cram Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 After 17 yrs our in-boat fishfinder has finally called it quits. Time for a new one. Any recommendations? We generally fish in <30 feet of water and use the finder mostly for depth and structure. Rarely fish deep or open water fish, so not sure that power is really that important. How useful is... - colour? - dual cone? - power - resolution Also, any favourite brands? I generally prefer easy and durable over powerful-but-complicated-and-or-delicate stuff.
limeyangler Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) Personally i think there are only 2 brands worth looking at....that is Lowrance or Hummingbird...but like i said that is my own opinion. I think which model specs you choose really depends on your budget, i love my little Lowrance X67c...use it on hard and softwater...but if i had the money i'd upgrade without a doubt. As for colour....very usefull in target seperation and sunlight viewing Dual cone...i'll let someone else chime in about that cuz all i know is that it picks up a larger area underneath you...and something about sea water use...lol Power....i'd tend to go for nothing under 2400...lol...coming from the guy who owns an 800 watts peak to peak resolution....again...if its depth and structure your'e after not such a huge issue, any new fishfinder will have sufficient resolution....but if ya can go higher why not? Just my 2 pennies worth. Edited July 2, 2009 by limeyangler
Fishnwire Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 Don't cheap out. You don't need to go crazy...but if you spend less than a couple of hundred bucks you'll probably be disappointed. I had the Hummingbird 525 ($120) and returned it after using it for one weekend. I upgraded to the 565 portable ($250) and the thing is ten times better. That said, my buddy's finder was about $800 and it is about a thousand times better than mine. I think when it comes to marine electronics, you get what you pay for. Although more expensive units feature more (possible useless) bells and whistles, you also get a better all-around quality fish-finder.
Handlebarz Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 (edited) I upgraded two season ago to a 565 and loved it at the time I did not have enough money to buy a color unit that would do what I wanted so I went for a better grey scale. I looked for a long time and decided on that one it was a great unit but at Christmas time we had some extra cash and I needed a new GPS so I upgraded again to a Lowrance 522c that unit has both finder and GPS on it and works amazing and is 10X the machine that I had but it was also $500 more then the old one if you only need a sonar I would recomend the 510c it is also a great color model and you might get a deal if you look around on the net as they stopped making them if color is not what you need or you dont have $500+ to spend I would go with a very nice high end grey scale. If the humming bird color are as good as the grey scale I would also look at them. Try calling Angling Outfitters in Woodstock they will help you out they are great to OFNer's tell Joslyin that you hear it here and he will take good care of you Phone #: 519-539-5494 BTW the map on mapquest is wrong they are on HWY 2 east of Woodstock now but I think they have a PO box that is why it shows them in town. Edited July 2, 2009 by MrEh
TroutnMuskieHunter Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 I too just upgraded my sonar from a Humminbird 565 to the new Lowrance HDS-5...I can't tell you how it works yet because it's back ordered for another 3 weeks ....but I'm pretty excited about trying it out!!! If all you need is a sonar, check out Cabela's!!....they have some SUPER deals right now such as the Lowrance X510c for ONLY $329 U.S......that's a steal!! Good luck... http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true Steve
Jonny Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 If all you need is a sonar, check out Cabela's!!....they have some SUPER deals right now such as the Lowrance X510c for ONLY $329 U.S......that's a steal!! When you order from Cabela's what charges do you end up paying? I see $22.95 + 3.50 broker's fee. Then I think there's a Canada Post handling charge ($5) plus Canadian GST. Is that it, or is there anything else?
TroutnMuskieHunter Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 When you order from Cabela's what charges do you end up paying? I see $22.95 + 3.50 broker's fee. Then I think there's a Canada Post handling charge ($5) plus Canadian GST. Is that it, or is there anything else? That sounds about right....I can't tell you for certain because I had it shipped to my daughter''s house in Georgia (free shipping within the U.S. )....a quick call to Cabela's should give you the answer...
gone_fishin Posted July 2, 2009 Report Posted July 2, 2009 if shipped using USPS/Canada Post, you will get dinged for cross border customs (Duty) most of the time if the value is over $100 (at least in my experiences)... if it is shipped via courier, you will get hit pretty hard for cross border shipping.
Garnet Posted July 3, 2009 Report Posted July 3, 2009 I've been very disappointed with Lowrance. You can go on any site and read a thread on Lowrance freezing and get all kinds of reasons. The bottom line is these unit were always intended to be used with trolling motors and if they freeze it's poor engineering and poor quality from Lowrance. I have I Hummingbird si beside a lowrance and the bird never freezes. Garnet
bigbuck Posted July 3, 2009 Report Posted July 3, 2009 Humminbird Side Imaging is the way to go if you are willing to spend the dough!!! I'm going that way next year!!
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