Lowrance HDS 10 thoughts

Hi All,

Looking at these finders with the big screen that are currently on sale for ~ 1600. Seems like a good deal compared to what they were recently selling for. Understanding there will be another $500 to sink in the structure scan and more for the map. Question I have for the guys that own these large expensive finders is do you feel they truly helped put fish in the boat when a 5 inch screen would not have? A few years back I purchased the Humminbird 798 with side scan and while I really like the unit I cannot say the side and down scan added much value. Most likely I am not using it as intended or the screen is too small to pick up the important details but I don't feel the additional cost for those features was justified by the benefit I received. Do you feel like having these finders with a bigger screen really makes a difference in your ability to find and catch fish over the smaller screened ones?

Get the BIGGEST/LARGEST screen you can afford (or not afford :Rofl) for any SI capable units if you want to see the details to make it "useful". If you can see what's on the screen, you can't try and catch it. I have a HDS 8 with SS, I would not consider anything smaller if getting SS, the bigger the better, just like a TV.

All the HDS units are great units but having larger screens, you can use several screens at one time and still have enough size to see what your looking for and still have history on them. I usually use 3 to 4 different screens on mine at all times. Also using the SS you have a larger image to view and you can see things you might not pick up on a smaller screen. There isn't any way you can go wrong by getting a larger screen. If you are buying a larger unit, try to get a GEN 2 if you can.

I can talk about the Lowrance units all day. If you have any questions, let me know.

I have a HDS-7 and a HDS-8 with down scan / side scan.
Do the large screens put more Fish in the Boat?
Well they sure let you see the fish that won’t bite.
The screens are nice and easier to read.
If you are fishing the same lakes / spots you most likely won’t put more fish in the bucket.
But if you are looking at new lakes or new spots.. they will help.
Of course – My 80 year old fishing buddy Art Can get his limit of crappie most anywhere without electronics.:dono:Rofl

Thanks guys. HD that is my main concern. I typically fish the same group of lakes and fish the usual suspect spots when I go. I always like learning new areas but I am not sure I have made the most of the 798 I have now? As mentioned above I can see the benefit of have multiple readouts on one screen and having the display large enough you can can still see all of them. I believe sah just purchased one of the HDS 10s not too long ago. I need to reach out to him and see what his thoughts are on his purchase as I believe he has had a few months to use it. I really like the idea of the contour map overlay. Have you found this feature very useful?

Here is what we talked about the other night. This is in my dream future!!

Cabela's: Minn Kota i-Pilot® Link System

I bought an HDS 10 first gen in 2010, wow, it will tell you if you are going to catch a lot of fish off a pile or just some. If you do not see the dots then unless you are just a non believer move on a lot of dots means a lot of fish, shows them suspended on channel brakes just the best would not no how to fish anymore without one. Best tool ever. get it and catch fish

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blackdog40

I bought an HDS 10 first gen in 2010, wow, it will tell you if you are going to catch a lot of fish off a pile or just some. If you do not see the dots then unless you are just a non believer move on a lot of dots means a lot of fish, shows them suspended on channel brakes just the best would not no how to fish anymore without one. Best tool ever. get it and catch fish

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Thanks BD. That's the sales pitch I was looking for. You fish a lot of the same lakes we do, did you find yourself finding and fishing spots you were not fishing with your old finder?

Blackdog40 is SPOT on.I have HDS8 gen1 and for sure know when I pull up on a spot,I know within 10 sec. if I'm going to fish it or not.Saves a lot of time.

HV,

I have had the HDS10 Gen 2 with structure scan for about a year now. I'm very glad I went with the 10 instead of the 8. I tend to be a roamer when I'm on the water. I could easily spend all day driving around a lake and looking at the HDS10. It's amazing what all you can see with a big screen. I like to go after wipers and am trying to figure out walleye. The larger screen is nice when covering more water. When crappie fishing I tend to fish the same areas. I love the HDS10 w/SS, for me it is much easier to interrupt what's on the screen. It's easier to tell if there are any fish on the pile, with old 2D units I was never sure if there were fish on the pile or not. Now I don't waste as much time fishing empty piles. In my opinion if you're happy with fishing the same locations then a HDS8 w/SS would work just fine, but if you're interest in finding new locations or if you do any trolling I think the HDS10 is worth the extra money. As far as putting more fish in the boat, either of these units will show you more fish but it's still up to you to get them to bite.

I would recommend the Gen 2 over the Gen 1. The Gen 2 has a much faster response time, especially with the map updating and zooming. My only complaint is with the Ethernet cable. I started getting "NO SOURCE" on all the structure scan screens. They would be working fine and then just stop and the screen would show "NO SOURCE" then it would start working again. It started doing this a lot. I posted a thread on the Electronics section of this forum and had several replies saying it was the Ethernet cable. It is made out of a solid wire instead of several strands and some people have had a problem with it breaking. I take my SS module out of my boat more than most people probably do so it's good chance that it's cracked. I've bought a new one but due to having an active teenager I have not had a chance to see if that fixed the problem.

I got kind of long winded but I hope it helps.

I have had a HDS 7 Gen1 and HDS 8 Gen2 for ~ a year. Both are nice units, much better than my previous. But, at this point I wish I had gone with the 10 instead of the 7. Went out recently with Chatt and was suprised at the increased detail on the 10s. I addition for more "mature" eyes, size does matter.Down scan is worth the price.

Thanks for the responses. Now I wish I knew how long these units will be on sale

I bought mine from Brian at BBG Marine. He was easy to deal with and had a very good price. He is also a member sponsor here.