Lowrance Hook 2 7x Tripleshot - User experience

Hello,  I heard that if I change my FF to a Lowrance fish will just jump in to my yak...but seriously does anyone have experience with the Hook 2 Tripleshot? Is down scan and side scan really worth it?  I currently have a Garmin Striker 4 and am interested in catching more fish.   

The sidescan is really cool in freshwater and I use it all the time. The downscan is pretty sweet. I've marked bait balls and picked out individual bass surrounding it in really fine detail. In the ocean, I've found I swap the sidescan out for my Navionics chart along with chirp and downscan most of the time. I guess it depends on what's more important to you. I have the hook2 5x and really like the unit.

The sidescan is really cool in freshwater and I use it all the time. The downscan is pretty sweet. I've marked bait balls and picked out individual bass surrounding it in really fine detail. In the ocean, I've found I swap the sidescan out for my Navionics chart along with chirp and downscan most of the time. I guess it depends on what's more important to you. I have the hook2 5x and really like the unit.

Hey Thresher, thanks for your comment in addition to the question about the transducer on the other forum.  So, I researched the downscan/sidescan.  It seems the downscan  gives you a view of the what is under your boat as if you are standing on the bottom of the water column -  like 2D sonar but the objects are more defined and fish don't merely have the arch shape.  The Sidescan takes some imagination to understand but, correct me if I'm wrong, it gives you an aerial view of what is on the side of your boat - the limitation being the depth of the water. Objects suspended in the water or objects that protrude from the bottom project a shadow.   Using the two together gives you a better understanding of what is in the water. 

My question, why do you not use the sidescan in ocean water?  I assume its too deep where you fish to utilize the side scan?

This FF looks so cool but I'm trying to make an informed decision..

Mike

Yes, the downscan is a more defined look at what's under the boat. It takes a little practice to read sidescan correctly. Basically the middle/black area is the water column being scanned and the left and right sides are a look at the bottom/structure. I've only used the unit a few times and plan on giving the side scan more use next time I'm out in the salt. I'm usually more interested in my drift and can see enough about the bottom structure with the downscan. Four windows on the 5" display is a little much so it's either chart or sidescan.

I just installed the Hook2 5x with tripleshot and have one experience fishing out of Half Moon Bay.  Here's my first impression:

- Down View is a bit hard to understand.  It is 2 dimensional and appears to mimic the bottom that I see with the Sonar view.  Maybe because I am not sure what I'm over it's hard for me to see all of what is right under my kayak.  I did create a new view with Maps, Sonar, Down View and Side View.  Even with just a 5" screen is easy to view and use. 

- Side View is simply amazing.  You see everything including shadows of structure, which makes it much easier to understand what is below my kayak.  One thing to note is if you move between the Views (Sonar, Side View, Down View, etc.) you stop recording the previous view.  Meaning, switching from Down View or Side View stops that imapge and it needs to reload once you come back. On a yak, you need to move for this to happen.

- Simply put, for about $600 including Hook2 5x, Ram mount and special adapter, cover and Hobie install kit (battery), this is going to help my fishing.  Here's what I caught last week without a FF...so, I got no excuse now!   

That’s one ugly fish

The side scan is really done a disservice when it's only given 1/4 of the screen, imo. But, to each their own.

I'd go bigger than 5" for sure.  If you're interested in the best sidescan out there, Humminbird is on top of it right now.  But I think their units are more expensive.  The tripleshot is a good value, but definitely at least a 7".  I have an HDS7 gen3 now and getting a bigger screen was the best decision ever.  Now I feel like the 7 is even small