choosing a fishfinder

[ch312]

so, i have been fishing all my life and have only used old fish finders and know nothing about new ones. what are the advantages to using a new model vs something thats 15 years or older? any brand to stay away from?

[scugpg]

Way clearer picture, and more powerful/accurate are some new features. Lots of bells and whistles past that.

 

Try to score a Lowrance 520 or 522c, they are an excellent used unit.

 

If i was looking new I'd look at a HDS-5

[MCTFisher9120]

bump...i dont know much about electronics but lots of members here should be able to help you.

[Terry]

getting a good sonar makes all the difference in the world

 

 

I thought I had good sonars till I bought an X15, I could not believe the things I was seeing on the screen.....at first I really did not trust what I was seeing

 

but after some time I knew it could really show fish were others showed nothing....I could see walleye tight to the bottom in 10 ft of water

I could see fish in 20 feet where it was full of weeds

 

now with my new HDS5 I used it on the ice and I was marking fish tight to the bottom in 90ft of water

no one else was marking them. but when they showed up n my screen, everyone started catching them

 

a good sonar can really make a difference IMO

[Fishnwire]

I've got a humminbird 565 portable which I use summer and winter. The first year I used it through the ice I was disappointed with the results and almost bought a ICE55 or Vex, but I played with the settings (zoom, top and bottom limits, sensitivety, etc) and discovered it works great.

-

I only paid about $300 for the thing at Crappy Tire a couple years back.

Edited May 8, 2010 by Fishnwire

[bushart]

 

There's only 3 words when it comes to finders

 

Lowrance---Lowrance---Lowrance-and I aint be paid by anyone to say anthing----OK Molson's possibly

 

I'm still runnin my X85---3000 watts

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Lowrance. The more you spend the better it is. If you cant afford a Lowrance, get an Eagle(same company as Lowrance).

[Roe Bag]

Lowrance. The more you spend the better it is. If you cant afford a Lowrance, get an Eagle(same company as Lowrance).

Over the years I've had both Eagle and Lowrance fish finders. Excellent units. Sadly they fell behind others like Humminbird. The cone angle of most Eagle/Lowrance units until only recently had been 20 degrees. For a shallow water fisherman this isn't very efficient. In ten feet of water you are viewing only a 3 foot circle on the bottom. Basically 1/3 of your depth. Humminbird and Garmin have been using dual beam (20/60 degrees)technology for several years. In 10 feet of water you are viewing a 10' circle on the bottom. The area you view is equal to your depth.

The majority of my fishing is in less than 50' of water so the greater the coverage the better. Not only for finding fish but more importantly, structure. I jumped ship and my last purchase was a Humminbird. The difference is like night and day.

Now that Ealge/Lowrance products incorporate dual beam technology I will probably go back when I need a new one. Love to see one of the new HD units in action.

[aplumma]

Over the years I've had both Eagle and Lowrance fish finders. Excellent units. Sadly they fell behind others like Humminbird. The cone angle of most Eagle/Lowrance units until only recently had been 20 degrees. For a shallow water fisherman this isn't very efficient. In ten feet of water you are viewing only a 3 foot circle on the bottom. Basically 1/3 of your depth. Humminbird and Garmin have been using dual beam (20/60 degrees)technology for several years. In 10 feet of water you are viewing a 10' circle on the bottom. The area you view is equal to your depth.

The majority of my fishing is in less than 50' of water so the greater the coverage the better. Not only for finding fish but more importantly, structure. I jumped ship and my last purchase was a Humminbird. The difference is like night and day.

Now that Ealge/Lowrance products incorporate dual beam technology I will probably go back when I need a new one. Love to see one of the new HD units in action.

 

 

I think you will be back as soon as you see the HD series. It has a 120 degree beam now which works well when you are looking at the world below. I did miss the 20 degree transducers when I was looking for bottom structure though they are still the best for following underwater ridges and fast changing bottoms. I then added the LSS-1 unit to the unit and since it works on the 800/455 khz and is a flat beam and not a cone it has shown me an entirely different world below.I learned that the unit used in the lss-1 mode paints a picture that is as clear as an xray of what is going on below you.

 

Art

[chris.brock]

I really like my 565 too, I've always been happy with Humminbird