Seeking advice on first budget depth / fishfinder

[lumpdog005]

I am seeking advice on my first budget priced depth / fishfinder foruse in my older my 9 ' zodiac style inflaitable by sevylor with wood floor / transum. I see you can get a Garmin Fishfinder 90 with Dual-Beam Transducer for $80 online. What do you guys recommend and use. I have a budget of $100 or so. Thanks in advance for your expertise!

Bob

[G-Man]

With a budget of around $100 I can't recommend from experience. In that price range, I believe that you are going to get a unit that has more power and or pixels if you go black and white/grey scale. Color is nice but pushes up the price a bit and at the entry level of fish finders you want to get as much definition as possible. I'd look at all the units in your price range and select the one that offers the most power and definition (vertical pixels), and unless you are fishing in deep waters go with a 200khz transducer. You mentioned that your transom is made of wood, do you feel comfortable attaching a bracket at or just below the waterline with a few screws? If not, you'll want to pick up or make a bracket that will hold your transducer and clamp to your transom. They are easy to make and are also sold in many of the same places you'd buy a fish finder. If you have a specific model in mind, post it up here and ask for feedback.

*Edit* The Garmin 90 has 160 vertical pixels at 100 watts were as the Lowrance X-4 has 240 at 188 watts for the same price. As I said, get all the specs on paper and pick out the one that gives you the most for the money.

[yooper_fisher]

Hey lumpdog,
Just curious if your 9' sevylor is the HF280? If so I have the same one. I just put on a Humminbird PirhnaMax 160, which is right in that price range. I installed it on my trolling motor with the Humminbird adapter. They also make a portable version that's a bit more expensive, that uses a suction cup, and I've heard mixed reviews on how it stays put on the bottom of an inflatable.
I've found this model to be a decent little fishfinder for the money. Give good depth, structure, and temp readings, but I think it misses a lot of fish and marks a lot of structure as fish.

[Kfedka]

Purchased my first one last fall. Everyone recommended for a first one to purchase a color on as it's easier to figure out what kind of bottom it is. I ended up purchasing a new Eagle 320c off ebay for $120 shipped. Since they they have increase the price on it, very happy with it.

[lumpdog005]

[url=http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/ ... ge9225.jpg]

Yooper. I have a gray version of the older sevylor inflatable dingy with wood transom and insertable wood floor. I found this ad from 1981 that shows the exact boat. I wish I had that groovy center seat with the babe!

[lumpdog005]

Ojn a side note I just found this crazy picture! This would get yoou to your favorite lake spot fast! LOL

[yooper_fisher]

LoL, NICE!
That boat is a wee bit nicer than the HF280

[lumpdog005]

The best part is the boat is pretty stable, and the wood floor and transum give ti some rigidity. Still like my dads 12 aluminum boat better because it glides thru the water better.

[p.t.]

I have a Sevylor Fish Finder FH 250, and I used to have a portable fish finder, bought it at $70+ from eBay. I used it for about 5 times and then gave up. I sold it on eBay at $20. The thing is:

I never know if the fish finder is trustworthy or not. If it says there is fish but I can't hook up one, maybe the lure is not right, maybe the depth is not right, .... Or, maybe there isn't fish in the first place, the Fish Finder just got confused by the weed! I don't know, I can't tell!

However, the Fish Finder is good for one thing: telling depth. I've verified the readings by letting down the anchor which is tied to a knotted rope. The readings of depth seem to be accurate.

[MarkFromSea]

With a budget of around $100 I can't recommend from experience. In that price range, I believe that you are going to get a unit that has more power and or pixels if you go black and white/grey scale. Color is nice but pushes up the price a bit and at the entry level of fish finders you want to get as much definition as possible. I'd look at all the units in your price range and select the one that offers the most power and definition (vertical pixels), and unless you are fishing in deep waters go with a 200khz transducer. You mentioned that your transom is made of wood, do you feel comfortable attaching a bracket at or just below the waterline with a few screws? If not, you'll want to pick up or make a bracket that will hold your transducer and clamp to your transom. They are easy to make and are also sold in many of the same places you'd buy a fish finder. If you have a specific model in mind, post it up here and ask for feedback.

*Edit* The Garmin 90 has 160 vertical pixels at 100 watts were as the Lowrance X-4 has 240 at 188 watts for the same price. As I said, get all the specs on paper and pick out the one that gives you the most for the money.

This might be just the thing for my jon boat, Thanks G-Man!

Lowrance X-4 Pro Sonar

83/200kHz dual-search Skimmer transom-mounted transducer with expanded 120° coverage area and automatic ranging
Scans to depths of 1,000 ft. and monitors water temperature
240V x 160H resolution with Grayline® target separation
Sunlight-readable, 4" SuperTwist LCD with quick updates
Features Automatic ASP™, FishTrack™ and Advanced Fish I.D.™
1,500-watt peak-to-peak/188-watt RMS power
Imported