Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

[northernredneck]

Hey everyone, I have had this unit for a couple of months now, and still can't seem to figure out why I am not marking fish/bait at speeds above 8 mph. When going slow or just drifting it is marking very well, It may be just a setting i need to change but I am not positive. The structure scan works well at those speeds and beyond, but the regular transducer seems to be having trouble marking fish at speeds. I can keep bottom just fine up to 38 mph (top end speed), but no midwater returns. I am pretty sure I have the unit in the general fishing mode, but I need to double check. I am using auto settings as well as normally keeping the transducer at the 200 khz setting. Any ideas prior to me contacting lowrance for suggestions? thanks.

wanted to add that I have a transom mount stock transducer, on a 2013 parker 21 se. I have the unit mounted on the outside edge of the step and inside of the trim tab in what I believe to be an area of clean water.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

I'm Furuno guy, so I can't give you specifics for your Lowrance, but the first thing I would do is take it out of auto-mode. I have yet to see a unit perform anywhere nears it's potential (Furuno included) in auto mode.

I download the manual to see if I could help with specific settings. I'm surprised at the lack of information it gives on running the unit manually. It says nothing about making manual adjustments.

 

[Pony]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

I would try my luck down in the electronics section of the forum. There are lot of knowledgeable folks that will lurk in that section who will probably have experience with that Lowrance......

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

I have a Lowrance LCX 28C HD with the same problem at 6 MPH. Depth is all that works over 6 MPH. Spoke with support at Lowrance and their answer was to buy a new unit. If it was not IN the dash it would be in the ocean like my last Lowrance. Miss my Garmin.

 

[northernredneck]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

thanks for the reply's so far (and getting this in the proper forum. not sure how i missed it), I did post this same question on another forum and someone had a similar problem that was ultimately corrected with a replacement of the head unit. I am going to keep digging before I try and replace it. Although if I don't figure it out soon the fish will be gone and then I won't have anything to test it on....

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

Is the kick-up mechanism tight? At speed the transducer may be kicking up. If it works fine at slow speeds but not on plane the transducer is not in clean water. They cannot shoot through air.

 

[Socal Pat]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

I have an HDS8 Gen2 and mine does the same above 7 or so MPH. My old Humminbird 596c di was the same way.

 

[northernredneck]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

for anyone still interested, here is a quick sketch I did of the mounting location. I tried mounting the ducer on the cleanest part of the hull that I could (besides at the bottom of the transom step. there is nothing to break water flow outside of the area behind the v, its just smooth hull. The step in the transom is only an issue where the mod v section of the hull is. From the transducer location outward is typical of a mod v hull. I attached a couple of images for reference. The stepped portion of the transom is approx 12" deep from front to back.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

Your sketch doesn't show where the stakes are located. Remember, everything from the bow on back can affect water flow. A chip in the hull can be enough to mess you up.

 

[northernredneck]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

in between the strakes. The hull has a nice smooth contour all the way to the bow. Made some small adjustments to the settings, picked a different transducer from the list and reset the fishing mode. Also moved the transducer lower to try that. Ill be checking it out on the fish tomorrow to see how it does.

 

[northernredneck]

Re: Lowrance hds8 gen2 not marking fish at speed

went out this weekend and had better performance from the ff, dropped it a bit lower in the water and made sure the proper transducer was selected from the internal list. Still not what I would call good or great returns, but now I can see some schools of bait and fish marks up to 12 mph.