Equipment recommendations

[pish on]

Hi,
I am thinking of replacing my Lowrance Pro MFD with Furuno. I am looking to purchase the TZT10X. I want to add a transom mount transducer for fishing up to 500 ft. (salmon and bottom fishing) of water. I want to add autopilot also in the near future and radar. What equipment's do I need to complete this set up

 

[Titanic II]

For maximum coverage area and high resolution up to 500 feet go with...TM185HW, High-Frequency, Wide-Beam CHIRP Transducer with Temperature - Urethane Transom Mount with Stainless Bracket

For a fair balance between coverage area, accurate structure, and depths to 1,000 ft. TM185M, Medium-Frequency CHIRP Transducer with Temperature - Urethane Transom Mount with Stainless Bracket

 

[pish on]

For maximum coverage area and high resolution up to 500 feet go with...TM185HW, High-Frequency, Wide-Beam CHIRP Transducer with Temperature - Urethane Transom Mount with Stainless Bracket

For a fair balance between coverage area, accurate structure, and depths to 1,000 ft. TM185M, Medium-Frequency CHIRP Transducer with Temperature - Urethane Transom Mount with Stainless Bracket

thanks for your reply. How about a TM275LHW? will I get a better performance especially when bottom fishing?

 

[Quitsa]

There is a trade-off between the best transducer for seeing fish in the water column (like salmon) and the best one for bottom fishing. For example, if you got a TM185HW as suggested by Titanic II or a TM275LHW, the 25 degree high frequency beam would give you a wide coverage area for seeing salmon. However, compared to a regular high frequency transducer such as the TM265LH, bottom detail would be reduced. As you can see from the chart below, the wide transducers would have a 222 foot diameter coverage of the bottom at 400 feet, while the TM265LH has an 88 by 52 foot coverage area at 400 feet. That means something four feet long would take up the roughly the same screen area with the "HW" as something one foot long on the regular "H". Basically the same fish will look a lot smaller with an HW than an H.



So you have to make a choice -- do you want the best transducer for mid-water fish and trolling, or do you want to see the best bottom detail for bottom fish? It would be nice if there were an "MH" transducer so you could get both in one unit but unfortunately that combo is not available.