structure scan

Hey guys I will be making some upgrades to our boat this winter. I will be putting either a hds 5 or 7 on it. I have a x125 now that’s crapping out so this will be my first time with high end electronics. I am debating wether or not to get structure scan. Most of the lakes I fish are under 4,000 acres and have very little structure to them. Do you think its worth the extra money for structure scan. Thanks for the help guys

you don’t know what YOU DON”T KNOW.. meaning, you don’t know what is out there on those lakes.. get the structure scan.. if you can afford it..

Thanks for the replies so far guys. My only concern is that structure scan is one more thing to learn. Also if I got structure scan a 5 is probably all I can afford. Gotta buy a new trolling motor to. Is a 5 to small to accurately view radar and structure scan on? I had a guy tell me if your gonna do structure scan and radar you will want atleast a 7.

I fish a lot of small lakes and occasionally parts of the Wisconsin river, structure scan has been worth every penny so far! It’s great for figuring out what that blob on your 2d sonar is. I use it on my HDS 7. I could not believe the level of detail. It has definitely helped me find the spot on the spot.

If you spend any time fishing suspended fish, you will love the side scan. The down scan, once you gain confidence in it, will tell you far more than your 2D alone when you run them both side by side.

I wouldn’t give up my 2D, DSI, or Side Scan now that I have learned how to utilize them all together.

I bought an HDS 5 this summer because it was all I could afford. It is definitely good enough, I would not wait. I have the gps, di, and si on at the same time and get a pretty good look at it all. Some of us will never have enough so why wait!!

Hey guys I think I have decided to go with a hds 7 for now and add structure scan to it next year. I don’t do real well with technology so I think it will be easier to learn one thing at a time. Does structure mapping come on the structure scan for gen 2 or do you have to buy that seperate also? Also do any of you guys know of any good videos to watch on the hds units. I have asked for all of Bruce Sampson videos for christmas. Thanks guys

structure map is a base feature of all the HDS gen 2 units. It won’t do anything for you until you add your structure scan though. There are a ton of videos out on youtube that you can watch. Just go to youtube and search for Lowrance HDS videos. Some aren’t worth watching but there are a bunch of good ones too.

Boos,

I’m not tech savvy either. I like you had experience with Lowrance software and navigating their pages and menus. I was able to sit down and help a friend adjust his HDS 5 gen2 with no previous HD experience. Likely you will find your new unit pretty easy to work.

That being said I would expect the same for using down scan function. It’s pretty amazing how much down scan adds to your information and interpreting more accurately what you are seeing on your 2 D fish locater. We were dragging jigs a couple of days ago and I saw a big blob on my 2D (337 lowrance) but on the Elite 5 DSI I saw tree branches. I told my partner to pull his line. He did, I didn’t just to see what would happen and yup, hung up. We started the next pass up stream from the snag.

I’ve only had the down scan a couple of weeks and I think I could go fishing with that unit alone and know as much or more as I do using the 2D. I don’t have side scan and it does look like a bit steeper learning curve. However, if you can afford to get the scan package I suggest that you do it now so you have the down scan.

Good luck,

Michael

Hey guys thanks for all the help.For those of you reading this and wanting to learn more on the lowrance hds gen 2 check out GPSCity on youtube. He seems to be very good. However I noticed he is using a Hds10 gen 2. The setting will be the same on my 7 correct? The only difference is I won’t have quick keys at the bottom correct?

Here is a great resource on sonar knowledge http://www.hightechfishing.com/

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Hey guys thanks for all the help.For those of you reading this and wanting to learn more on the lowrance hds gen 2 check out GPSCity on youtube. He seems to be very good. However I noticed he is using a Hds10 gen 2. The setting will be the same on my 7 correct? The only difference is I won’t have quick keys at the bottom correct?

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No quick keys, and I believe the most you can do is three panes of information on a 5 and a 7, as opposed to 4 panes on the 8 and 10. I use a three pane screen the most though. Map, 2D, and Downscan.