Fishfinders

[The Quadfather]

I am looking for a good fishfinder. This is an item that I can't seem to get anybody in the stores to really discuss like they know something about what they're selling. I have looked at Eagle, and Hummingbird.
They start at $65.00 and jum to 200.00 for what looks like a descent one, then of course you get into color graphics and 450.00 etc.

Just answer me these questions:
1. brand and model do you like
2. What is the most importan feature that you think it should have.
3. and maybe what I should stay away from.
again were talking fresh water fishing, trout, bass, etc. It doesn't have to be fancy.

Thanks,
Chris

[gpc]

I like humminbird and the one thing that you should try to get is one with a built in GPS. Mine dosnt have one because the price is a little steep but if you could afford it its the way to go. I just bought a Garmin hand held one to make up for it but I wish I had a built in GPS

[Rozman]

If your not looking at spending a ton of dough, the fishmark 480(eagle) is a great unit for 200 bills. 1500 watts of power and 480 pixels. It reaaly is a nice unit, google it for reviews.

[hewesfisher]

I had an Eagle Fishmark 480 on my old boat, and it was quite nice. My new boat has a Garmin 320C dual frequency (color) and an Eagle 500C used for GPS data only. I started with it as my primary FF and GPS but got real tired of switching back and forth between screens or trying to read either at half screen (dual display). FWIW, unless you really need GPS, I would suggest you go with the sonar only - more bang for your buck.

I have a map chip for my GPS and use it for navigating places I've never been to before. If it weren't for that, I'd probably drop the GPS altogether.

[Rozman]

I have the Lowrance H20C handheld GPS, which I love for ice fishing, fishing new lakes and finding my way thru the grocery store8-[ I have a terrible sense of direction!!!

[Aaron]

I have the Fishmark 320 as well and I really enjoy it. It's inexpensive, powerfull, feature packed and able to accept accessories like a speedometor (which is great for trolling). I do however wish I had GPS on mine as well. With a GPS enabled unit you can mark your sweet spots so you can return to the exact spot 10 years later.... OR be able to tell someone else EXACTLY where to fish.

[Lip Rippa]

i have a Hummingbird Piranah I was just about to post in the classified for sale. It is brand new never been used. I have all of the accessories except the book (I lost it somehow but you can get it online). I wish I could keep it but I settle on a Fishin Buddy portable fish finder cuz of the convenience of using a boat and a float tube. If you are interested post a quick reply here then email me.

[A9]

Eagle...I got it for like $140 and its got the suction cup on it and the actual unit doesn't need to be screwed in...I'll post a picture of it this weekend when I'm out on my boat...Runs off 8 AA's and actually doesn't suck them down as much as I thought they would....

[Marc Martyn]

I have an Eagle Fish i.d. and I really like it. I paid about $189.00 five years ago. The features have improved greatly in the last year or so. This is what I think you should consider:

>GPS is great, but unless you are fishing very large water, I don't think it is that necessary. If I lived on the Sound and did a lot of big water fishing, I would definately have one. Being out in the middle of The Sound, sitting in a fog bank, late in the evening, would be enough to scare the out of me. You can mark fish, however they are not going to sit in the same spot and wait for you to return on your next fishing trip......fish move.

>Most all finders now have a temperature readout. This is something I miss in my older model.

>Side view I don't know that much about. I suppose if you are casting for bass it would work great. Trolling a fly I don't think that it would be that useful.

>Choose a finder with a display that is big enough to see from a couple of feet away. Some of them have a display so small you have to lean close to read it. You are out trying to catch fish, not get an aerobic work out reading the screen.

I have been told that Lowrance and Eagle are basically the same company. Both are good units. I think that the $200.00 range would most likely suite your needs.

[A9]

$139.99 at Joes...
Heck of a deal...

[Easy Limits]

I am a big fan of Humminbird. I have had two of them over the years. I currently have a Matrix 67. They really don't get a whole lot of press. Most guys will tell you Garmin or Lowrance. Having GPS sure is nice when out fishing the salt. Having GPS isn't really necessary when fishing lakes though unless you are fishing a big lake like Lake Washington. Go for a fishfinder that has a big screen and color if you can afford it.

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

Color makes it easy to tell if that "lump on the bottom" is a fish, rock or log. They give different returns. The returns are there in the "B&W" mode, but much harder to interpret.

[hewesfisher]

I have been told that Lowrance and Eagle are basically the same company.

They are indeed Marc. The main difference between the two is Eagle are "stripped" down versions of the Lowrance units. Think of them as economy models - good value, not a lot of bells and whistles . =p~

I prefer to fish large water lakes, Banks, Roosevelt, Priest, etc. and it's nice to have GPS with mapping option for lake contours. It saves time when trying to figure out where to go and helps with navigation warnings too! I have fold out maps on most of the lakes I fish, but most local lakes some aren't published. The map chip in my GPS has a bunch of WA lakes in it and I find it indispensible when hitting a new lake for the first time.

If I had $2000 to spend like it was pocket change, I'd have the Humminbird side imaging sonar. I think it would be absolutely perfect for most of our waters around here. It displays actual images, not "pixilized" representations of the image. Wonder if the data on your sonar is a stump or rock or ? Side imaging leaves no question.

[A9]

Eagle is basically what Toyota is to Lexus cars. Same company, just a more basic model......I think for the common everyday application/use, an eagle is fine. It's what I got, and it works just fine for me for my lake and saltwater fishing...But if you were doing some serious angling out on big reservoirs and lakes and the salt, GPS would be better to go with, and you'd probably want to step it up to Lowrance...

[TroutCowboy]

First, thanks guys for posting all the useful info re: fishfinders. I've been browsing for some time now and have found it all pretty overwhelming. Sizes, color vs. b&w, peak power, etc.. Sheesh! So, it's great to get referred to exact models based on your past experiences so I can at least comparison shop.

I've never even been on a boat with one to see one in action, so I am completely in the dark in regards to these things. I have a built-in depth-finder on my boat, which I have found very useful in finding good locations, but I can't help but think how it might be to see the fish too, along with the bonus info like water temperature.

Now that I've looked at a few, I see that some translate the sonar returns as cute little fish icons and some instead give you the raw feedback (the arc shapes). At a glance (as I would be doing from the swim platform where I spend my time casting) it seems like it might be nice to have the icons with the depth numbers beside them. Is there any trade-off in accuracy for one display type vs. the other?

Also, since since I"m typically casting out the back/sides of the boat that a wider angle would be nice to get a broader look around? I mean, I won't necessarily just be dropping a worm or jig right straight down over the side of the boat. Should I find one with a dual mode (wide and narrow angle) or try to find one somewhere in teh middle?

Any other thoughts/advice on the subject before I go out and buy one? Thanks guys, and thanks WL.com for giving me a place to ask these kinds of questions!!!

[A9]

For bass, your not really gonna be able to use the fishfinder...Your likely gonna spook them unless you are in like 20 feet, which even then might spook them...

Fishfinders work for trout/salmon and stuff, so for bass a fishfinder is just a depthfinder and temp gauge.....As well as scoping out bottom structure

[hewesfisher]

Johnny K - Have you been to Sportsman's Warehouse or West Marine (next to Lowe's on Sprague Ave)? They have display models for you to look at and I know you would get good advice from the sales folks at West Marine. If you do talk with the folks at West Marine, I suggest you shop around for the best price and then go back, they will price match anyone except internet sales. They might even price match large internet retailers, but be sure to ask.

When I was shopping for electronics, I shopped at West Marine since they have a nice display and the folks seemed very knowledgeable. Their prices were higher than most, so I shopped around. After I bought off the internet, the sales guy I spoke with told me they will price match most anyone if you bring the proof in. A nice thing to know before you buy.

Now, as to your question about icons and depths. Whatever finshfinder you buy will be more accurate if you turn those things off!!! It takes awhile to get used to reading "raw data" but it's more accurate. The trade off with icons is the sonar will frequently display "noise" as fish that aren't there.

I remember the first time we went to Roosevelt with the new boat and I had the sonar set up for icons. There was a steady stream of fish reported as 20' - 24' and I dropped the downriggers right into the middle of that range. We caught nothing, because, as I learned later, the icons weren't really fish at all. Now, I only run my sonar with raw data, no icons. Once you learn to interpret the data, you don't need depth indicators anyway, you'll know.o:)

There is a lot of good info on fishfinders on the 'net, just do a Google search and you'll be inundated with info!

[Marc Martyn]

Hewes-
I have often wondered when there is a large algae bloom going on in a lake like West Medical, will the larger globs of algae, if big enough, be misread by the fish finder as fish? Are they dense enough to give a false reading?:-k

[MikeFishes]

Have any of you tried the Humminbird SmartCast wireless fish finders? Since I do mostly shore/dock fishing with some limited fishing on my personal pontoon boat on the smaller lakes, I thought that the SmartCast 35 would be the best one. No chance of getting dropped in the water. The only downsides I can think of are the screen resolution and the power. Also, if I happened to mess up a knot and toss the thing out there with no way of getting it back.

They can be had for anywhere as low as $60 upwards to $200 (for the larger screened one).

[hewesfisher]

Hewes-
I have often wondered when there is a large algae bloom going on in a lake like West Medical, will the larger globs of algae, if big enough, be misread by the fish finder as fish? Are they dense enough to give a false reading?:-k

Hi Marc - If the algae bloom is big enough it can register on your sonar, but I don't know if your particluar model would display it as fish. This is one of the reasons I do not recommend using fish symbols or icons if your particular sonar is capable of displaying fish arches. Floating and submerged debris is clearly displayed differently when your sonar is set to display fish arches; depending on the sonar return, it may be a solid line or an odd shaped ball or blob, but not an arch.

One thing I would like to mention here is that fish finders or fish locators aren't at all. They don't find or locate fish, instead, they help the angler determine the types of structure they want to target and may also display fish returns showing what depth your target species may be at. We need to thing of our sonars as a tool, and understand how to use that tool to find the most likely places for us to be successful.

For example, my wife and I spent three days at Lake Roosevelt last weekend and we fished a lot of water that didn't display a single fish return. Why? Because I was reading the bottom and structure and using that information to decide where we might have the best shot at putting fish in the cooler. Of course, we marked fish, but not necesarily where or what we were fishing for. On the other hand, we caught fish (and several of them) where we didn't mark any at all. Why? Because we were fishing a particluar structure that should have been productive, and was.

Most of us fish away from our boats or tubes, not directly under them. Unless we use side scan sonar, we will never see the fish we are actually fishing for. However, we can still take advantage of the info our tools provide us and use that info to make, hopefully, informed decisions about how and where to fish.

I'm no expert on this, I've learned a lot through trial and error, and I'm still learning every time we hit the water. I've done some reading at various websites and have used that info to try and become a better angler. It's worked in some ways, but not others. I am still trying to find the "combo" for walleye, and I know I will succeed through perseverance. o:)