In this video, Mark Courts shows you how to use a few of his favorite Humminbird features.
The Highlight Feature
Make it easier to identify and target specific depths by using the highlight feature. To do this, hit the menu button twice and navigate to the Humminbird Charts page (HB Chart), and set your Highlights feature. Suppose you want to target 18 to 22 feet – to do this you will need to set the Highlight 1 Min to 18 feet and the Highlight 1 Max to 22 feet. This highlights everything in that depth range with bright green on the map.
This helps with a few things:
- Easily stay within the targeted range when trolling
- Allow you to zoom out and have a picture of the entire lake – making it easy to key in on other potential areas to target such as flats at your targeted depth range
- Highlight shallow areas in red (areas less than 5 feet for example). This not only helps identify structure to target but also helps you avoid sandbars and other shallow water when cruising across the lake.
The Water Level Offset
With Humminbird units, there is also a Water Level Offset option under the HB Charts tab. You can use this feature to adjust your map according to current high or low water conditions. For example, if the lake is up 2 feet, this setting will adjust all your contour lines accordingly. If it’s low, you can also adjust your map to lower 2 feet. This makes it easy for fishing reservoirs and other bodies of water where the water levels fluctuate constantly.
Follow the Contour
One of Humminbirds best features is its one-boat network system. This system allows you to automatically follow map contours when trolling. Essentially it will allow your Minn Kota trolling motor to take over and steer the boat – following the contour of your choice.
You can easily control this right from your Helix or Solix graph. First, move your cursor over to your target depth. Then hit the Go To button, then select Follow Contour. On your map, you’ll notice an orange line that goes to the left and a blue line that goes to the right. To choose the desired direction, go into the drop-down menu and select the color that correlates with the direction you want to go.
Utilizing the Follow the Contour mode allows you to fish hands-free. It gives you the ability to continue on your path while netting fish, re-rigging rods, or helping others in the boat without having to worry about driving or staying in the strike zone. To set your speed, simply use your trolling motor remote to your desired speed.
Utilizing the One-Boat Network will make your day a lot more enjoyable on the water and give you easy, hands-free boat control while trolling.
