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Clint KY
Well-known member
I just got the Helix 5 DI GPS and so far it is great for the $$$. I looked long and hard before I finally chose it.
One note - they make the Helix 5 in lots of configurations. You can get just the Fish Finder - the Down Imaging Fish Finder and the combinations: the FF & GPS and the FF & DI and GPS and the FF SI (Side Imaging) & GPS. I chose the DI & GPS, as it fit my budget and I really am not sold on SI - I know you can see different things on it that may look different on DI but I was not convinced it was worth the extra $$.
The price was about the same in all the places I checked so I bought mine from the local HB dealer. It was a little bit less on Amazon but I thought I would shop local when I could.
And to answer one of your questions I don't think anyone else makes one that is comparable in the same price range. The closest thing in Lowrance's line has a much smaller screen.
And the new Helix 7 is out which has a larger screen, but it costs more (of course).
One note - they make the Helix 5 in lots of configurations. You can get just the Fish Finder - the Down Imaging Fish Finder and the combinations: the FF & GPS and the FF & DI and GPS and the FF SI (Side Imaging) & GPS. I chose the DI & GPS, as it fit my budget and I really am not sold on SI - I know you can see different things on it that may look different on DI but I was not convinced it was worth the extra $$.
The price was about the same in all the places I checked so I bought mine from the local HB dealer. It was a little bit less on Amazon but I thought I would shop local when I could.
And to answer one of your questions I don't think anyone else makes one that is comparable in the same price range. The closest thing in Lowrance's line has a much smaller screen.
And the new Helix 7 is out which has a larger screen, but it costs more (of course).
I have the Humminbird Helix 5 DI and like it.
have had it about a year and still trying to figure out how
to use it to its fullest capabilities.
When you are fiddling around with a FF you aren't fishing.
What I really bought it for is for crappie fishing.
to find the "bait ball" of minnows in 30' of water and slam the slabs.
For bass fishing, I am usually in 5 feet of water or less
and only use it for water temp and GPS .
the speedometer is cool.
Hope to make it down to the Florida Keys this fall .....
THEN !! it will prove its metal.
have had it about a year and still trying to figure out how
to use it to its fullest capabilities.
When you are fiddling around with a FF you aren't fishing.
What I really bought it for is for crappie fishing.
to find the "bait ball" of minnows in 30' of water and slam the slabs.
For bass fishing, I am usually in 5 feet of water or less
and only use it for water temp and GPS .
the speedometer is cool.
Hope to make it down to the Florida Keys this fall .....
THEN !! it will prove its metal.
Hey thanks guys for your input. I was leaning toward the HB FF DI GPS like you've got Clint. I used to bass fish and probably will still do some, I live minutes away from Wheeler Lake on the Tennessee River, but I'm older now and want to turn most of my attention to learning to catch crappie. What about the Lowrance Elite 5? It's a somewhat higher priced than the HB. What's the major difference?
Bill, this past winter, I bought my wife a "crappie charter" from Central Florida's
renowned Crappie King. IMO, you can not put a price on education.
My wife is more of a serious fisherman than me LOL. So this charter was her Christmas gift.
We paid special attention to his fish finder, tackle, rod holders, etc etc etc so that
we could incorporate his techniques into our boat and our way of fishing.
We have never just targeted crappie before. Just caught some here and there haphazardly.
He would troll around in a zig-zag circle looking for the "bait ball" of schooling minnows.
when he found it, it was LINES DOWN very quickly. Just a sinker drop-shot and the
standard crappie rig. it was AWESOME !!! BIG slab crappies. The most fun ever.
Most of the crappie were in 25-35 feet of water. Surface temps were 65-70*
So now, I made her her own Crappie Station on the back of our bass boat and she is
in Seventh Heaven !! I sit up front at the bow trolling motor and FF and she fishes LOL.
here is our set up. If I want to take it off to go bass fishing or salt water, just removing
a few screws and the whole assembly comes off in 3 minutes.
I am a member of www.crappie.com and there is a wealth of information there of how
to target crappie.
Tight Lines !!
renowned Crappie King. IMO, you can not put a price on education.
My wife is more of a serious fisherman than me LOL. So this charter was her Christmas gift.
We paid special attention to his fish finder, tackle, rod holders, etc etc etc so that
we could incorporate his techniques into our boat and our way of fishing.
We have never just targeted crappie before. Just caught some here and there haphazardly.
He would troll around in a zig-zag circle looking for the "bait ball" of schooling minnows.
when he found it, it was LINES DOWN very quickly. Just a sinker drop-shot and the
standard crappie rig. it was AWESOME !!! BIG slab crappies. The most fun ever.
Most of the crappie were in 25-35 feet of water. Surface temps were 65-70*
So now, I made her her own Crappie Station on the back of our bass boat and she is
in Seventh Heaven !! I sit up front at the bow trolling motor and FF and she fishes LOL.
here is our set up. If I want to take it off to go bass fishing or salt water, just removing
a few screws and the whole assembly comes off in 3 minutes.
I am a member of www.crappie.com and there is a wealth of information there of how
to target crappie.
Tight Lines !!
Attachments
I really don't think Florida has a pole limit.
I have seen some boats that look like a Tuna Trawler with so many poles.
in my perspective, the two pole limit per person is adequate.
.
I have seen some boats that look like a Tuna Trawler with so many poles.
in my perspective, the two pole limit per person is adequate.
.
That's an AWESOME setup! I'd be in seventh heaven too! I may have to charter one for my wife as well, she'll surely get discouraged before I figure all this out. Trolling a spider rig setup seems to be the thing around here. Are you river, lake (reservoir) fishing, or what? Wheeler is fairly wide where I live, but the river channel is only around 25'. Deeper near the dam.
Personally, I am strictly a lake fisherman.
The St. Johns River is about an hour from me and that is where
the TV Crappie Masters tournament was held this past winter.
In Florida these days, it is extremely hard to find a quiet secluded fishing spot
anymore. Jet Skis, fast boats, water skis, wake boarders . . .
all of them try to ruin your day. plus, it is already 85* at 7am..... very hot.
When it gets cold - all the kids are back in school and it calms down quite a bit.
then, in Sept - Oct the crappie turn on big time.
this year, we will be ready for them !!!
the fishing charter was awesome. $125 for 5 hours of education was priceless.
The St. Johns River is about an hour from me and that is where
the TV Crappie Masters tournament was held this past winter.
In Florida these days, it is extremely hard to find a quiet secluded fishing spot
anymore. Jet Skis, fast boats, water skis, wake boarders . . .
all of them try to ruin your day. plus, it is already 85* at 7am..... very hot.
When it gets cold - all the kids are back in school and it calms down quite a bit.
then, in Sept - Oct the crappie turn on big time.
this year, we will be ready for them !!!
the fishing charter was awesome. $125 for 5 hours of education was priceless.
Clint KY
Well-known member
Barefoot_Johnny said:
Wow! A guide around here (Kentucky & Barkely Lakes) will set you back $300.
huntinfool
Well-known member
I have the Lowrance elite 5 di GPS. I do a lot of different things with my boat. I fish, fresh and salt, I duck hunt, use it to transport hunters on deer and pig hunts up rivers etc, etc. So I needed a GPS on my unit. I wanted to have the sonar and DI to look at areas that I do fish, to see if I can determine what down there. I fish a lake where there is a lot of timber, so the DI would help me locate some of those underwater.
When I bought my unit they were on sale for the same price as the Helix. I liked that I could add a chip to my unit too.
In the end, the guy at Bass Pro said the Lowrance overall was just a better unit and much more customizable. So I went with it. Especially since it came with some free goodies.
When I bought my unit they were on sale for the same price as the Helix. I liked that I could add a chip to my unit too.
In the end, the guy at Bass Pro said the Lowrance overall was just a better unit and much more customizable. So I went with it. Especially since it came with some free goodies.
Clint KY
Well-known member
huntinfool said:
A point to remember - the Helix 5 will also take a map chip. My research shows that the Lake Master chip is FAR superior to the Navionics chip, at least around here. Much more detail and the unit will do much more with the LM as far as alarms and color changes (i.e. - You can change the color of all water from 10 to 15 feet deep a certain color if you want to highlight that depth).
And a warning - there are vendors that still have Version 2 Micro SD LM (the Helix takes a Micro SD) and are selling them for the same price as the Version 3.
huntinfool
Well-known member
True both take a chip. I looked at both on my local make and they were about the same. I just liked the customization on the Lowerance. Especially on the GPS and how it lays a trail I can follow back or save a a route, which I think the helix does also.Clint KY said:
In the end it's just a personal choice.
The OP asked about this unit, so I was just giving him my opinion.
Wyatt
Well-known member
I have a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI myself and I find this unit invaluable. The GPS works flawlessly and like stated above, leaves a trail to follow back. The overlay imaging is a very nice tool once you dial in the colors to help distinguish the sonar and downscan maps. My uncle is a huge Lowrance supporter with over $8000 of accessories on his rig so I kind of followed along with his ways. I've owned a few Eagle units but find the Elite 5 HDI is far superior to anything I've owned. Sadly, I can't speak much on the Humminbird product line.
I own 4 Humminbird clickers. A PirahnaMax160 portable, a 581 hd Ci, an ICE55 flasher and my Helix 5 HD SI GPS. Humminbird makes a great product. The Helix 5 is killing the market right now because no one else makes a 5" true widescreen model for less than $500. I promise you that Lowrance will do something for next year. Anyway, like all the other units I have the Helix is really great.
cocopuff
Active member
I'm in the same boat as the original poster. I've narrowed it down to the Hummingbird Helix DI, Dragonfly 4, or the Lowrance Elite 5 HDI (refurb). I'm leaning toward the lowrance just because it has gps which for $250 neither of the other two have. Glad to see both the lowrance and bird both get good reviews from people on this sight. Once I am ready to purchase a second unit I will probably get the Helix with side scan just can't afford this right now. For people who live in Tennessee be aware that cabelas doesn't charge sales tax if you buy from their online store and have $5 shipping right now so any of these would be $20 cheaper than bass pro. I was stoked to find this out about cabelas since there is one in bowling green an hour from my house if I have any problems with stuff I order from them.
EDIT: Cabelas and Bass Pro sold out of the $250 elite 5 hdi while I was making up my mind. Debating just waiting til I can get the helix si.
EDIT: Cabelas and Bass Pro sold out of the $250 elite 5 hdi while I was making up my mind. Debating just waiting til I can get the helix si.
cocopuff
Active member
Bamabill which unit did you end up getting? Any review on whichever one you get would be great
Cocopuff, just be aware that no matter what device you buy, the GPS function will be amazingly basic unless you buy an accessory map card. If you want details like depth charts and what not, you need the cards. If you just want speed and a popcorn trail then you won't need the cards.
