colour fishfinders gps combos

[tomkat]

I am thinking of upgrading the fishfinder on my boat and was wondering if anyone has any advice? The combo gps ones seem interesting but a bit pricey. And is color worth the extra dough? The one I have now is old and very basic and I think a bit wonky. Cheers

[outdoorguy61]

First compare apples to apples when it comes to fishfinders, chartplotting,etc. If you want to get serious about it, you can layout basic features and compare power, colour, transducer, mapping, electrical consumption, etc. to get a really good idea about where the best value is for your money. From what I have read from your posts, I would suggest a wide beam dual frequency transducer. It sounds like you are mostly in smaller boats on smaller lakes, with colour as an option albeit say 150-200 more. It also sounds like you do not need a larger screen, nor a tremendous amount of power. Check out a Humminbird 580 (B & W) or a 757 (colour). This is based on what I percieve as your needs and is available in the Ottawa area. There are more powerful units but I would suggest that this would be unecesary. This is just a sampling of what is out there.

 

It will take a Navionics chip with the Canada 2007 being the one I would suggest based upon my casual observation of your fishing interests. There are others, but I would suggest that this will factor in as many of your interests as possible, be it western Ontario, eastern Ontario or Quebec lakes. It does not have them all, but does have a decent cross section.

 

For lakes that are not included, you can still track and mark with the GPS. You can also do some software upgrades and put some information on your computer to email, study etc.

 

outdoorguy61

Edited March 24, 2007 by outdoorguy61

[trapshooter]

I have fished a lot with both colour and b&w GPS, graph combo units. As fas as colour goes, it's nice, I won't lie. All depends on if you have the extra dough to spend. The detail on the black and white is still excellent, I have used Lowrance X-15's and X-17's. I'd recommend that size unit, at a minimum, if you plan to use it in split screen mode so you can see your graph and map at the same time.

 

As for the GPS, they give you a real advantage on the water simply because they allow you to mark precise locations such as conours/break lines and esp. spot on spot type stuff like a small rock pile or a really sharp drop. When I'm fishing if I really get into some fish I'll drop a waypoint and be able to come back to that exact spot in the future. Having a GPS is a must for fishing main lake structure (far away from any land). Also the ability to track where you have already gone is very nice. I use the tracking for both fishing and navigation. Having some detailed mapping is real plus, esp. if you can get hydro maps of your lakes.

 

Anyhow, hope this helps.

 

Ben.

Edited March 24, 2007 by trapshooter

[fishdawg]

having been on other boats with the Nav chip & the colours - its quite nice

[Tomcat]

I'd recommend that you provide some detail about the type of fishing involved (e.g. walleye, lake trout, etc) as well as the types of water you plan to fish to facilitate people providing you more suitable options to address your requirements. What do you want a sonar/GPS unit to be capable of doing? If you can, establish your requirements first, not the budget. Satisfying budget constraints without satisfying your requirements is false economy.

[outdoorguy61]

Oh my....have I gotten my Tomcats mixed up? Apologys if I have as I thought I was dealing with the gentleman from Ottawa. Which one do I see here?

 

outdoorguy61

[taper]

I bought my first colour unit last year and will not go back. As far as brands I recommend Eagle and Lowrance.

[Tomcat]

Outdoorguy61:

 

I'm not aware from where tomkat (original poster) hails but I'm (Tomcat) from the Ottawa area. Regardless, no harm done and no apologies required.

[silveradosheriff]

Once you go colour - you'll never go back.

Humminbird at the front and Eagle at the back - both have been excellent. The Nav card on the Eagle is a blast!

[Roy]

Got my first colour in the fall, it's a Lowrance LCX25C. I haven't used it yet on the water but I powered it up with the Navionics (902) chip and it is just beautiful.

[aplumma]

Lowrance 525 cDF was my choice. The color is more than "nice" it is a way to tell the difference between floating debris and fish. Between bait balls and schooling fish by tuning the color bands up or down. Dual beams are very nice because they will give you the overview and the bottom contour. The external antenna is only needed if you have a hardtop above the unit.Lowrance units also have the ability to add fuel usage and tank level or Radar to the unit with only having to add the sender units so one screen does it all. The Navionics chip has been updated and has alot of detail from the tides,marina and buoys or obstructions built into the map. Since navionics supports 6 different manufactures units they are more likely to keep their maps current and in the future have strong enough support to stay as the preferred files. I also have a Gamin unit which is B/W gps/sounder it is nice but for the extra $200.00 I would have gone color had I known.

 

Art

[Pigeontroller]

I have the Lowrance LMS-332C, its a great unit, couldn't be happier. Colour is the way to go if you can afford it, if you're on a budget don't sacrifice resolution for colour though!

[Handlebarz]

I was going to buy one of them also but deceided to get one of each just incase on fails then I dont loose both I have read about the differences on Calallas web site this link has some good info to help you make your choice it will let you know what each feather is for I know I will make my choice better informed now that I have read this.

 

Calallas sonar GPS info

[sonny]

Got the new humminbird797si,,,can't wait to get it on the water...i think the biggest thing is the power of the unit and the vert pixles,,,whatever you go with weather it be color or not try not to sacrifice these two things!!