50mhz or 200mhz

[Dyllan]

I have a garmin 4208 with the GDS 22 and a transome mounted Airmar P66 transducer. At what depth should I consider switching from 200 to 50 ? I love this set up and it's working just fine for me,,, but this year I plan on going out to some deeper water other then 100 ft. and just want to know when I should kick it over to 50 to get better detail of the wrecks/ fish I'm looking for.

[Reel Draggin Tackle]

Your best bet is to use both in a split screen. The P66 is a good shallow to moderate depth ducer. You will probably start to see a switch-over in performance around 200 to 300 feet. Keep in mind that at 200k you have a very narrow beam, essentially a pencil beam looking straight down. At 50k you have a much wider beam, covering more ground. When we are looking for wrecks in deep water we search with 50k, and watch in a split screen at 200k to pinpoint the location.

[Dyllan]

I thought that it was just the opposite,,, that 200 was wide and 50 was narrow. Daaaa
So your saying that in 100 to 200' of water 200 is fine? I understand what your saying about the split screen,,, though I never used it,,, but now I will, (always learning). Thanks for the info.

[Reel Draggin Tackle]

Yep. With the P66 you should be fine. I have aquired bottom at 600 feet with the P66 in 200k mode. Its not ideal, but it worked where others won't. Using the split screen will allow you to learn exactly what the characteristics are under various conditions. Remember, conditions change so you will probably find yourself in split mode often. In the bay we often use the 50K window just to track the exact location of our down rigger ball, since they are often outside to 200 kHz "cone".

[Dyllan]

Can't thank you enough for the great advice and knowledge... I was wondering why I couldn't locate my down rigger ball last year... I'll start using that split screen and learning the diff. conditions... Thank you Sir for your time and advice....

Thanks,

Mark

"Freedom Won"

[Reel Draggin Tackle]

Anytime Mark.