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  1. #1
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    Do I need MEGA, help me decide

    First post so hopefully this doesnt break any rules. I'm recently back into fishing since kids are older and work isnt as hectic. I only have a cheap aluminum boat. I would like to get a fish finder. As with all shopping I started looking for a really cheap model, then a slightly better one, now I'm thinking about a mega. I need side imaging as most of the lakes I fish are 2-4' deep with only a few 6-15' spots. How does the SI work in med to heavy weeds? I assume the thicker the vegetation the less you can see. Would spending extra for the MEGA be worth it versus a cheaper 5 or 7" model with CHIRP? I want to get the most out of the few hours of fishing a month I may get, but I dont want a $1800 finder in a $500 boat if I dont need it.

    Also I like to fish different lakes to explore, I dont really have a main lake. I dont know if that would change opinions or not. Are there any options I need to have?

  2. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #2
    No sonar can "see" through weeds.

    Side Imaging is the best for shallow water since you can see "over there". But not with the MEGA Imaging, it has less left to right coverage just like 800 kHz. It is more focused for high detail. 455 kHz covers from the water's surface to past vertical on both sides as long as the transducer is not buried in the bottom.

    This is 200' of left to right coverage in less than 4'. Weeds are on the right side along the shore.

    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  3. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #3
    A MEGA Side Imaging unit has three Imaging frequencies, you choose the one that has the coverage and detail for the particular area you are scanning.
    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  4. Member
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    #4
    Wayne is right about side imaging. But the mega down imaging is better than the regular side imaging unit because of the dedicated down imaging crystal. That is why i got the mega 12 helix. To have good detail when side scanning in shallow and have a real down imaging else where.

  5. Member
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    #5
    How wide of an area under the boat will it be scanning at 10' or at 25'? I like the clarity of the mega and think it will help me since I am a novice with the finders. I'm not sure at what depth they scan enough area for it to be worth the extra money. My local lakes would be mostly side imaging, but when I go to new lakes I am wondering if it would help me there. There are a couple lakes I want to try that are 20-30' deep where I might be able to use down imaging. Maybe at that depth the difference isn't pronounced enough to matter.

  6. Member
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    #6
    If the weeds are thick you aren’t going to see much, if anything, with any kind of sonar. SI will let you see weed edges to the side and fish to them. 2D at 83khz will give you the most bottom coverage 1:1 ratio so a 6’ circle in 6’ of water. DI and higher frequency 2D will give less coverage. If this is the only kind of water your going to fish I wouldn’t do mega but be aware that the non-mega SI units don’t have as good of DI.

  7. Member Wayne P.'s Avatar
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    #7
    This is a dense weed bed similar to hydrilla. Composite DI does pretty good separating the individual weed stems.

    The weed point in the SI view is what the other two screen shots are.




    Attached Images Attached Images
    Wayne Purdum
    Charlottesville, Va.
    Helix 12 CHIRP MEGA+ SI G3N/G4N, Helix 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
    SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/LINK, MEGA360,
    MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL

  8. Member MonteSS's Avatar
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    #8
    First two pics is of rocks on Mega freq and third is similar rocks on medium Chirp (400)

    russian image hosting

    imagehost


  9. Member
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    #9
    I’ll take the Mega in this instance.

  10. Member
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    #10
    Some more things for you to look into and consider. MEGA is not plug and play for the best results, no imaging is. Check out some of the tips for getting your transducer properly installed and be prepared to play with your settings to get the best returns. Lots of the complaint posts you read turn out to be installation and that the users don't want to be adjusting settings based on conditions. Also, the higher frequencies show great detail which is the point, right? If the lakes you fish have heavy algae blooms in high summer you may get poor images during that period. The images aren't bad or wrong, they are showing you that the water is full of crud. If your lakes are like the ones around me they do tend to get a pretty good bloom in summer.

    I love my imaging and the SI has been great for cutting down the learning curve in new water as well as helping me find fish in water I already know. It's fantastic for finding the small changes that attract fish in mostly uniform lakes. Inside and outside turns on a weed edge that runs almost the entire shore of the lake, different kinds of weeds in an area dominated by one species, deeper edges where they thin out, bits of different bottom where edges form out of sight, harder areas that make a sudden transition, that sort of thing. But all that is stuff you have to spend time actively looking for. It sounds like you are going to go from not using electronics at all to diving right in to the deep end. Be ready for the learning curve and how it is going to change the way you fish or you may get frustrated with the unit and disappointed with the money spent.

  11. Member
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    #11
    And yet, when you see some great images and ask the poster about settings, oftentimes he says it’s at default settings. Jpschneid (From Johnson Outdoors) says he starts with defaults and then adjusts as necessary. He has posted some excellent pics from his imaging units.

  12. Member MonteSS's Avatar
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    #12
    Mine are not far from default.

  13. Member
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    #13
    If you use SI a lot, yes.