Lowrance, Humminbird or Eagle..?

[jbailey]

howdy all

so i am currently in the process of trying to purchase a new fish finder but I don't even know where to begin! I have been trying to do some research but I am not becoming any more decisive. If you had a budget of lets say roughly a grand what would you buy? What features would you say are essential? I am so overwhelmed with all the options thanks in advance for the help!

 

JB

[muskeybugged]

Screen size should be relative to boat size... 5" screen on a 20' boat don't make a lot of sense to me.... Bow or console installation?

 

Eagle / Lawrence same thing i.e. Honda Acura.... Ford Lincoln....

[jbailey]

I have a 17ft sylvan and I will be console mounting my new fishfinder

[Bernie]

I have long been a fan of Lowrance/Eagle but I am disappointed in their platinum map of Nipissing.

Some islands are completely missing on the map. So what about the shoals and rocks, are they there or not?

Can't trust it.

I have a Garmin Rino hand held with the actual chart of Nipissing on it and is very accurate. Just too small to see at speed.

I must say that my Lowrance LMS 5200C has a very good sonar though, very pleased with that.

 

I am going to investigate the Garmin combo unit for next summer.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Bernie

[mercman]

HUMMINGBIRD.

if you have a casting deck and fish alone, bow mount and console mount on network.Console so you can find THE SPOT, bow mount so you can stay on the TARGET while fishing. I understand Hummingbird is better in the deeper waters we have in canada.Get color screen, its easier to read 'at a glance' than greyscale.

[Roy]

I understand Hummingbird is better in the deeper waters we have in canada.

 

OK...I really need to know where you got that gem, Paul.

[Roy]

JBZ, Is it just sonar that you want or GPS/SONAR?

[ld17]

I recommend you waiting till the new year. This way you can go to the spring fishing show, and ask all the questions you want to the reps. They are glad to tell you everything you need to know. For me I've always used lowrance and I'm used to the menus and navigation through the screens so for me I'm sticking with them. I think both companies make good units. I really don't think one is far more superior than the other.

[mercman]

OK...I really need to know where you got that gem, Paul.

 

 

FROM THE OWNER OF technics chasse et peche on tascherau.

Hey...I,m new, so i listen to anyone i think is smarter than me

he went into a long explanation of sales territories and the lakes in the southern states being shallower than up here and . It made sense, so i believed him. I was even planning on getting Hummingbird for my new boat. Should i stay now with Lowrance?

Satisfied???

[Billy Bob]

Does it have to be NEW or is a used sonar/GPS unit a option.....I say that because many have recently upgraded to the new Lowrance HDS units and have some very good LMS or LCX units for sale. Try Ebay (they have some good deals on new units also) or try this site....

http://www.bbcboards.net/zeroforum?id=70

 

BTW....Lowrance blows Bigbird (Humminbird) out of the water with it's technology.

 

Bob

[Billy Bob]

FROM THE OWNER OF technics chasse et peche on tascherau.

Hey...I,m new, so i listen to anyone i think is smarter than me

he went into a long explanation of sales territories and the lakes in the southern states being shallower than up here and . It made sense, so i believed him. I was even planning on getting Hummingbird for my new boat. Should i stay now with Lowrance?

Satisfied???

 

Actually Humminbird's main customer base is from the south while Lowrance controls the rest of the country..... especially in the northeast....check out any charter boat on the Great Lakes and you will see Lowrance units on everyone of them.

[Joey]

Humminbird all the way!!!

 

We had humminbird up until we got the Lund, which already had Lowrance in it. That lasted 1/2 a year and we sold it and bought a Humminbird. Nuff said!!

 

Joey

[Fang]

Dont' scrimp out here. I've always had Lowrance units since buying my first boat in 87. Last year I bought a second hand Humminbird 778 and have been very happy. Keep to the upper levels for models and you'll be fine. For console mount I'd suggest you focus on the following as key features. It's kind of a hands list based on 20+ years of hard usage and mistakes

 

For regular depths over 30FOW get into the 4000 Wats power range. Stay away form 1500W units. They're OK but the added power will bring much more detail

 

480 pixels vertical minimum (it's pretty much the norm now but watch some older used units)

My preference now is colour display, don't think I'll ever be able to go back

dual frequency transducer is a big plus for deep water trolling

and as other mentioned buy the biggest screen possible

My screen is 5" on the console and it's the only one drawback I have. Mind you it would have taken another $1000 to get to the next size screen and I still need to replace my bow fish finder this year

 

Other options that will influence you is whether you want it mobile. I take my HB in the back lakes and out on the ice and have a portable system rigged up ready to go. Color sucks up alot of juice so be prepared to spend some $ on batteries or get more than 7A 12V ice fishing battery.

 

HD5 of equivalent Bird will do ya fine. If you have more $ to spend HD 10 or 1197

[Stoty]

Do yourself a favour and go with LOWRANCE HDS units!!!!

IMO, They are far superior to any other unit on the market right now.

 

Worth their weight in gold!

 

We strictly run HDS units on our boats and haven't had an issue with them at all!

 

Radioworld is by far the best place to get electronics (no matter what brand) around the GTA.

Their prices will not be beat!

[aplumma]

Do yourself a favour and go with LOWRANCE HDS units!!!!

IMO, They are far superior to any other unit on the market right now.

 

Worth their weight in gold!

 

We strictly run HDS units on our boats and haven't had an issue with them at all!

 

Radioworld is by far the best place to get electronics (no matter what brand) around the GTA.

Their prices will not be beat!

 

I got to agree with you here. I am running a HDS5 on the bass boat and a HDS7 with lss-1 on the big boat. Both have been flawless with no issues and it is very easy to learn the controls. Once you become comfortable you can set it to scan out most of the clutter and the gps is very accurate. I would take into consideration that Bernie says the Nipissing maps are horrible and if it is an area you fish frequentlythen you might decide on the garmin for that feature alone.

 

Art

[mercman]

Actually Humminbird's main customer base is from the south while Lowrance controls the rest of the country..... especially in the northeast....check out any charter boat on the Great Lakes and you will see Lowrance units on everyone of them.

 

 

YOU KNOW SOMETHING,now that im sittin here thinking about it, that is what he said. I got them mixed up. I told him my bro had taken the 2 low x135 off his ranger and given them to me, and replaced with hummingbird. He said that that was a silly move, and went on with his story.

Go Lowrance, i stand corrected.

[charlesn]

Depending on how reliable you want your electronics to be - go with ANYTHING but Lowrance.

 

I'm not sponsored by anybody or anything. I owned nothing but Lowrance/Eagle from my first boat to now 6 boats in. In the past 4 years Lowrance quality AND customer support has gone down the crapper. Here's a test - go google Lowrance Customer Support and Humminbird Customer Support.

 

Tell me what you find.

 

The biggest news out of the Lowrance camp over the past year was their unceremonious letting go of Linda Colt - the one person that had been saving their bacon reputation wise. Since Navico took over - it's garbage. Their Canadian support center is closing. Good luck getting things repaired once they die on you and they WILL die on you. I have personally had 2 332s, 1 330, 3 520s and an X26 fail on me and cost me a day, a tournament or a even a 4 day long weekend of fishing as without GPS I am very lost - I really rely on my electronics. I've had my 787 2 seasons now and the 997 this season and never once even questioned that it would turn on when it was cold or rainy. That relief and lack of stress is majorly worthwhile. Hoping to upgrade to an 1197 for an even bigger screen. The humminbirds are great for now - but if they start to suck - I will drop them like a bad habit and go quickly to Garmin, never again will I be foolishly loyal to a company putting out garbage. Lowrance has a long way to go before they win back the trust of 90% of the anglers I know.

 

Buy what you want - but now you can't say you haven't been warned.

 

Charles

[Fang]

Another FYI guys, the Mississauga/Matheson Rd location for Lowrance is either closed now or will be in a matter of weeks

[Crazy Ivan]

Totally agree with charlesn. If you buy a Lowrance be prepared to replace the transducer (more than once) they are the first thing to go. Customer service at Lowrance is horrible, ask anyone who has tried to contact them.

I have owned 3 Humminbird units for 5 years with no problems whatsoever. If anything were to go wrong, I like the fact that I could get help when needed. I really enjoy the quick release feature humminbird has instead of screwing in cables.

[scugpg]

Do yourself a favour and go with LOWRANCE HDS units!!!!

IMO, They are far superior to any other unit on the market right now.

 

Worth their weight in gold!

 

We strictly run HDS units on our boats and haven't had an issue with them at all!

 

Radioworld is by far the best place to get electronics (no matter what brand) around the GTA.

Their prices will not be beat!

 

I would go with the Lowrance HDS-7 or HDS-8 in your case.

 

Compare them side by side if you want. You'll notice right away how much better the sonar abilities are. I don't like Humminbirds graph.

 

I've never had an issue calling them for support and they have been helpful.

[muskeybugged]

This is JB before asking for help

 

 

......

 

JB after asking for help

[jbailey]

hahaha yea! I'm lookin for a GPS/Sonar unit.

I was actually just out looking at some units, took a look at the HDS7 and TRIED to get some help from some staff but they weren't too helpful

I am def gonna have to head over to radioworld and check it out, as well as ebay - thanks everyone, getting closer and closer to this purchase (which is actually for my paps for his bday)

[Vanselena]

hahaha yea! I'm lookin for a GPS/Sonar unit.

I was actually just out looking at some units, took a look at the HDS7 and TRIED to get some help from some staff but they weren't too helpful

I am def gonna have to head over to radioworld and check it out, as well as ebay - thanks everyone, getting closer and closer to this purchase (which is actually for my paps for his bday)

 

 

I have the HDS8 and absolutely love it! I have owned Furuno, Raymarine, Sitex, Marinetex, Vexilar, Humminbird, Lowrance. Lowrance is the best of the group, Humminbird was the worst.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Vanselena

[Harrison]

Depending on how reliable you want your electronics to be - go with ANYTHING but Lowrance.

 

I'm not sponsored by anybody or anything. I owned nothing but Lowrance/Eagle from my first boat to now 6 boats in. In the past 4 years Lowrance quality AND customer support has gone down the crapper. Here's a test - go google Lowrance Customer Support and Humminbird Customer Support.

 

Tell me what you find.

 

The biggest news out of the Lowrance camp over the past year was their unceremonious letting go of Linda Colt - the one person that had been saving their bacon reputation wise. Since Navico took over - it's garbage. Their Canadian support center is closing. Good luck getting things repaired once they die on you and they WILL die on you. I have personally had 2 332s, 1 330, 3 520s and an X26 fail on me and cost me a day, a tournament or a even a 4 day long weekend of fishing as without GPS I am very lost - I really rely on my electronics. I've had my 787 2 seasons now and the 997 this season and never once even questioned that it would turn on when it was cold or rainy. That relief and lack of stress is majorly worthwhile. Hoping to upgrade to an 1197 for an even bigger screen. The humminbirds are great for now - but if they start to suck - I will drop them like a bad habit and go quickly to Garmin, never again will I be foolishly loyal to a company putting out garbage. Lowrance has a long way to go before they win back the trust of 90% of the anglers I know.

 

Buy what you want - but now you can't say you haven't been warned.

 

Charles

 

Well said and I agree 100% Charles. Units for my new boat will either be birds or garmins. If it comes with Lowrance they will quickly be posted in the classifieds.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Harrison

[Fisherman]

Well said and I agree 100% Charles. Units for my new boat will either be birds or garmins. If it comes with Lowrance they will quickly be posted in the classifieds.

Humminbuzzard = just an opinion made after seening numerous guys ready to throw them overboard.