Humminbird suggestions

[cougar bait]

Hey guys, I put a minn Kota trolling motor on my riverboat and want to upgrade the fish finder and be able to use the I-pilot. What Humminbird do u guys suggest? I was just at Cabelas in Salt Lake City and they suggested the helix 7 but the one they had only had US lakes. Where is the best place in Alberta to get one and do they come with all Alberta lakes in them? Thanks for all the info

[SamSteele]

None of the sonar brands currently on the market have detailed built in maps for Alberta. They will have base maps, which have a lake outline but no real depth detail.

The best option for you is to buy a sonar system that allows you to build your own maps as you drive around the lake with the sonar on. On a Humminbird that feature is called Autochart. It’s available on the newer Helix 5 and up. You need to buy the Autochart micro SD card to use this. Once you do you put it in the card slot of the unit, turn on Autochart on the head unit, and let it create a map while you drive. The following is a photo with the map on the left side being an example of a map I built using Autochart:



The other option is to download community generated maps, if available. This option is really limited at the moment as it seems people only upload a pass or two on a lake, so your info is limited.

The detailed map chips like Lakemaster are simply not available for Canada outside of Ontario’s Great Lakes and Lake of the Woods.

[SamSteele]

Forgot to mention, if you want to network the Minn Kota to the Humminbird you need a Humminbird sonar model that has the “N” designation indicating that it is networkable. These are in Helix 7 G3N and above. Your MinnKota has to have the I-pilot Link functionality as well. If you just have I-pilot it will not network. Make sure you check that before you buy a sonar expecting it to connect.

You will need an Ethernet cable to connect the two as well. There are various lengths available. If you want to connect more than one finder to the I-pilot Link you will also need an Ethernet switch from Humminbird. This switch allows you to connect 4 Humminbird/MinnKota networkable items and control them/see the display on all sonars. I can control my Ulterra from both the bow sonar and the helm sonar, as well as see the helm sonar display from the bow and vice versa. This allows me to have a more expensive SI unit at my helm but still see that display at the bow on a basic 2D unit.

I hope that helps.

[cougar bait]

Awesome info! Thank you. Will definitely bug u in the future if I have any questions once I get one