Recommendations for Sonar/GPS Unit - Delta Stripers

ChasinFin · Post by **ChasinFin** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 11:31 am

Hi there,

I just stumbled upon this forum and have been reading a bunch of great posts. I am getting back into fishing for stripers in the delta as for the last 10 years i have primary fished the ocean for tuna, salmon and halibut but have got hooked on the plugging for stripers in the delta this past year. I thought it would good to get back into it with my 2 year old son growing up and easy for us to get on the water for a couple hours here and there vs the bigger offshore trips.

My friend has allowed me to take over his older 1980's whaler montauk which i am working on getting it ship-shape for the delta and dropping off the boat next week for a motor tune-up/etc. Since it does not have electronics on the boat, i figured i would ask what you guys would recommend for delta stripers? I'm not looking to break the bank as most of my fishing is in shallow water anyway so more of a depth/water temp/chart is i think what i am after. However the side scan/Structure scan stuff sounds interesting and since i have never used it before I was wondering how helpful it is for delta stripers. Anyone have any recommendations on a unit(s) to consider? I'm also completely happy buying used so if there are some older units you think would do the job, please advise as well. I like to keep the price below $600 if possible. Thank you.

Levy · Post by **Levy** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 12:00 pm

I would suggest a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI with GPS. Cost between $550 and $700 depending on where purchased and if on sale or not. I have this unit up front on my Champ and a HDS 7 with SideScan on the console. For the delta and for what you are looking for I would save your money and get the HDI unit with downscan which I recommend.

Jon Levenson

ChasinFin · Post by **ChasinFin** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:41 pm

Thanks for the response Levy. So you think downscan would be better than sidescan? Most of the water i fish is less than 10' deep so seeing structure out to the side i would think would be more beneficial but since i haven't used it before, i have no clue.

Levy · Post by **Levy** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:24 pm

ChasinFin wrote:Thanks for the response Levy. So you think downscan would be better than sidescan? Most of the water i fish is less than 10' deep so seeing structure out to the side i would think would be more beneficial but since i haven't used it before, i have no clue.

IMO yes, sidescan does not work that well in shallow waters like the delta especially if mounted on the Trolling motor. Of course it is nice to have but not really worth the money if mostly fishing the delta. A HDS unit with Structure scan will run into the $1000's of dollars especially after installation.

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:30 pm

If you want to look as you motor at speed, at least for the Humminbird SI units, you lose signal after 7mph.

Revoke36 · Post by **Revoke36** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:36 pm

Levy wrote:
ChasinFin wrote:Thanks for the response Levy. So you think downscan would be better than sidescan? Most of the water i fish is less than 10' deep so seeing structure out to the side i would think would be more beneficial but since i haven't used it before, i have no clue.
IMO yes, sidescan does not work that well in shallow waters like the delta especially if mounted on the Trolling motor. Of course it is nice to have but not really worth the money if mostly fishing the delta. A HDS unit with Structure scan will run into the $1000's of dollars especially after installation.

Does all the vegetation hinder SS useless? Just curious and since I primarily fish the delta, I find your advice interesting. I've gone back n forth on whether or not I should shell out the coin for SS.

VangBass1 · Post by **VangBass1** » Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:41 am

I'm currently running 2 elite 7hdi. For the money, they're great units. Here are some photos I took while striper fishing on the Delta.

VangBass1 · Post by **VangBass1** » Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:44 am

Another picture

ChasinFin · Post by **ChasinFin** » Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:00 am

Thanks guys. I'll look into them. What transducer do you recommend for the shallow fishing?

Ken Sauret · Post by **Ken Sauret** » Sat Jan 04, 2014 9:21 pm

The Elite 7 HDI has an exclusive transducer which has both sonar types in the same transducer. The one that comes with the unit is the only transducer available.