would stick with the 2d.  Down scan is great for really looking at cover, and provides great target separation over traditional 2d sonar, but the beam the transducer uses for DS is very narrow, and would be extremely difficult to use to drop your baits down to the appropriate depth (assuming you are using it to set your bait's depth).  

Assuming you have ~ a $400 budget, I would also check out the Humminbird 587ci.  The HDS-5x is going to be just a 2d sonar, no down scan and no GPS.  For going after white fish, I would say the 2d is going to be your most used sonar function.  It will give you the widest coverage area under the boat since the beam is a cone shape versus a narrow slice, and will give you those nice shots of "spaghetti" that everyone loves to see.  The down side with not having a GPS is that you can't get a map chip.  I fished forever without a map chip, and now I want to kick myself.  They are not 100% accurate, but it really helps in finding long points, and targeting specific depths.

The Humminbird is going to be priced very comparably, and include the down scan and GPS functions.  I LOVE the Lowrance 2d sonar quality, and I feel like the HDS-5x will give you a little better 2d sonar picture (I have an HDS and Humminbird SI on my boat), but the Humminbird will give you more features.  The screen shot T.P. posted is the reason why I love Lowrance 2d sonar.

It really all boils down to what you want the unit to do.  I see you are in Acworth, so BPS isn't too far away.  It may be worth a trip down there just to check out the units and see what you think.  The new Academy in Hiram may also carry them, but I'm not 100% sure and would hate to make the drive out there for nothing.


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## russ010 (Jun 11, 2012)

If you go Lowrance... I've got an HDS 8 and a 5x... had the 5x first and it was great - but you couldn't update it unless you had another unit or knew someone who had a HDS unit with a card reader. So atleast try to spend a few extra bucks and get the next model up which I think is just a 5 (drop the x)...

But - you can't beat the shots in 2d with the HDS. I had a Hbird 788ci before (GPS and 2d). It was an awesome unit as well, but I got a deal on Lowrance and I haven't looked back since. 

People will try to steer you to Hbird or Lowrance, but honestly, once you get either unit set up right and learn how to read it - they both work just the same in my opinion.

Here were some shots taken with my HDS 7 (no longer have it..) a while back... then the blue was taken with the HDS8


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## s.anderson (Jun 11, 2012)

I really appreciate your comments and advise.

I was kinda thinking the sonar would be more important than the down scan too.  This is kinda one of those things that you don't want to be fishing 3 months after you buy it and say "I wish this thing would do....." and find out for $100 more you could have had everything you needed. 

I'm going to keep researching, asking questions, and most importantly learning more about how to chase the whitefish so I'll know better what to do when the time comes.


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## russ010 (Jun 11, 2012)

check with Lanier Jim... I know he's made the conversion to Humminbird. I don't really know what all it would entail if you got a combo unit on the Hbird (gps/sonor/DI)... but I know for Lowrance it will cost you an extra $500-600 to add the imaging. But if you get a small unit like a HDS 5, then want to upgrade to imaging - you'll want a bigger screen. I upgraded from a HDS7 to a HDS 8 for $200... my HDS7 messed up, and I asked about upgrades and that was the cost. Actually, I upgraded a HDS 7 basemap to a HDS 8 with insight mapping - wow what a difference (and I have Navionics Premium card). The insight actually shows Carters ReReg where we fish our jon boat tourneys which was a first for me and it definitely helped.


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## Sultan of Slime (Jun 11, 2012)

As the others have said downscan will give you great structure detail but the 2d is prob what you will use most chasing linesides and looking for the sketti.

Get a unit that you can upgrade later if you decide to add it is my best advice. Also buy the biggest screen that you can afford.


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## Ahab (Jun 11, 2012)

I am rarely, if ever, not running the 2d sonar when striper fishing. I would say hds5 or 5x, upgrade later if you like.


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## Terribleted (Jun 11, 2012)

I would say buy the biggest screen and features within the budget. Down imaging is awesome when you see stuff on 2D near the bottom that "might" be fish. Down imaging comfirms in highdef that that is actually 3 trees, one broken and laying in the branches of the other 2, and what appears to be 1 fish under the branches of the last tree. Upgrading to a larger screen size is what I appreciated the most regardless of what screen I am looking at.  

 I bought from a 5 inch Humminbird HD Down/Side image unit last fall and was dissapointed that I had not purchased a larger screen. Was very difficult for me to see the fine details on the down and side imaging as well as details while using the AWESOME built in mapping and gps tracking functions...the 2d sonar imaging was very usable however.  I sold the small unit at a loss and bought a Humminbird 998CSI  (8 inch screen). BIG BIG difference. I would have gotten the 10" screen unit but fitment considerations made that not a good option.

  I had never had GPS and mapping on a fish finder before. Now I would not have a primary unit without it. The included mapping on the Humminbird GPS units is very good. You can mark and store a waypoint with associated screen image shot with basically a button press. Navigating at night on charted lakes is much less nerve wracking. I am using a super detailed chart set from Lakemaster. It is better than the built in mapping and adds alot of functionality like highlighting selected depths, use of up to 10 colors, depth offset (is the lake high or low). Lakes that are including in high definition are very detailed, depth contoursare displayed in extremely fine detail. I have found it to be pretty accurate overall.


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## s.anderson (Jun 11, 2012)

What do you mean by " get a unit you can upgrade"?


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## XtremeBowhunter91 (Jun 11, 2012)

Take a look at the Humminbird 597ci HD DI. I bought one a few weeks ago and really like it. I just ordered the lakemaster pro maps for the GPS chart. The screen is plenty big, and once it is set up, you can see everything just fine. I'm still learning things about it everyday. I'm trying to figure out how people take screen shots. I went over a brush pile and could see the fish clear as day with the down imaging. Wish I could have got a screen shot of it.


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## russ010 (Jun 11, 2012)

XtremeBowhunter91 said:


> I'm trying to figure out how people take screen shots.



don't know if this will help, but download this manual (or look in yours if you have it) and start at page 89... you may be able to change the ping speed in those settings so that you can take shots 1 ping per second or more. I think you can put the sd card in your computer and pull them up. It says recording, but I think it's only taking one picture at a time and you can scroll through them independently

http://store.humminbird.com/media/document/587_597_HD_DI_Manual.pdf


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## Big Texun (Jun 11, 2012)

Lowrance 2d is what you need,


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## Sultan of Slime (Jun 12, 2012)

Big Texun said:


> Lowrance 2d is what you need,



x10000


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