Echo sounder Practitioner: review of models, reviews, rating

The production of echo sounders in Russia has been mastered relatively recently. The Practik echo sounder is available in only two types – Practitioner 6 and Practitioner 7. In turn, they can also be made in various designs.

Practical ER-6 Pro

Today it is produced in three versions – Practitioner 6M, Practitioner ER-6Pro, Practitioner ER-6Pro2. They differ in scope and price. Praktik 6M, the most expensive of them, was released in 2018. Practitioner ER-6Pro and Pro-2 were released a little earlier. The difference in price is almost 2 times, if the Practitioner 6M costs around $120, then other models of the sixth series are around $70-80.

The difference between them lies in the higher quality scanning of the latest model, the presence of additional settings, and also in the quality of the external design – 6M has a more durable and water-resistant case, it has a higher quality of the cord and all other accessories, screen. All echo sounders of the series have a 40 degree beam angle, without the possibility of changing or adjusting it. The sensor for all models is also used almost the same. Next, the Praktik ER-6 Pro model will be considered.

Main features and settings

The echo sounder has a sensor with a display angle of 40 degrees, the ability to adjust the sensitivity and different modes of operation. A distinctive feature is that it sends not a continuous, but a periodic pulse several times per second.

This does not scare the fish as much as the constant acoustic noise at high frequencies from other models.

The display depth is up to 25 meters. Operation is carried out from one AA battery, which is enough for about 80 hours of operation. The screen is liquid crystal, monochromatic. It can work at temperatures from -20 to +50 degrees. Model 6M has a slightly wider lower limit – up to -25. Screen dimensions 64×128 pixels, 30×50 mm. Let’s just say, not the most record-breaking figures. But for the search for fish and ordinary types of fishing, this is quite enough.

The echo sounder has several modes of operation:

• Depth gauge mode. The echo sounder determines the depth a little more clearly than in other modes. It also shows the temperature under the case and the battery charge. It is used when searching for a fishing spot, if the angler does not need other things.
• Fish ID mode. The main mode of searching for fish. Shows the fish, its estimated size, bottom characteristics, its density, topography and other parameters. It is possible to adjust the sensitivity from 0 to 60 units. There is a sound notification. For fishing in one place without movement, you can connect the calibration mode. In winter, it is also recommended to enable the winter mode, since the tracking conditions in summer and winter water are different.
• Zoom mode. Adjusts to a specific location and depth, allows you to view the area in the most detail at a certain distance above the bottom. This is useful when fishing among algae that can stretch from the bottom to the very surface and fishing from a boat when you need the fish to see the bait between the stems.
• Flasher mode. Shows in dynamics the single most distinguishable largest moving object. The sensitivity is great and allows you to see even the fluctuations of a small mormyshka at a depth of 5-6 meters. Often used in winter fishing.
• Pro mode. Needed for professional anglers who want to see information on the screen without additional processing. Beginners will be confused by the many hindrances that are also displayed.
• Demo mode. Needed in order to learn how to work with an echo sounder. Can be used even at home, without water and boat.

Sonar settings allow you to make the display of information the most convenient in each case.

1. Zoom settings. Zoom mode displays objects in more detail at a distance of 1-3 meters from the bottom at the user’s choice.
2. Winter-summer settings. Needed for more accurate operation of the echo sounder in warm or cold water.
3. Setting the dead zone. When fishing, sometimes you need to cut off interference at a certain distance from the surface. These can be flocks of fry and small things that stand close in the upper horizons of the water, or ice chips in the hole and under the ice that move and interfere. The default is one and a half meters.
4. Noise filter. It has three values ​​to choose from, if you set it to the highest, then small fish, small air bubbles and other objects will not be displayed.
5. Calibration. When fishing in one place without movement, it is recommended to calibrate. In this case, the echo sounder will send five pulses to the bottom and adjust to a specific fishing spot.
6. Depth display. It is necessary for the soil to take up less space on the screen, if the value is not set, then it occupies a strip of about a quarter of the screen. It is advisable to set the depth a little more.
7. Sound alarm. When the fish finder finds a fish, it beeps. Can turn off
8. Pulse frequency setting. You can apply from 1 to 4 pulses per second, while the update rate of information will also change.
9. Brightness and contrast on the screen. Required to adjust the performance of the echo sounder in given lighting conditions. You should set this option so that the screen is visible, but not too bright, otherwise the battery will drain faster.

Application for different types of fishing

The following describes the use of an echo sounder for jigging, trolling and plumb fishing.

Fishing with a jig using an echo sounder Praktik ER-6 Pro is more often used by novice anglers. A 40-degree coverage angle allows you to display a bottom spot 4 meters from the boat at 5 meters depth, or about 18 meters in diameter at ten meters. This is not enough to cover the usual casting radius with a jig, so usually an echo sounder is used only to search for fish and study the nature of the bottom.

For trolling fishing, it is also necessary to take into account the range of the echo sounder. It is chosen in such a way that the bait is visible on the screen behind the boat. In this case, the deviation of the sensor is used after the bait – it does not hang vertically, but at a certain angle so that the bait glows on its screen. The maximum echo sounder is able to detect bait up to 25 meters from the sensor. This is quite enough for simple types of trolling, but for catching fish with a large release, the bait is no longer enough.

When fishing with an echo sounder of this type, it is necessary to steer the boat when trolling a little in a zigzag. This allows you to confidently stay at a certain depth, for example, to lead the bait along the edge, controlling its immersion depth.

If the course deviates to the left or to the right, the depth will change slightly, and it will be possible to correct the course depending on where the edge or the desired section of the bottom or channel goes.

The Praktik 6 Pro echo sounder is ideal for plumb fishing from a standing boat. Here it is possible to calibrate the echo sounder so that it shows more accurately the game of the bait, the behavior of the fish near it. At the same time, it is recommended to put the echo sounder in flasher mode, and before that, explore the bottom with several passes of the boat. It is also possible to use it for winter fishing in the same mode.

Compared to a classic flasher, the Practician fish finder is much lighter, about 200 grams, and fits easily into a pocket. At the same time, the flasher weighs several kilograms and can become very annoying in a day, constantly pulling your hand when carrying it. In addition, its cost makes the Practitioner more accessible, and fishing with it will be many times more effective, as it allows you to immediately track the hole where the fish approached and became interested in the bait, and select the game.

Without Practice, the angler will simply leave the promising hole without noticing the fish that came up and did not take it. A beam angle of 40 degrees here will be a big plus, as it allows you to see fish at a distance of a throw from the bait even at a depth of 2 meters, and using echo sounders with too small an angle simply will not show anything. For our fisherman, who usually fishes at shallow depths in winter, this fish finder is the best choice.

Practice 7

This echo sounder is designed for fishing from the shore and is based on the famous Deeper echo sounder. The sensor has the ability to communicate with the echo sounder both by wire and wirelessly. This allows you to use this echo sounder when studying the bottom with a feeder. This method is much faster and more accurate than studying with a marker weight, especially on uneven bottoms where there are snags where the marker weight will tear.

With a conventional wired transducer, we get a great fish finder for exploring the bottom of the reservoir, fishing from a boat, winter fishing and many other things. The cost of this echo sounder is cheaper than the same Deeper Pro and will be about $150. There are several modifications of this echo sounder, then the Praktik 7 model with the Mayak bag will be considered.

The echo sounder has the ability to work in two modes – from a classic sensor with a classic screen and from a wireless sensor using a smartphone as a screen and information storage. In the first mode, working with it will not differ much from Practice 6 described above, except that there will be a better display. The screen in the kit, by the way, is no different from Praktik 6 – the same 30×50 mm and the same 64×128 pixels.

The wired mode of operation is distinguished by the sensor. The Practitioner 7 sensor is different, it is more sensitive, has a smaller coverage angle of 35 degrees. Works with the same sensor polling characteristics, has the same modes and settings. The differences start when you plan to use a wireless sensor.

The echo sounder can work with a wireless sensor, while the screen will be the owner’s smartphone, on which a free application from the manufacturer is installed. The built-in GPS module allows not only to display the bottom relief and fish on the smartphone screen, but also to record it automatically in the form of a map. Thus, having passed through the reservoir on a boat several times, you can get a complete map of the bottom, depths.

The wireless module is a float containing an electronic device. It can be attached to a rod and lowered into the water like a classic sonar transducer. And you can use it for fishing with a sensor attached to the fishing line of the rod. Usually this is a feeder or jig rod, but it can also be used with other gear.

This echo sounder allows you to identify fish and explore the bottom directly in the fishing area. It weighs relatively little, all accessories are placed in the Mayak bag, which comes with this model.

Sonar Specifications

This is very convenient, because you can easily forget some component on the shore when packing things, and this will lead to the fact that the entire echo sounder will be unusable.

The sensor communicates with the owner’s mobile device using bluetooth 4.0 technology, not WiFi. Communication is carried out at a distance of up to 80 meters, this is quite enough for most types of fishing. True, with a weak antenna and the presence of interference, this distance is often reduced to 30-50, but even this distance usually covers the needs of a fisherman in the reservoirs of central Russia.

All in all, Praktik 7 will be an excellent choice for those who want to fish with a feeder and a jig. No matter where and how, from a boat or from the shore, it will be useful. The bag included in the kit will be very useful, for some reason this moment is often omitted by novice anglers who have never encountered the loss of things while fishing. Its cost will be lower than other analogues. To work with a wireless sensor, you need a good smartphone. It must have a good bluetooth antenna to keep in touch, as well as water resistance and a good bright screen that is visible in the sun. Can work with Android and iOS systems.