Lowrance and Pinpoint vs Humminbird and Minnkota

[Tim Sykes]

Hey guys,
So on my 2012 Ally Bassport I have Lowrance 8,9 and 12 graphs and the motor guide trolling motor. I really would love to have the Motorguide ulterra with ipilot trolling motor but to do that I would need to swap out my Lowrance for Hummingbird and I just dont know how good they are

The ultimate goal in my mind is the have an automatic up and down trolling motor that will allow me to stay on points or move automatically stay are certain depths etc.....

Several things I am concerned about.

Speed
reliability of graphs
accuracy of graphs

Any input you guys have comparing the lowrance to hummingbird would be great. I know there use to be a power arm for motorguide trolling motors that would put the motors up and down but that has gone away I think.I wish they still made them

 

[RiverRocket]

Maybe Tim Powell will chime in. I will send him a link to this post. He made the switch to the Ultrex and Humminbird on his bow this year.

I personally had Humminbird and switched to lowrance on my terrova with Ipilot at the bow. I found the follow contour feature cumbersome and not worth it. It may have been the lakes I fish. Contours can be hard to define. That is the only feature lost that I thought was a key part of the tie in.

 

[Tim Powell]

I was a long time lowrance guy, ran the HDS units since the day they were available. I survived the leaking days and put up with that mess because I loved the 2d sonar. Along came bird and side image so i bought an 1197SI. Ran that along side a lowrance unit until Lowrance came out with SI/DI then i sold the bird and went to lowrance only. After that experience i felt like Lowrance had superior 2d sonar and Down Image but bird had superior SI. I ran all lowrance until this summer when I bought 2 bird Helix 12's. I removed the bow HDS and replaced it with the helix 12. I have yet to install the helix at the console because I can't make up my mind on how I want to install it. I am still running an HDS in the dash. The main reason for my transition from Lowrance to Bird was because I knew I was buying an Ultrex and I wanted to take full advantage of the integration. Currently I have the 36v 112 Ultrex installed and linked to the box Helix 12. The bird 2d w/ Chirp has come a long way since the 1197 days but I find myself using DI 95% of the time. The SI/DI is very clear, i have found schools of fish on the troller at speeds less than 1 mph that I would have never found with my lowrance setups because the image starts to blur up at low speed. I also find myself using the remote instead of the foot pedal. I can hit spot lock and it will set a temporary waypoint automatically, it takes all of the guess work out of it. I am running the lakemaster chip and for Kentucky Lake, it is much better than navionics. I have no issues with follow the contour. For the river below the lake, i like to use the heading option because this area is not mapped well and I can follow a bank or ledge with it. Spot Lock speaks for itself, it will hold me in 60,000cfs current and not think twice about it.

Currently, i have zero regrets switching from Lowrance to Bird, i do however miss some of the customization that the HDS units have but nothing to make me switch back at this point.

Even if you don' switch electronics the pro's of the smart troller far outweigh the con's. Johnny Maxwell's new xb21 has a Ulterra with HDS Carbons.

 

[Tim Sykes]

thanks Tim. I have also being looking at motor guide Pinpoint trollers. I actually use to run for Pinpoint many years ago and it was good when it worked. That would be an easy change for me because i have an 8,9 and 12 graph. I dont think the ultrex is the TM that is automatic but I could be wrong.. If it is how does that work? Thanks again.

 

[BigRWater]

I have the 36v Ulterra iLinked with the top Onix10 running all of the time. Sometimes I also run the HB 360. I also have a hds 12 gen3 on the boat running full time. The integrated features of the Humminbird and Minn Kota allow you to quickly learn, scan, map, troll contours back & forth, move to interesting structure on your saved mosaic scan, all done instantly live. With that said none of these brands work perfectly all of the time. Back up all recordings, maps, scans, icons every trip and during the trip. I have had to do multiple hard resets on both the lowrance and the HB Onix. Don't buy an Onix regradless of the price. I do not recommend it. I will buy a Humminbird solix this year. I have heard good things. I am hoping for the best. I have a couple friends that have the Helix now and I waiting for reports. I haven't seen anything that comes close to the Humminbird, Minn Kota combo... ...real power for fisherman... ...I recommend that you check out HB/MK combo. When it works it is great.

 

[twsykes]

So based on the comments above I guess you like the Ulterra? The auto stow/deploy looks awesome. Right now I have the Xi5 Pinpoint and it is awesome if it actually works but no auto is silly so I am thinking of changing to the Ulterra and HB. What did you use for the mount as well?

 

[BigRWater]

Yes. We are fans of the Ulterra & HB. We have a terrova in our second boat with an HB, & it has every automatic feature except deploy & stow, we miss the ulterra. All other trolling motors have been sold or given away. When I order the white XST with silver logo that I want, I plan to order a white Ulterra.
'And when you arrive at rough waters, that deploy feature is really awesome! 'And when you learn the best ways to use Spot Lock in rough conditions... ...what a tool!

 

[twsykes]

Thanks!