LOWRANCE SOUTH AFRICA Issue 17 | Page 7

The bullet transducer is traditionally mounted on the back of a transom - so it comes standard with a transom - mount bracket. However - Lowrance has designed the HOOK² transducer with a flat bottom so that they can easily be installed in-hull too. Most kayaks are made of a very thin layer of fibreglass, and Lowrance transducers are powerful enough to shoot through the kayak hull and give you a decent sonar reading. However… the transducer needs to be installed properly. We find that a lot of kayak anglers are not getting the sonar reading they hoped for, and the main reason for this is incorrect installation. There is now only one way to install a transducer inside the hull- and that is to stick it down with EPOXY… not silicon. In the past you could use silicon, but now the transducers are very sensitive and they pick up on the tiny air bubbles in silicon - and this affects the sonar function. Air bubbles are death to sonar! Epoxy does not have any air bubbles- and using epoxy is the ONLY way to attach your transducer to the inside of your kayak hull. You must also make sure to install the transducer in front of your rudder, as the rudder also creates air bubbles that will affect your sonar view. Another important thing to ensure is that your sonar plug is pushed ALL the way in! There are three circular ridges on the plug – all three of these ridges need to be fully inserted until they cannot be seen. This will make for a perfect watertight connection. The bullet transducer that comes with the 4-inch HOOK² unit is an entry- level transducer. It can show a maximum depth of 50 metres (so you can read bottom at max 50 m), and it can show fish arches between 30m and 40m – depending on water conditions. If you require a bit more detail a nd more depth than the bullet transducer can offer, then we suggest upgrading to the 5-inch HOOK² model. It is still super affordable, and you get a bigger screen! The 5-inch model comes with the SplitShot transducer. You can read bottom at max 120m, and you can see fish arches at max 80m. You also get the added feature of DownScan Imaging- to view structure up to 30m beneath your kayak. If you have any questions regarding kayak installation, don’t hesitate to contact our head office and chat to one of our technical guys. We’re here to help! And if you want to read more about what products Lowrance has to offer kayak anglers, read the MARCH issue of our magazine. CLICK HERE