kHz

[westonhar00]

I hope everyone is doing well as the weather is getting warmer! As we rely more and more on our electronics as it gets hotter, I was just wondering what kHz setting you guys usually like to run to look for schools, just trying to decide what my fish finder settings need to be to start looking, thanks!

[mwardncsu]

On your normal broadband transducer, you probably have a 83/200. The 83 gives you a wider cone and thus better for searching as a general rule - unless looking deep in the trees

On the Lowrance 83/200, I believe the 83 kHz element is 60 degrees. That gives you about as wide of a view as the depth you are in. The 200 is around a 20 degree cone

[Yam]

For side-scan I always use 455 versus 800. 455 usually provides a better picture. However, with traditional sonar, I find that 83 is less effective at finding exact locations of things. For example, if you are in 30 feet of water, the diameter of the cone at the bottom is 30 feet whereas the diameter of the cone for 200 is around 10 feet (I just estimate 1/3 of depth). If you see something with a smaller cone then you are far more likely to be right on top of it. Thus, jigging is more precise and turning on bait at higher speeds become more efficient. I like 83 for seeing the depths of my down-lines and I use it in shallow water since 200 doesn't see much at all as the water depth decreases.

To provide another example: when trolling with down-lines, I like to put my transducer upfront on 200 and my transducer in the back at 83. The upfront transducer then alerts me if trees are really under my boat and at what depth. The 83 lets me see where my bait is and if I need to raise it up to keep it from getting snagged. If the front transducer was set on 83, then I would see many more trees that were not even under my boat and would probably be more paranoid than I already am.

I hope this helps.