Lowrance Elite Chirp Fishfinders - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Raskal311 · 12-16-2015, 06:17 AM

Interested in this info as well, my elite 7 chrip with 50/200 455/800 ducer should arrive any day.

Murray · 12-16-2015, 06:58 AM

cool. I have been doing my homework so let me know if you have any questions. My first hint is how to take it out of demo mode. Make sure you have the Yes box highlighted in Blue. I struggle with colors (somewhat color blind) so had to call tech support to discover I was actually pressing the No key. I also ended up having to update the firmware to ver 4 since I locked up the system. Lowrance tech support is very good and walked me thru the procedure and answered all of my questions so far. I will be using the Simulator mode today to experiment with the various settings. It simulates a real time environment allowing you to see what your changes do to the display. I got the elite chirp 5 so your 7 should probably make the fish jump into your lap. Ha!

spicolly · 12-16-2015, 07:09 AM

I bought the Elite-4X CHIRP with the 83/200 455/800 kHz transducer last year...before it came with GPS. Big miss by me as it was my first FF and I didn't realize how useful/valuable GPS was until I started fishing with people who have them.

Regarding the unit, I recently ran into intermittent power issues. Once it powers on, it hasn't lost power. I have played with it all week in my garage and have not been able to recreate the issue...it has powered on just fine without making any changes. However, a few times in the last month I've got out on the water and it wouldn't power up until an hour into my trip on the water. Very frustrating. Here's the post describing the issue with some possible help from the community: http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=27785

From a functional unit, I like it a lot. I switch back and forth between a single and double panel view, depending on what I'm doing (ie., looking for bait, structure, unidentified stuff, etc). I like the downscan capabilities, and have actually seen my line go down and hang out with fish...which is kinda cool.

My opinion, if you want to stay on the lower pricing end, it's a good unit, esp since Lowrance has added GPS on the Elite-5.

Raskal311 · 12-16-2015, 08:58 AM

Have you guys felt the 83/200 455/800 transducer is sufficient in 200 foot of water?

spicolly · 12-16-2015, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raskal311

Have you guys felt the 83/200 455/800 transducer is sufficient in 200 foot of water?

I haven't gone off shore...mainly stayed inshore @LJ., NW corner, etc...maybe got to 140' - 160' over the summer and it worked fine for locating structure on the bottom. Recently fished inshore at Carlsbad off the power plant and didn't go deep at all. Also fished outside the harbor in O'Side...never got to 200'. So, for the fishing I have done, the 83/200 has been fine for helping me to find bait balls, structure, fish arches, etc. I haven't used a 50/200, so I unfortunately cannot compare it. I do clearly see lots of fish in the shallow MLPA when launching at LJ, which really hurts.

hiramehunter · 12-16-2015, 11:52 AM

is Chirp a good option for over 300'?
I usually fish from 200 - 340' range. Would chirp be a good option for that too?

Chuck D · 12-16-2015, 12:20 PM

50/200 is way better then the 83 for deepwater. Have had both and the 83 hardly works in deep water. It is made for better resolution in shallow water applications.

acorad · 12-16-2015, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck D

50/200 is way better then the 83 for deepwater. Have had both and the 83 hardly works in deep water. It is made for better resolution in shallow water applications.

Great info in this thread!

Chuck, how deep is "deepwater" you are talking about?

200? 400? 1000?

Andy

momo fish · 12-16-2015, 01:35 PM

The man has spoken.. X2..

I ran both types in the water and anything in the mid to high 100's the 83 doesn't show you much bottom structure compared to the 50.. High chirp works great but at times I find using just 200 sufficient in shallow water...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck D

50/200 is way better then the 83 for deepwater. Have had both and the 83 hardly works in deep water. It is made for better resolution in shallow water applications.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JohnMckroidJr · 12-17-2015, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiramehunter

is Chirp a good option for over 300'?
I usually fish from 200 - 340' range. Would chirp be a good option for that too?

That would depend on the frequency of the chirp sonar. Low frequency (50Khz) is better for deep water, and higher frequency (200khz) is better for shallower water. The best high end sonar boxes are all chirp today, it is a newer technology that uses multilple frequencies simultaneously to produce sharper detail than conventional sonar.

surfisher · 12-17-2015, 07:06 PM

I currently use the Elite 7 Chirp on my boat, 50/200 and 455/800. The Downscan will read all the way to 300'. I have marked schools of yellows on it to that deep, but using chirp or 200khz is my preference. Takes a trip or two to dial in (like any fishfinder), and will take a little getting used to reading the downscan, but what I can say is it makes finding bait 100x easier, and you can distinguish game fish way easier. They will show up as a bright dot (thicker dot for bigger fish) instead of your normal boomerang like the high chirp will show. When you meter a bait school, there will be a hundred tiny little dots. Super nice to use!!!

Murray · 12-17-2015, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfisher

I currently use the Elite 7 Chirp on my boat, 50/200 and 455/800. The Downscan will read all the way to 300'. I have marked schools of yellows on it to that deep, but using chirp or 200khz is my preference. Takes a trip or two to dial in (like any fishfinder), and will take a little getting used to reading the downscan, but what I can say is it makes finding bait 100x easier, and you can distinguish game fish way easier. They will show up as a bright dot (thicker dot for bigger fish) instead of your normal boomerang like the high chirp will show. When you meter a bait school, there will be a hundred tiny little dots. Super nice to use!!!

To confirm, you prefer low chirp vs high chirp when fishing deeper water. Do you ever use high chirp? If so, what is max depth you use before changing to low chirp? Have you overlaid down imaging onto sonar display? If I understand things correctly, that would give you best of both technologies (per above video if I remember correctly). Thanks for the input. Probably launching at Oceanside harbor tomorrow to field test my elite chirp 5 with 50/200/455/800 transducer.

markfish · 06-10-2016, 04:01 AM

Lowrance Elite Chirp series is a popular Fishfinder series in the market
like, Elite-9 and 9x CHIRP models,
Elite-7 and 7x CHIRP models,
Elite-4 and 4x CHIRP and Elite-5 and 5x CHIRP models

I've reviewed all the CHIRP Series, you if you want to buy Lowrance Elite Chirp any models, before buying you can review my articles .

http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-4-hdi-review/
http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-5-hdi-review/
http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-5-chirp-review/
http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-hds-9-gen2-touch-review/
http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-7-hdi-review/

12-16-2015, 06:17 AM	#1
Raskal311 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Santa Ana/Westminster Posts: 1,258	Interested in this info as well, my elite 7 chrip with 50/200 455/800 ducer should arrive any day. __________________ Kevin Yellow PA12

12-16-2015, 08:58 AM	#4
Raskal311 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Santa Ana/Westminster Posts: 1,258	Have you guys felt the 83/200 455/800 transducer is sufficient in 200 foot of water? __________________ Kevin Yellow PA12

12-17-2015, 07:06 PM	#11
surfisher Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 388	I currently use the Elite 7 Chirp on my boat, 50/200 and 455/800. The Downscan will read all the way to 300'. I have marked schools of yellows on it to that deep, but using chirp or 200khz is my preference. Takes a trip or two to dial in (like any fishfinder), and will take a little getting used to reading the downscan, but what I can say is it makes finding bait 100x easier, and you can distinguish game fish way easier. They will show up as a bright dot (thicker dot for bigger fish) instead of your normal boomerang like the high chirp will show. When you meter a bait school, there will be a hundred tiny little dots. Super nice to use!!! __________________ Last edited by surfisher; 12-17-2015 at 07:12 PM.

12-16-2015, 06:58 AM	#2
Murray Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Vista Posts: 326	cool. I have been doing my homework so let me know if you have any questions. My first hint is how to take it out of demo mode. Make sure you have the Yes box highlighted in Blue. I struggle with colors (somewhat color blind) so had to call tech support to discover I was actually pressing the No key. I also ended up having to update the firmware to ver 4 since I locked up the system. Lowrance tech support is very good and walked me thru the procedure and answered all of my questions so far. I will be using the Simulator mode today to experiment with the various settings. It simulates a real time environment allowing you to see what your changes do to the display. I got the elite chirp 5 so your 7 should probably make the fish jump into your lap. Ha!

12-16-2015, 07:09 AM	#3
spicolly ..... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 135	I bought the Elite-4X CHIRP with the 83/200 455/800 kHz transducer last year...before it came with GPS. Big miss by me as it was my first FF and I didn't realize how useful/valuable GPS was until I started fishing with people who have them. Regarding the unit, I recently ran into intermittent power issues. Once it powers on, it hasn't lost power. I have played with it all week in my garage and have not been able to recreate the issue...it has powered on just fine without making any changes. However, a few times in the last month I've got out on the water and it wouldn't power up until an hour into my trip on the water. Very frustrating. Here's the post describing the issue with some possible help from the community: http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=27785 From a functional unit, I like it a lot. I switch back and forth between a single and double panel view, depending on what I'm doing (ie., looking for bait, structure, unidentified stuff, etc). I like the downscan capabilities, and have actually seen my line go down and hang out with fish...which is kinda cool. My opinion, if you want to stay on the lower pricing end, it's a good unit, esp since Lowrance has added GPS on the Elite-5.

12-16-2015, 11:52 AM	#6
hiramehunter Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Near Palos Verdes Posts: 198	is Chirp a good option for over 300'? I usually fish from 200 - 340' range. Would chirp be a good option for that too?

12-16-2015, 12:20 PM	#7
Chuck D Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bay Park Posts: 559	50/200 is way better then the 83 for deepwater. Have had both and the 83 hardly works in deep water. It is made for better resolution in shallow water applications.

06-10-2016, 04:01 AM	#13
markfish Junior Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 1	Lowrance Elite Chirp series is a popular Fishfinder series in the market like, Elite-9 and 9x CHIRP models, Elite-7 and 7x CHIRP models, Elite-4 and 4x CHIRP and Elite-5 and 5x CHIRP models I've reviewed all the CHIRP Series, you if you want to buy Lowrance Elite Chirp any models, before buying you can review my articles . http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-4-hdi-review/ http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-5-hdi-review/ http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-5-chirp-review/ http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-hds-9-gen2-touch-review/ http://fishfindly.com/lowrance-elite-7-hdi-review/