Helix 5 DI/GPS unit Sonar & Fish ID question

[Jbird22]

I bought this unit last year and really like it but seem to be having issues with the Fish ID feature on the sonar. On one of my trips last year it seemed to ID the fish (not the alarm just fish icons on sonar) just fine but every trip after that I never could get it to ID fish again. From all the reading I've done in the manual it appears the sonar on the DI unit like mine is narrower than that of one without DI. So it appears my widest option for sonar is 200kHz, instead of 83kHz on the standard Sonar only unit. Is that correct? If so, does anyone have any idea why fish ID won't show up on Sonar when I know I'm over fish?

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[rnvinc]

You are correct that your stock XNT 9 DI T has 2d beam coverage of 200kHz/28° and 455kHz/16° Cone shaped Sonar beams ...

That could indeed make the Fish ID feature not as often assigned to targets ...

Now this doesn't explain why the same unit marked Fish ID previously and not now ...

You might Restore Defaults (and then turn Fish ID back on) and test ...

Rickie

[kosmo]

[Jbird22]

Thanks Rickie, I'll give that a try.

[Zippy]

I've noticed this with all my humminbirds. They show icons right out of the box but once you change the settings you rarely see them again. Thankfully I never use fish Id anyhow. I have had it set up and going along seeing fish on the straight sonar and to my surprise had a fish icon pop up. Its then that I realize I havent turned it off. I recently ran over thousands of fish in a cove and as an experiment turned fish id on to see what it would say and had a single icon pop up over this school!



After putting in a ton of time trying to understand fishfinders and sonar in general over the last year I can see no good reason to use fish icons anymore. They just clutter the screen and mask the pure information hidden beneath.

[Jbird22]

It's a different year but here I am still having the same problem with my Sonar marking anything but the bottom. I fished this past weekend in an old pit that ranges up to 25' deep or so and never marked a fish (neither with, nor without FishID). I know this place is has plenty of bass, crappie, catfish, gar, etc... but it literally never marked a fish. Can anyone think of a setting I might be overlooking?

[rnvinc]

It's a good idea to use Restore Defaults any time the unit doesn't seem to be functioning correctly ... (This will also force you to set up your favorite settings again - getting more familiar with the available settings) ...

You might rig up a small air filed container (weighted enough to sink) and deliberately put it in the Sonar cone (round red and white corks work well as a fish air bladder representation) ...

Rickie

[ezfishn]

If your model has Fish ID Sensitivity, try increasing it if you aren't getting any symbols and know there are fish in the area.

[Jbird22]

It's a good idea to use Restore Defaults any time the unit doesn't seem to be functioning correctly ... (This will also force you to set up your favorite settings again - getting more familiar with the available settings) ...

You might rig up a small air filed container (weighted enough to sink) and deliberately put it in the Sonar cone (round red and white corks work well as a fish air bladder representation) ...

Rickie

Thanks Rickie, tried that last year when I was having trouble but didn't seem to fix my problem.

If your model has Fish ID Sensitivity, try increasing it if you aren't getting any symbols and know there are fish in the area.

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I have that maxed out but I'll double check.

[Jbird22]

Update: Changed the sonar frequency along with a few other setting this weekend and it seemed to work better. I still think it's missing a lot of fish but it was at least manageable. Thanks to those who offered advice.