FishUSA Angler Resources

New Fish Hawk Electronics Products for 2024

By: Captain Richard Hajecki

February 27, 2024

Hey, have you heard? Fish Hawk Electronics recently released a revamp of their product portfolio! When I was young, I learned about speed and temperature in Lake Ontario. I was able to learn some very key details by using the Fish Hawk 840 system. I used it on my dad's boat. If I remember correctly, we ran it on a set of Penn manual crank Downriggers while fishing from our 1985 Penn Yan. Boy, that was a long time ago, and fishing electronics technology has come a remarkably long way since then!

Hey, have you heard? Fish Hawk Electronics recently released a revamp of their product portfolio!

When I was young, I learned about speed and temperature in Lake Ontario. I was able to learn some very key details by using the Fish Hawk 840 system.

I used it on my dad's boat. If I remember correctly, we ran it on a set of Penn manual crank Downriggers while fishing from our 1985 Penn Yan. Boy, that was a long time ago, and fishing electronics technology has come a remarkably long way since then!

Fish Hawk is well known for creating technology that is incredibly useful for trolling anglers, particularly those that like to target salmon, steelhead, walleye or other species that tend to inhabit deep water haunts. Now, Fish Hawk has upgraded their already incredible technology to make it even more useful for anglers.

Table of Contents

  • The History of Fish Hawk Electronics
  • The New Fish Hawk Probe
  • The New Fish Hawk Display
  • The New Fish Hawk Lithium Multi-System
  • Final Thoughts on the New Fish Hawk Electronics

The History of Fish Hawk Electronics

After the 840 system, Fish Hawk introduced the X4 series. The X4 series boasted a redesign of the display and a probe about 40% smaller.

The X4 system has been a staple for Great Lakes fishermen, or any inland angler who likes to troll, for more than a decade.

Fish Hawk introduced the X4D during that time. This system improved the X4 system tremendously by providing users with extra information at their cannonball. It also used Bluetooth technology to transfer Fish Hawk data to other equipment.

The Bluetooth technology that was built into the display was initially intended to bring your Fish Hawk data up on a tablet or phone via the Fish Hawk app. The idea being it would put that important data at other places in the boat to help fishermen catch more fish. Eventually, the Bluetooth connectivity brought the X4D into the Cannon/Humminbird “One Boat Network.”

With the launch of the Cannon Optimum Downrigger, fishermen were now able to connect their Cannon Optimum with the Fish Hawk X4D. This gave fishermen probe data at the back of the boat (where the fishing takes place) for the first time on up to four downriggers. Fish Hawk data was also able to be displayed on Humminbird HELIX and SOLIX multifunctional displays that were connected to Cannon Optimum downriggers.

Now, let’s get to the NEW stuff and I’ll try to break it down as simple as we can. Here are the new Fish Hawk Products and the models they'll be replacing.

The video below gives a side by side comparison of the new Fish Hawk Lithium Ultra and the old Fish Hawk X4D.

The New Fish Hawk Probe

You may be asking what this revamp brings to the table. Let’s start with the main player, the probe.

Several improvements have been made! For starters, this probe is about 40% smaller than the X4 series of probes. If you remember above, they shaved 40% of the probe size going from the 840 to the X4. They’ve now gone 40% smaller again!

This new probe is tiny, and very impressive! Trevor, the owner of Fish Hawk, notes that this downsized probe runs through the water significantly easier. The old X4 probe had a slight sway going through the water.

One of the biggest complaints about the old X4 series was the moisture build-up inside the probe. The cap on the rear of the probe allowed fishermen to easily change out the batteries that ran the probe, but would sometimes allow small amounts of water to enter the device.

This new probe is completely sealed. Inside rests a rechargeable Lithium battery, hence the name of the new systems. This battery is charged wirelessly on any Q-type charging pad. A pretty cool-looking one is provided with the system! A fully charged probe is said to give fishermen 50 hours of run time, but reports are showing some people getting upwards of 60 hours.

According to Fish Hawk, a probe in need of charging only takes a few hours to bring to a complete charge, but 20-30 minutes will put enough of a charge back into the probe to get through a day.

One last noticeable improvement is the re-location of the temp sensors. On the X4 series they were located on the front and required a silicone bra to keep them from getting damaged. On the new Lithium probes, they are on the rear of the probe.

  • 5000+ Lifetime charges
  • Pro System updates – 20-second intervals (same as X4)
  • Ultra System updates – 27-second intervals (same as X4D)
  • Water activated
  • 70kHz sonar signal

Old Fish Hawk Probe in comparison to the new Fish Hawk Probe
The new Fish Hawk probe is 40% smaller and quite a bit more stealthy than the old probe

The New Fish Hawk Display

Next, we’ll dive into improvements made to the Fish Hawk Display.

The display's appearance has changed drastically, although where the data is displayed is the same. Coming from a world where I also sell and install marine electronics, this new display has a cleaner look and will fall in line with other multifunctional displays (MFDs) at your helm.

Fish Hawk noticed that from time to time the gimbal or stem of the X4 displays would deteriorate in the sun. This caused it to eventually dry out and crack. The new gimbal on the Lithium systems is made of aluminum and will certainly stand the test of time.

Lastly, Fish Hawk added a 1/4x20 insert on the back to give fishermen another option for mounting. I made use of this new mounting option on our new helm. I added a RAM mount to put the display in an area that would otherwise just be dead space.

The last piece of the Fish Hawk puzzle is the transducer. Nothing has changed here. As a matter of fact, the power cable and transducer that are on your boat from the X4 system can be used with the new Lithium systems. This makes installing the new system effortless! Everything with the new Lithium system is backward compatible. If you want to keep your X4 or X4D system and just upgrade the probe, that is an option as well.

The New Fish Hawk Lithium Multi System

A product I think Fish Hawk hit a home run with is the launch of the new Lithium Multi System.

This system can be configured in two ways. You can get it with the slip-ducer, like the X2, or you can get it with a transom mount transducer that’s missing the paddle wheel. I really like this system because of the smaller display. Most angler’s boats have limited space at the helm, and most just want the probe data. This system helps in both of those instances. The much smaller display shows just the probe data.

This video highlights a few of the key details of the Fish Hawk Lithium Multi System.

Final Thoughts on the New Fish Hawk Electronics

While working with Fish Hawk on this project, I was extremely impressed with the extensiveness of their testing.

We started testing the new probe back in the Spring of 2022 while fishing in the Niagara region of Lake Ontario. One of the few prototypes at that time was brought aboard to test and gather content for the release.

The release didn’t happen until the 4th quarter of 2023. Some of the delay was due to supply chain constraints, but most of it was due to testing, testing, testing. We finally received a “first run” system in September of 2023, and we put it to use for about two weekends before our season was over.

So, what did we think in the short time we had with it? Well, that smaller probe certainly reduced some blowback on my downrigger cable. I also thought the system readings were as good if not more consistent, but that might just be the fanboy in me.

I was even able to charge my phone on the new Fish Hawk Lithium Pro Probe Charger one night while sleeping on the boat, bonus! Knowing I don’t have to stock batteries on the boat is one less thing to worry about and take up space.

Overall, I’m impressed with the re-designed products from Fish Hawk and I’m very impressed with how the company operates on these types of projects. You should sleep well knowing that the hard-earned money you spend on a new Fish Hawk Lithium system will be well worth it.

Still not convinced? Check out the video below!