HDS Gen 2 need help
 

New to the forums here, been enjoying reading everything you guys post and pictures, gives me hope. Anyway I took advantage of the west marine sale on the HDS FF and took it out for the first time today in LJ. I'm new to saltwater fishing and especially new to using a FF so had some questions about the settings you guys are using to get the most optimal picture. I was trying to mess with it a little today and just couldn't seem to get a good quality picture on it. If anyone has this same FF and could help me with what settings are best for the LJ area or saltwater in general I would greatly appreciate it. THANK YOU

X2

Ok, #1 how is your transducer mounted? How high is your gain?

Search you tube. Tons of info available. The. If you have specific questions, I'm sure the guys will help ya out.

First choose the proper transducer
 

I believe you get there from system .the transducer will have a tag on it with part number .find that number in scroll down list . Another thing to do is choose fresh water which limits the unit out at 400ft . Shallow water is 60 ft and less , and general is 1000 ft or more . You may want to turn surface clarity to low , which limits the transducer in tight . Amplitude scope should be on , fish I . D . off . Sensitivity can be run in auto , colorline could be bumped up to differentiate between softer targets and harder ones . This can separate fish from structure or the bottom better. Make only minor adjustments to sensitivity , you want to be able to see without removing vital information , such as fish . Too high and you will have a horrible picture . Like mentioned above location of transducer is important . In water is best . And check you tube . Good luck .

Installation menu page 84
 

To select transducer . This is the first major step . You should see number on cable of transducer . Wsdbl something something . Depending on whether you are using 50 / 200 , or 83 / 200 . When you are fishing you should switch the beam the beam to 50 or 83 to widen your cone . This will allow you to see more underneath the yak . 200 can be used in shallow water like 60 ft when you want better resolution . Ie fishing in kelp .

Appreciate the info!

Id keep the gain on manual. If the gain is constantly adjusting...your fish finder will look different every time it adjusts adding to confusion. Learn to adjust it manually.

So again...what kind of transducer do you have and how is it mounted?

I think mine is an insight 50/200khz or 83/200
Mounted on belly of my PA 14.

You want a Hands On... Learn to use that fish finder to its max and learn to fish LaJolla all in one, Contact Josh (Darkhorse on here) He will teach you more than you thought you needed to know.
I bought the same unit, good luck.

I will! Thanks Phatfird!:cheers1:

Ok so Im assuming that mounted on the belly you are referring to, mounted in the lowrance ready bay. So it's not a transducer problem. Can you describe or better yet get a screen shot of what your fishfinder looks like when in use?

I selected the correct transducer in the list based on the tag and I have it mounted in the scupper hole made for the lowrance transducers. Most of the time the top half of the screen is just a bunch of clutter and then clears up, I never see any fish arches. I tried messing with every setting, ping, surface clarity, fishing mode, sensitivity and still can't seem to get it right.

Start with the factory default setting...then switch to manual mode. To vision what your FF is showing, start in shallow water, shallow and clear enough so you can see the bottom. Then compare the FF screen to what you are seeing below, adjust ping and "gain" (can't remember the tech name at the moment) to clear the screen with just a few blips on the screen, paddle over some kelp or rocks and check the screen, so you see the kelp/rocks, adjust resolution. See a bait ball on the surface, paddle over and adjust until the bait is shown as a ball or individual fish and the surrounding area is clear, or slightly "hazy".
It's a matter of practice and preference. It's hard to do, but sometimes you have to leave the rod at home and take a trip to just dial in the gear. That way you can focus on equipment setup, launching and landing. Once that is nailed down...bring out the arsenal.
Youtube has some pretty good video's as well.

Check and see if you have sand packed into the transducer area. I was getting crappy readings until I washed all the sand out. I hauled the PA backwards packing the transducer with sand and pieces of kelp.

Also remember that your fishfinder will never display perfect fish arches like the demo mode does.

Here's what my FF looks like.

broadband/dsi/sidescan
Baitball

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd3ce758d.png

Black seabass & squid

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps284eeb4f.jpg

Black seabass & my squidjig gangion

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd55f6514.jpg

Tony, what is red on top of screen, kelp? Which mark would be the fish? Still trying to learn how to spot fish and squid. Thanks


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The red on top of the screen is usually nothing, that's normal to see interference, bubbles, other marine organisms floating near the surface. Just ignore it. kelp usually comes up from the bottom as a big strand or strands. The big red mark on the bottom would be a Black Seabass. The squid is the greenish dots on the bottom. The green lines you see are my squid jig, remember the fishfinder scrolls from right to left so it appears to be lines. Each line represents each individual squid jig.

Nice. That's great info I have not been able to find yet. Thanks for help :)


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X2:you_rock: