Canam13

Hello all, Im in the market for my first fish finder and need some advice. I've read many post on the site and decided I want one with side imaging. I fish out of a small 10ft. Bass raider and mostly fish 20-200 acre lakes that are 6-20 ft. Deep. The unit will be Trolling motor mounted. I don't want to spend more than $500, so the helix5si and the new garmin striker 7sv, seem to be my best choices. The helix seems to have more features than the garmin( chart plotter, maps, sd card recording).. The helix also seems to have more options as far as tweeking the unit for better imaging. But has a 5" screen I've read the online manual for the striker7sv and doesn't seem to have as many options to tweek the units imaging. No maps, just map plotting and doesn't use any men card for recording or expansion of the unit. Plus side for the striker, seems to be that it does have down vu chirp and a 7" screen. So is the larger screen and DI chirp more valuable, than the added functions of the helix? i know it's a pretty open question, but like I said, first time buyer just looking to get the most bang for my buck. thanks for any help guys!

I did make it out to beat the bank on the 24th, forecast with rain kept the boat in the yard. Rained hard, but caught 3 small ones all on topwater popper. Took out the bass raider yesterday to Alloway lake, to find the rain turned the main lake into chocolate milk and got skunked. tough slow day to say the least.

hey guys, Thinking of hitting the water tomorrow morning in my bass raider before the rain, with my daughter(home from college). How's the bite been in the S.J. lakes(thinking of a pond in alloway for tomorrow)? Don't have very much experience with fishing this late in the year. I take it, slow presentations will be the way to start? Have a safe and happy holiday all !

We ended up going to Mirror with another pair of friends in another boat. Nice day on the water, our boat ended up with 8 fish in the boat(7LM/1 pickerel)most caught on 7" trick worms on laydowns. Nothing on the morning topwater Frog bite . All fish, except one were keepers, so all in all a good day at a new lake. Looks like Devil and 87 had a nice day also, nice work Davis mill and Bargaintown are on my list for the spring, wither out of my buds new 19tx tracker or my pelican 10e..... I think we are going to give Manasquan resv. a try this Monday. Have a good week all!

My friends have decided on mirror lake. Any suggestions on where to start for the morning bite? Thanks for info and Davis mill is next on the list, maybe Monday. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Yes from my buddies tracker. We might be changing up the spot for tomorrow, as he also read about all the traffic at Mercer. he was thinking about Mirror Lake or Davis mill pond. Thanks for the info guys!

Thanks for the info Devil, much appreciated. Will let you know how we made out.

Friend and I are going up to Lake Mercer in central NJ Saturday and both of us have never fished it before. Anyone with any experience on the lake, that can lend some info and insight to the lake? I printed a Topo of the lake, so have some ideas, but any help with past experiences would be appreciated.. thanks!!!!

I thinking of adding a second TM to the stern of my raider-10e for when I go on bigger lakes. I will have to pull my rudder out then. Do I have to make some type of modified rudder and attach it to the rear TM, or will the rear TM act as a rudder? What kind of battery drain should I expect when making long runs with both motors on. currently have bow-30lbs MK, stern 30lb MK. Normal day of fishing a smaller lake, I start with 13.4 volts and have 12.6 when I get home on one TM. I usually fish 4-6 hours.

Iceman- check to make sure that your FF splice (specifically the ground/black wire) is before the bigfoot switch in the wiring circuit. Sounds like it might be after the foot switch, which is why you are losing the FF while using the BG switch. lilsweepr - I'm with you, can't wait till college football starts.....GO BLUE !

Got out Saturday morning on a small lake in Alloway and only caught 2 on t-rigged pumpkin colored yum/dingers. Was a beautiful morning, that surprisingly didn't produce any topwater action. Thought for sure that a lot of the bass in the lake would move up into the pads and laydowns to feed (cool nights), but it was a slow bite, with smaller bass hitting what I was throwing. Can't wait till the weather turns and the fall temps take over.

That's good to know. Hope I never have to test that idea though!

Totally agree! Fished out of a friends canoe for a couple years and hated sitting so low in the water. The pelican is much more comfortable, you are able to stand while fishing also. I find standing and sitting up higher just leads to better casts and more ways to present baits to the bass. Love my little raider.

Just joined the forums a week or two ago and it's nice to see an active thread with fellow SJ Bass chasers. Hope I can contribute the little bit I know about the sport and learn a little also. With the last 3 nights being so cool and in the low 60's, I have to get out this Saturday morning to see if the bite has picked up. I'll give you folks a report afterwards.

With my buddy and I in the boat( both of us are 230lbs) the boat was only sitting down in 8 inches of water. So a single guy should be able to navigate in very shallow marsh/back creeks. One of the great features of this boat is the places they can go. Trolling would be a must for the pelican. Haven't had to paddle mine(10e), but would imagine it can't be easy.

IMO the foot switch is a must have for these little boats and very easy to install. Going to make up a little board for mine when I get home, good idea!

New Pelican 10E owner, have had it about a month now. Really loving this little boat. 1st, I wanted to thank everyone that has contributed to this topic and shared all their great ideas and mods. It was one of the reason I ended up buying a raider, seeing all the mods and ways to improve the little bass catcher. So I have completed some mods (rudder,foot switch, rod tie downs etc.) I'll post some pics when completed, my next step is buying a fish finder! I have never purchased one and wanted some other opinions and experiences. I will fabricate my own mount and wiring is no problem and I also want to mount the transducer to the TM. I have been looking at the Lowrance elite 4x chirp model for $169-199 and really don't want to spend anymore than that. So a couple questions I have: -Is color screen really a must have? It seems if you go to B/W screen, you can get more features in a FF at the same price point as a color screen model. -Really looking for water temp, good structure and fish marking. Gps waypoint plotting(being able to mark a piece of structure on a certain lake), would be great, but might be out of my price range, not sure? -Can I wire in my FF inline(fused of course) with my trolling motor feed up front off of my main battery in the bow? -Does the FF draw enough to be concerned with a separate battery purchase? -how important is it to buy an unit that is waterproof? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I look forward to contributing to this topic and good luck catching!