I Pilot Link - Helix "follow the contour" question

[reddog]

Originally Posted by smalljaw

My neighbor has the latest version 4 and that map depicts a skag eating rock near my home that my Lakemaster chip does not show so the latest version is more accurate. I have located by accident several fishable humps not on the map. These are small ones that hold a few fish.

I was around when the Lakemaster crew mapped the lake and bought the map as soon as they were available. I had two for Lowrance units and one chip failed. New ones are no longer made for Lowrance so that is part of my motivation to add a Helix. My plan is to leave the two Lowrance units in place since they are dash mount, replace the Terrova with a Ulterra with link, connect the Ulterra transducer to the bow mounted HD 5, link the Ulterra to the new console Helix so that "follow the contour" can be used. I would also leave the in dash console HD 7 in place for existing waypoints. See anything wrong with that plan?

Sounds like a great plan.

When you get your highlighted depth dialed in, you will have all kinds of new spots that show up on your GPS and scream at you. Come fish me! or over there, its saying, "no, come fish me" . Once you get a desired depth figured out, take some time to change the depth highliight, and you will see a whole nother "come fish me spots" !

[smalljaw]

Reddog,

I have fished Rainy for 20 years and there are many great spots that I have not tried yet. My first plan of action is to change out the Terrova for an Ulterra. The Terrova has already significantly changed how I fish. For years I spent most of my time in the front of the boat, foot on the TM peddle. Now I spend most of the time in the back of the boat, move upwind, set spot lock, cast, or troll. I may hit 10 to 20 spots. That is a lot of raising and lowering the TM. I am not getting any younger and bouncing around in the front end while dealing with rollers is losing it's appeal. Auto stow is sounding like a good idea. Next comes the HB.

[reddog]

I've fished Francis Case and Sharpe for almost 40 years. Got SI in 08, and am still amazed at how many spots I haven't fished yet.
But I'm working on them. I had a smallmouths trip last month. Winds were atrocious at most of my k own spots and eliminated any long runs. This technology saved the trip as I was able to use it to find several new spots that are now in my arsenal.

[smalljaw]

The Ulterra with IPilot Link has finally arrived and was installed with a Helix 10 SI a couple weeks ago. Here are some observations:
1. The auto deploy and store feature is worth every penny. I can now launch my boat without getting my feet wet.
2. The follow the contour feature is producing more fish since I spend less time off course.
3. Spot lock is more accurate.
4. Have utilized Auto Chart Live to map two humps that were missing on Lakemaster.
5. I run the Lowrance HDS 7 on 2D and get better fish arcs than on the Humminbird.
6. The Helix has a great screen in DI and SI but has not yet helped find more fish. I still get a stronger fish signal with the Lowrance.
7. Transferring waypoints from the Lowrance to the Humminbird was a challenge . The trick was to use "Version 2". First tried Version 5. It did not work. A local pro with the conversion software got the job done.
8. After deploying the trolling motor, remember to hit the "back" button on the remote. I got a couple accidental "stows" due to bumping the remote.

Fishing gets more technical every day!