Page 6 - Crappie NOW - January 2019

ELECTRONIC SMORGASBORD

unit, Blackley runs the contrast setting
from 55 to 65 depending on the bottom
composition. For rocky and hard bottoms
Blackley sets his contrast as low as 55
but will dial it into the upper 60s for
viewing mud bottoms. Blackley sets the
unit’s range for side scanning at three
times of the depth the unit is showing
(for example, if the screen shows a
depth of 20 feet, Blackley sets the side
scan range at 60 feet).

The Tennessee pro uses the same
contrast settings for down scanning
with his HDS-12 Carbon unit and mainly
stays with the default settings for his 2D
CHIRP sonar.
The screen color Blackley selects
depends on what he wants to look for
when viewing the side and down scans.
He either opts for the amber, blue or
black-and-white hues for looking at
images on his screens. “Sometimes
I feel like I get a better image on the
blue if I am looking for cover,” he said.
“Now if I am looking for suspended fish
on the down scan I will run the black-
and-white.” He chooses amber when
viewing objects along a soft bottom and
switches to blue for looking at targets
on harder bottoms.
Blackley varies the electronic Five electronics units strategically mounted
mapping on his chart plotter feature on his boat allows Tim Blackley to find
of the HDS-12 Carbon unit from the crappie hot spots and stay on top of the
Lowrance maps to Navionics charts fish. His results are good.
depending on which map chip is best for
the lake he is fishing.
The next unit on his front deck is a
Front Deck Mounts Humminbird Solix 12 with a 360 imaging
The front deck of Blackley’s transducer attached to the trolling
boat consists of a conglomeration of motor mount. When scanning with
electronics and wiring that helps him 360 imaging, Blackley sets the unit for
pinpoint crappie and their hideouts. front scanning only because he is just
A Lowrance HDS-9 fishfinder/ targeting the cover in front of him. “I get
chartplotter is networked with his an idea of where I want to be (with the
Lowrance HDS-12 Carbon unit to allow front view) and I have already scanned
Blackley to find his GPS waypoints while most of the other places at the console,”
scouting the area with his trolling motor. he said. “ So I already have marked
He uses this unit strictly for mapping so what I am looking for to fish and I am
no transducer is hooked to the HDS-9.

6 Crappie NOW January 2019