Capt Obvious Posted September 19, 2022 Report Share Posted September 19, 2022 Just putting this out there for others wondering. I just installed the Lowrance Elite on a 2007 Redfisher 16. I really just wanted the GPS but for $100 more I got the transducer as well. I used the Ram Mount 111 U for the head is it with the Ram Cable Manger on the bottom of the mount for the cables. Pretty clean install. I also mounted the transducer on a Transom saver (see picks). I taped a level to the bottom of the boat and set the transducer on top of it. It reads fine on plane with no notable spray and I get very little interference from the engine to the port side in really shallow water. I would imagine in deeper water it would be negligible. If I trim to about 2 on the Yamaha gauge then the interference shadow goes away. Pretty happy with it so far. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll see what I can do to get you data. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tender Posted September 19, 2022 Report Share Posted September 19, 2022 I just picked up the Lowrance HDS Live 9" with 3 in one transducer. Have yet to mount the transducer but the HDS Live just had a price reduction, do kind of look forward to playing with the side imaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Obvious Posted September 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2022 Yeah the HDS units are super sweet. I wanted one for the extra clarity in the picture but couldn’t bring myself to spend the extra bones just for that and a bunch of features that I really will never use with this little boat. For most of my fishing this transducer and depth finder are really useless to me but it will be cool to have on those bridge and jetty fishing adventures. I look forward to trying to use it to my advantage anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskeytrain Posted September 23, 2022 Report Share Posted September 23, 2022 Looks great. Looking at purchasing the same unit. Where did you end up buying it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Obvious Posted September 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Whiskeytrain said: Looks great. Looking at purchasing the same unit. Where did you end up buying it? Thanks! I was looking at the HDS 9 and this one. The Elite went from $999 on Amazon to $899 so I bought it then. I honestly usually try to support the brick and mortar shops in my area because one day I’ll need their support and they won’t be there. I waffled back and forth on the mounting because my boat has never had a hole drilled in it that it didn’t leave the factory with so I wanted that to be super clean. I got the Ram Mount and Cable Manager at Bass Pro. An employee there took it out of the package and bolted it up to an Elite to see that it fit since it was a universal mount. Good example of that in person support. The mount is solid and doesn’t bounce around when under way and gets the screen up over the dash hump and can spin around so I could see it from the front of the boat also although that doesn’t support my usual fishing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted September 23, 2022 Report Share Posted September 23, 2022 nice work..... dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskeytrain Posted September 23, 2022 Report Share Posted September 23, 2022 11 hours ago, Capt Obvious said: Thanks! I was looking at the HDS 9 and this one. The Elite went from $999 on Amazon to $899 so I bought it then. I honestly usually try to support the brick and mortar shops in my area because one day I’ll need their support and they won’t be there. I waffled back and forth on the mounting because my boat has never had a hole drilled in it that it didn’t leave the factory with so I wanted that to be super clean. I got the Ram Mount and Cable Manager at Bass Pro. An employee there took it out of the package and bolted it up to an Elite to see that it fit since it was a universal mount. Good example of that in person support. The mount is solid and doesn’t bounce around when under way and gets the screen up over the dash hump and can spin around so I could see it from the front of the boat also although that doesn’t support my usual fishing style. Nice! Was looking at the simrad 9in evo but can’t justify spending $2500 on a unit (without transducer). The elite seems to cover all the bases and seems to have good reviews. I like that is compatible to use the Florida map tracks chip which I plan on purchasing in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Obvious Posted September 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2022 They all have a lot of features and most any electronics these days work pretty good. FMT is definitely on my short list for sure. I can’t wait to get that and hit an Everglades trip up later this fall. Probably be cool just running around and exploring with it a bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted September 24, 2022 Report Share Posted September 24, 2022 20 hours ago, Capt Obvious said: They all have a lot of features and most any electronics these days work pretty good. FMT is definitely on my short list for sure. I can’t wait to get that and hit an Everglades trip up later this fall. Probably be cool just running around and exploring with it a bit. I had a Simrad Evo2...I bought it from West Marine and they had an upgrade program where I could just return it and they gave me equal value....I saw it work on my buddy COTO's boat.....so, I really liked it.....the only feature that I miss vs the Elite (which I have) is the spin knob.....but, it's manageable. The EVO2 had a bit faster processor for the FMT...but, again, not worth he ext $$$. I now have it on my HPS along side of the 12" Garmin. The combo is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Obvious Posted September 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2022 The spin knob is some good human factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted September 24, 2022 Report Share Posted September 24, 2022 2 hours ago, Capt Obvious said: The spin knob is some good human factors. definitely.....spin in and spin out dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Obvious Posted October 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 Well I’ve been using this unit for a couple of weeks now and have to say that I am glad that I installed the transducer. I am actually using it way more than I thought that I would. Working shallow flats it is completely unnecessary but for the last two trips I have used it scouting new areas with really deep holes that frankly I never expected to be there. I had just assumed those areas were all five or six feet deep at the most but I have discovered some holes in some narrow back country area that are as much as eighteen feet deep. I’m using my spot lock trolling motor to position myself strategically depending on the tidal flow to fish in and around those holes to target fish ambushing behind the ledges. It’s sort of changed my strategy in how I’m fishing those areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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