Lowrance Hds 7 Recommended Settings

[kissmybass21]

I primarily fish Kentucky and Barkley lake and usually fish depths between 6-30 ft and was just wondering what settings would be recommended to set the unit at like khz the what palette color options are good for locating shell beds cover structure etc contrast anything that you guys use to help make your unit work that much better for you thanks.

[Todd Driscoll]

2D sonar - First, make sure you have the current software (4.0.36.59). Check your version at Menu, Menu, System, About. Recent updates have focused on enhancing sonar returns. Sonar Auto mode works very well. Keep the unit in 200 kHz. Under sonar settings, select Shallow Water (for our purposes this is water < 60 feet deep) and set scroll speed to normal. Also, under Installation select your appropriate transducer. Under Sonar Menu, I run Ping Speed at 18. Colorline I like at 85. For shallow water, especially around grass, I prefer color palette 1. For deep water or with lakes void of grass, I like palette 13. This was called bottom color tracking in the older units, helps separate fish from the bottom/cover, and also shows hard bottoms/shell beds better.

StructureScan - In typical freshwater depths (15-30 feet), your sidescan range will work best set at 2-3X the depth. 60-80 feet is where mine is most of the time. Range can be operated in either Auto or Manual – I prefer Manual. Of course, as you move deeper than 30 feet, increase your side scan range accordingly. In depths less than 100 feet, run frequency at 800 kHz. I prefer contrast between 65-80, with less contrast in shallow water and greater contrast in deep water. I also like the default color palette 6.

[kissmybass21]

Thanks Todd thats a big help Ill jot that down in my notes and hope the weather permits monday so I can give all that a try