It's equipped on my boat for more than half a year now, and I have to say; the Humminbird Helix 10 G4N is a serious piece of equipment which takes your fishing to a higher level, especially for those who are looking for an upgrade.
I was going through lots of reviews and chats online, and I got an eye for the Humminbird units. They are known for their great side and down imaging, are easy to use, have a lovely waypoint marker, and more which you'll find out in this blogpost!
Before I installed the Humminbird Helix 10 to my boat was fishing with a basic €100.- fishfinder that showed me the depth and if I was lucky enough I could see a signal on the sonar. That all changed when it was time to get a new sonar because the basic one simply 'died'. Switching to the Helix series got me very surprised!
Finding the right sonar was quite challenging. People and friends told me to look for the options I wanted to use, to make a better choice in which brand I would be looking at. Some brands would be more advanced in different priorities like down imaging and side imaging. I want to have it all! right?! Or at least, I want to keep all options available. As many fishfinders can be used for multiple purposes like connecting with a fronttroller, or live imaging.
But let's get down to business!
Having a decent fishfinder brings another dimension to your fishing!
The Helix series come in different ranges, from Helix 5 up to Helix 15. Starting with a smaller screen for low budget, to a big screen for those who have some money to spend. I got mine from Technautic who imports and represents Humminbird and Minn Kota in The Netherlands.
It's good to know that if you want to see more detail, you'll need a bigger screen. Thats a basic rule, which counts for any brand. When using side imaging and down imaging you'll want to get the best out of it, so I would suggest to not go any smaller than a Helix 7 series if you want to use options like side imaging. My Humminbird Helix 10 has great detail, which I'll show you down here!
Talking detail: This is a predatory fish (probably pike) lurking at some baitfish above. Isn't that just insane?
The menu above is the Down Imaging on the Helix 10. The detail on the unit is truly beautiful. This was one of the first times using the Down Imaging and from that point onwards it totally got me hooked. Being able to have a glimpse of what is going down below the surface is so interesting to witness and makes you want to get to see more of it!
A big fish, which might be a big pike or a zander was just chilling on the bottom. What do you think it is? Had to be really big!
The unit has many options and it's easy to adjust to your type of water. It's easy to navigate through the options and I really love the way you can adjust your contrast with the + and - button.
The thing we are all looking for: schools of baitfish! This unit scans even the smallest of bait and I really learned to trust it's reliability, as it has proven me so many times already there was fish or not.
The Helix 10 comes with Side imaging, Down Imaging, has chirp function (high frequency for more detail) a Chartplotter, is able to create your own depth charts and works great with Navionics. Ever heard of Navionics? Check it out here cause it's a fishermens essential! (Even if you don't own a boat)
The Side Imaging can be a bit tricky to adjust to the right setting, but I have a great tip if you are new to using side imaging: To get the most detail you should be setting your range to 3 times the depth. So if it's 3 meters deep, you should set your range to 9 meters! (3x3 =9, or 3x5= 15). If this is set, just play with the contrast and you'll find the fish!
The black stripe in the middle is right underneath the boat. Where it turns white you see the bottom. In the black part you see some signals, these are waterplants!
The unit has a mark button which is enabling you to set waypoints. A waypoint is a GPS coordinate. So when you find fish on the sonar, you hit the 'mark' button. Later on you can still find the spot on your map. What makes the Helix serie unique? Well.. you can mark the fish, even when you find fish on the side scan! By using the cursor button you can navigate through the screen towards the fish, hit the mark button, and you'll get a very precise/ accurate waypoint!
I use waypoints a lot on big lakes. It allows you to find the exact spots over and over again. Really making your fishing day spot-on! You can also connect the Humminbird Helix to your Minn-Kota Fronttroller. This way you can let the fronttroller drive towards the waypoints, set courses, anchor and way more. All controlled by just some clicks on your Humminbird unit. There is also a option to set the frontroller to go in a circle around 10 meters (adjustable) of your waypoint. This way you don't disturb the fish and still have the option to cast from your boat. If you want to learn more, check out this video!
In my opinion the Humminbird Helix 10 has all you need to get your fishing day more interesting, focussed and succesfull! It shows you what's underneath, what's around you, where and whenever you go out chasing the fish your after. It's a piece of equipment which is totally worth the money if you want to step up your game. Because of the high accuracy I get confident fishing new and bigger waters!
