Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp

[jbfilms]

Is the Lowrance Elite 7 CHIRP worth it for shallow water (less then 10 feet)lakes and rivers in Florida or do I really need a model with sidescan?

 

Thanks

[nixdorf]

I don't have a Chirp, but do have a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI. My unit is not very reliable in 10 ft of water when it comes to finding fish. It will show bottom composition well at that depth as well as weed lines, but no fish. I suspect the noise of my boat's engine likely scares fish away at shallow depths.

[MikeinFresno]

I would say the same

[MikeinFresno]

well I just learned that the CHIRP eliminates the traditional shadow/arch that we are used to seeing and that fish are represented as dots instead. I found this to be true on Saturday while ocean fishing. I saw bait balls of sardines and up to 10" mackerel. The balls appeared as a large cluster of dots. I had seen the dots before in fresh water and didn't know this may have been fish.....I will look into this more the next time I get out, heck who knows, it may even be in the instruction manual.

[Comfortably Numb]

Consider the Raymarine Dragonfly series. Much better chirp down imaging and great chirp 2d

 

 

 

[MikeinFresno]

Well WayneP tells me Im wrong and need more time to figure out the unit cuz it should show arches well...conflicting info from two guys who seem to know...its on me now to figure it out...I do appreciate the help and info given on the various forums

[eddallen]

Maybe I can help with a couple of screen shots.

 

Above are two Kings we caught off of a stump in the Sacramento River.

Below is a seal in theSac.

 

 

Both of these are using Lowrance SonarHub with 83/200 kHz HDI transducer. True, these are not from an Elite but very similar results are possible.

 

Edd

[jcoholich]

The lowrance chirp and regular broadband sonar should work great in shallower water and in the 10 foot range....  You might have to tweek some settings to get the best overall appearance depending on the type of water you are in.

[NKY TRITON]

Here is a comparison. 2d on left and CHIRP on right. This is with a TM150M mounted on my trolling motor

 

 

 

Trolling motor mount

 

[juhealy]

Here's a shot of my Elite 7 with Chirp on in 8' of water. I do find when I am in weedy areas the screen will start to get cluttered under 3' or 4' but 5' and over I have no issues.

 

Whitmore003 by jhealy30, on Flickr

 

[Slade House]

Consider the Raymarine Dragonfly series. Much better chirp down imaging and great chirp 2d

 

 

 

 

 

I second that notion, but would also consider looking at the A Series displays with the CPT200 side scan sonar pacakge. the package comes with 2 transducers , the sonar module , and the display. Raymarines side scan has specific features that allow it to be used in really shallow water.  (sidenote) i work at FLIR, the company who owns raymarine.  

[Wayne P.]

I second that notion, but would also consider looking at the A Series displays with the CPT200 side scan sonar pacakge. the package comes with 2 transducers , the sonar module , and the display. Raymarines side scan has specific features that allow it to be used in really shallow water.  (sidenote) i work at FLIR, the company who owns raymarine.  

Does that mean SideVision can match the shallow water performance of Humminbird Side Imaging?

[Slade House]

I had humminbird 999si and yes it beats it by a long distance. One reason the side Vision has 2 independent transducers combined together . U can adjust the angle of the sides can for shallow or deep water. So there are 2 channels of sidescan sonar and 2 channels of chirp sonar coming out of the side vision sonar cp200 transducer. U can use this with the doe vision transducer at the same time. Much better side scan and the downscan is the best. Plus if u have the cash or have an insane employee discount u can add a thermal fLir camera to the system for those foggy mornings

[Wayne P.]

I had humminbird 999si and yes it beats it by a long distance. One reason the side Vision has 2 independent transducers combined together . U can adjust the angle of the sides can for shallow or deep water. So there are 2 channels of sidescan sonar and 2 channels of chirp sonar coming out of the side vision sonar cp200 transducer. U can use this with the doe vision transducer at the same time. Much better side scan and the downscan is the best. Plus if u have the cash or have an insane employee discount u can add a thermal fLir camera to the system for those foggy mornings

 

 

Thanks, please post a SideVision screen shot in less than 5' depths set to 100' or more. "A picture is worth a thousand words."

 

I have seen the reviews about SideVision having the longest range coverage of any brand.

 

I know about the IR camera, I get emails from FLIR occasionally.