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Once I configured some of my settings on my Helix 10 Mega 2 gen I am getting some good shots. I thought I had hit the crappie mother lode when I took this one easing up to one of our brush piles. Good buddy explained that it was white bass and he was right.Attachment 273628
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Nice shot!! Love my Helix 10!!
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Question is .... did he tell you WHY he knew (thought ?) they were White Bass & not Crappie ??
White Bass or Perch
Yes, basically that crappie would be huddled about the same depth and these were distributed over 10 feet, or so.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
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:ThumbsUpQuote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
Because of their scattered formation......crappie formations usually stacked like bricksQuote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
I would have guessed white bass also and that is what they look like most of the time......at least in my experience. About 6 weeks ago I thought I had found a mother load of crappie due to the look of the image.....but nope......white bass all around.....9 inches in length. Just a few feet away from them was a mother load of crappie. I am also including image of what bass look like on di......scattered and hugging the bottom......these happen to be KY bass....caught them at will......and same with whites. I caught plenty of crappie off the image labeled crappie. It is odd that 20 trips to that spot in the last 6 weeks those white bass have been in same exact location each time. The crappie would be there one trip or two then not be around for the next few trips.....but I think all can see why both spots could hold crappie. Am also including image of bluegill/shell cracker beds I found last week. All of the images are off Helix 10 si Mega.
Regards
Attachment 273684Attachment 273685Attachment 273686Attachment 273687
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AlphaHawk, those pictures are amazing! The clarity is incredible. What fish are you actually calling "KY bass"? Is it slang for a LM bass or something else??
Thanks for the comment. KY bass are a specie of spotted bass. There are 2 other specie of spotted bass that I know of....the Alabama spotted bass and the Florida spotted bass. The latter 2 get much larger than the KY spotted bass. I fish for them using 2# test line and UL rods. A good size KY bass here in TN would be anything around 12-13 inches......but have caught many in the 17-18 inch range and my biggest is 21 inches. They fight much different than a largemouth.......they fight like a smallmouth. As far as I am concerned KY bass are a "Panfish".......they taste great.......much different than eating a largemouth. The new Mega units produce images that just blow me away.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6poundtest
Regards
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Alphahawk, Would you mind posting a screenshot of a bait ball of shad sometime to compare to the other shots? I would have suspected the "white bass" screenshot was shad if I had seen it. Is there anyway to tell without trying to catch what you are looking at it? Those are nice pics !!
Well the only true test is to catch what is under the sonar and see...but there are some indicators that tell you what you are looking at. Crappie and white bass will stack up on top of each other.....bass will not do that. White bass can be so thick that your sonar screen will look like strings of spaghetti.......noodles....but on occasion crappie will look like that also.....so you have to catch something to see what is down there. Bluegill and shell cracker will hang very close to the bottom and be a smaller dot on di than say a crappie or white bass. I have only had my Mega unit for a little over 2 months. I do not have a good di image of a bait ball with it. You get out on the water and you see something and you get excited about fishing and you forget to hit snapshot. I do have a great image from my old HB 899 unit that shows a group of white bass feeding on a shad ball. It would be the same on a Mega unit just much clearer image. Bait balls often times look like a cloud almost....tightly grouped together. In my image there happens to be fish feeding on the bait ball.....but there will be many times you find a bait ball and there will be nothing around it. The more you are on the water with the unit you will get the experience and just by looking you will be able to tell with 90 percent certainty what specie you’re looking at on the screen. I am fishing the next couple of days so may get some good bait ball shots with the Helix.
Regards Attachment 274526Attachment 274527
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You guys are great and it makes so much sense when I read your posts. I still have trouble with even simple things. One day I will zip to a marked location, find my structure, and catch fish. The next day I try to do the same but can't even find my structure. I use a center console Garmin 74sv with a transom mounted transducer that I use SI to locate structure. I then move to my trolling motor mounted Helix 10 Mega everything and use split screen with 2D on one side and DI on the other. The left has less MHz and the right screen has lots of MHz but I still can't see the structure. I assume I am just a couple of feet too far away. Wish I could hire someone to teach me on my boat. Here are a couple of nice fish we caught today WHEN I could find my brush.Attachment 274616Attachment 274617
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Explain the procedure you are using to mark the brushpile with your bow unit ...
Maybe we can help you find your brush more consistently ...
Rickie
When I see the brush-pile on both sides (standard Sonar/down imaging) I hit the mark button. Later I rename it so I can remember approx. where it is relative to the lake position. Then when I want to return I use the "goto" function on the lake map view. It seems to get me fairly close then I move back to the split screen to "see" the pile. I am at about 50% success in finding the pile again. Thanks for your kind offer to help. My doctorate in IT does not seem to translate to my learning curve on this fantastic piece of equipment (smile).
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There are 2 ways to mark a brushpile while viewing 2d or DI ...
1. Press the Mark button as soon as the brushpile enters the right side of the screen ... This is important because the brushpile is actually under the xducer when it enters the screen ... If you press the Mark button after the brushpile has moved to the left on the screen = that brushpile could be several feet behind the xducer (depending on boat speed) ...
2. Press the 4way arrow button to activate the screen cursor and freeze the screen scroll ... Then use the 4way to move the cursor to the center or the brushpile and press the Mark button ...
Here's more info on using the cursor to mark brushpiles ...:
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-...onar-quiz-8-a/
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-...onar-quiz-9-a/
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-...nar-quiz-10-a/
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It's important to understand the correlation of the xducer (which captures the brushpile under it) and the GPS antenna (which captures the boat position from the satellites above it) ...
The goal is to capture both at the same position on the water so that the waypoint is the most accurate ...
We know the GPS antenna position is where the GPS coordinates are assigned to the waypoint - so it's important to have the GPS antenna as close to the xducer as possible ... Sometimes this means using an external GPS antenna such as the AS GPS HS antenna ...
By design the HB boat icon on the Chart view changes to a circle below 0.6mph which can make it very difficult to know which way the brushpile actually is from the current boat position ...
The AS GPS HS antenna has a magnetic compass which allows the boat icon on the Chart view to always stay a "boat icon" on the Chart view ... which can help orient which direction the waypoint is from the boat's actual position on the water ...
Rickie
Excellent. I learned, at first glance, to use the 4way and cursor to mark the brush pile. Secondly, that the transducer and gps antenna is not co-located although I thought the Helix 10 had the gps antenna in the unit. If so, the unit is a mere 2-3 feet from the trolling motor transducer. We are not talking gps puck which works in conjunction with the control head of the trolling motor (and is responsible for the Spot Jump function). Right? Should I investigate the AS GPS HS antenna anyway? I am still rereading and trying to absorb the quizzes. Making some headway. Thanks a million!
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Excellent. I learned, at first glance, to use the 4way and cursor to mark the brush pile. Secondly, that the transducer and gps antenna is not co-located although I thought the Helix 10 had the gps antenna in the unit. If so, the unit is a mere 2-3 feet from the trolling motor transducer. We are not talking gps puck which works in conjunction with the control head of the trolling motor (and is responsible for the Spot Jump function). Right? Should I investigate the AS GPS HS antenna anyway? I am still rereading and trying to absorb the quizzes. Making some headway. Thanks a million!
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Sorry for the double post. Not sure how I did that.
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Your Sonar quizzes you posted to reply to my post really helped. Now I am working through all of them. I get lost occasionally but feel I am starting to grasp the environment. I am now trying to make sense of Humminbird manual's description of going to a waypoint. Not sure what screen I should be using and at what time (far away versus close to brush pile). I will get it eventually. Again, thanks for taking the time to teach us novice's the basics so we have somewhere to start from.
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The 3ft difference between the HELIX internal GPS antenna and the xducer on the TM is minimal ...
The magnetic compass in the AS GPS HS antenna would be of great benefit in itself simply because it keeps the boat icon from changing into a circle at below 0.6mph ...
This makes it much easier to orient which way the waypoint actually is from the boat position ...
Rickie
The Big Sonar Quiz Thread is a work in progress since Photobucket screwed all my hosted pix in the forums ...
I am slowly getting the pix and diagrams re-inserted into the quizzes ...
Rickie
Any suggestion on who in the forum may sell them and what accessories are required?
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I'd shop around online .... then contact Brian@BBGmarine and see if he can beat their TYD costs. Brian is a Member Sponsor & his contact info can be found in the Member Sponsor Classifieds Forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
The AS GPS HS antenna plugs directly into the core series units ...Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
ONIX and SOLIX would require the AS GPS NMEA adapter cable ...
Rickie
A great post and comments, thanks
Ok. AS GPS HS on order. Meanwhile I am doing better at understanding screenshots thanks to Rickie's excellent Sonar Quiz thread. When using "Goto" which screen or split screen will allow me to see the track, location, direction, etc. of the marked spot? Conversely, when I am close or on it which screen/split screen should I be on to confirm the marked target? Thanks for all your time.
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Can you recall what settings you configured?Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
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Any Chart view will show the navigation progress ...and keep zooming in as you get closer to the POI (point of interest) ...
Use 2d set at 75kHz-95kH or set at 75kHz-95kHz/175kHz-225kHz when reaching the waypoint ...
The wider cone shape of the 75kHz-95kHz will cover more area under the boat making it easier to get the structure in the Sonar cone ...
A combo screen of Chart/Sonar would do both above ...
Rickie
No, I am sorry I don't remember as I reset them based on what Lake and what conditions.
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Can't wait to try it. 0630 tomorrow will be first trial. Thanks so much. Your insights have allowed me to understand the "book" better and make more sense of what I am reading.Quote:
Originally Posted by rnvinc
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Worked lots better. Found one of my best brush piles right away and caught 6-7 nice ones. I tried to mark using the cursor, pressed the menu button twice but could not get the cursor to move. I will hit the books again. Thanks, everyone for your help.
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Activate the cursor by pressing the 4way arrow button in any direction ...Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
Then use the 4way arrow button to move the cursor ...
Rickie
Figured I owed some feedback.Attachment 274963
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I sure hope you put a waypoint on that ...Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
:ThumbsUp
Rickie
I see you were also in the midst of waves when you took that shot ... just like I was when I took this one :
Attachment 274970
I was trying to with the cursor but will try again. It is marked with the mark button on chart. Thanks again for all your help.Quote:
Originally Posted by rnvinc
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OK let's clarify marking waypoints at the boat position vs marking waypoints away from the boat position ...Quote:
Originally Posted by dhaire
*When the cursor has not been activated = Pressing the Mark button assigns a waypoint at the boat position - regardless of which view is displayed ...
*When the cursor has been activated = Pressing the Mark button assigns a waypoint at the cursor - regardless of which view is displayed - and regardless of where that cursor has been moved to on any particular view ...
(Activating the cursor alone does not assign a waypoint to anything - on any view - until the Mark button is pressed) ...
Rickie
Yes, that part I understood. Went back today, found the brushpile with the marked position then double clicked the 4 way button and realized the cursor button was working when I pressed it harder, moved it over the brushpile then hit mark. I have two marks here, one previously named and one I just made that I will rename and remove the original. Appreciate the lessons as they really help.
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Just what exactly is in this pic??Quote:
Originally Posted by rnvinc