Advice on fish-finder

[breausaw]

Ok, I’m looking for a fish-finder for my new boat; it only comes with a dash mount sonar digital display. The boat also has a Garmin 172C plotter and I’ve decided a separate stand alone Fish finder would be better then added the Garmin GSD 20 remote sounder, the screens not that big.
I’m not really interested in using the fish-finder for finding fish; it would mostly serve as an additional navigational aid.
What I’m looking for is a descent color or B&W display sonar with transom mount transducer. Speed and temp would be nice but durability is my primary concern.
There is just so many options out there and I’d like the groups feed back to help narrow the decision process a little.
If I can keep it under $400.00 smackers that would be great too!
Also, the Coastguard couple I bought the boat from didn’t seem to think they needed any additional equipment for safe cruising so maybe I can get by without and additional sonar?

Thanks as always for all your help,

[tpbrady]

Jay,

I find the sonar graphing function really useful when I start entering a bay or protected water. I have noticed some pretty significant errors in my chart plotter in some places. On a couple of occasions I have cruised through islands on the electronic chart (albeit slowly). The sonar graphing function allows me to correlate the actual bottom contour to what the electronic chart shows. If they don't agree, I always go with the sonar and what I see out the window. I have a Lowrance with a 5 inch screen and even split in two, it provides a pretty good picture.

It's also great for finding rockfish suspended on drop offs. I found one pinnacle last summer that showed a solid black mass from about 15 feet on down on all sides. We spent a half hour catching 3-4 pound black bass one after the other and never got the line down deeper than 15 feet. It is also good for halibut since you can pick out bottom structure that holds the stuff that halibut eat. Structure is everything in the lower Cook Inlet with the tides.

[starcrafttom]

If I had to make a choice between chart plotter or depth finder I would take the depth finder. as stated above, a chart plotter is just a representation of reality. where a fish finder is reality. i traveled on many lakes,that are not charted, with only a depthfinder for years with out hitting too much.

[thataway]

Lowrance and Eagle are basically the same company and both are good Fishfinders. Hummingbird also has some good models. Furuno is probably the best, but the price is considerably more. I have both color and B & W. For the most part B & W (monochrome) is fine for 90% of what we do. I agree that a separate screen is a good feature and frees up the Chart plotter so that it is not shared.

The only plus with a speed on the fishfinder is that it gives a measure of current, since the paddle wheel uses speed thru the water and GPS gives speed over the ground. The temperature is nice to have, and many FF have this as a standard feature.

[Chris Bulovsky]

I went with the Lowrance combo unit. I do like that Lowrance allows you customize your "overlay data" Like voltage, temp, speed and depth. They also have Lowrance net that has fuel flow meter that can be displayed on the unit. Cabelas has some good deals on either the straight sonar or the combo units. I do advocate the combo units. 100 to 200$ more gives you GPS chart plotter.

Keep in mind the displays can be adjusted to suit your needs. Check out the Eagle units. Color displays are more desirable IMO.

Chris Bulovsky

[breausaw]

If I had to start from scratch I’d probable buy a combo unite and my Garmin 172C can do that but the screen is only 4.5 inch diagonal, so splitting would really shrink things down.

I have in mind the Humminbird Fishfinder 585C
At about $330 and change seems like a capable unit…
This sound cool: Microdynamic transducer design slices through water for reliable readings up to 70 mph.
Wonder what is feels like doing 70mph in a c-dory?
Got nothing better to do right now than line out how I’m going to configure my boat.

http://www.boatersland.com/hum585c.html


Key Features
 320V x 240H 5" Brilliant Color TFT Display.
 20¦ single beam sonar optimized for coverage and precision bottom detail.
 Better Performance with 300 Watt RMS (2400 Peak to Peak) power output and depth capability to 1000 ft.
 Selective Fish ID+ Shows Fish Below as Solid Symbols and Around the Boat as Hollow Symbols.
 Sonar Echo Enhancement shows a bait when vertical jigging and Ddelivers 2 1/2" target separation.
 Real Time Sonar captures the action at up to 40 times a second for better views when moving.
 Exclusive Tilting & Swiveling Quick Disconnect Mount System without cables to connect.
 Temperature Included in Transducer, Speed Capable!
Additional Features
 Choice of Whiteline, or Structure ID Bottom Presentation.
 Fully gasketed waterproof design and it floats.
 Selectable large digit screen for easy-to-read number display.
 Bright CCFL backlight and selectable screen background colors for night use.
 TripLog with distance, elapsed time, and average speed (with optional speed sensor).
 Microdynamic transducer design slices through water for reliable readings up to 70 mph.
 Totally automatic operation or totally manual operation with upper and lower range control.
 Depth alarm, fish alarm, and battery alarm.
 One-touch Zoom with 2x, 4x, 6x, and 8x zoom levels.
 Adjustable chart speed.
 Feature Memory retains your settings.
 One-year limited warranty.
 Assembled in U.S.A.
Specifications
Depth Capability: 1000 Feet
Display: 320V x 240H, 5" Diagonal, Color TFT
Sonar Coverage: 200 kHz, 20¦ db at û10db
Power Output: 300 Watts RMS, 2400 Watts Peak to Peak
Unit Size Installed: 7" H x 7 1/4" W x 4" D
Temp/Speed: Temp Included, Speed Capable
Power Input: 12-10 VDC
Unit Mounting: Tilt & Swivel Quick Disconnect Mounting System
Transducer: Inside Hull or Transom Mount

[tsturm]

Garmin or Lowrance/Eagle is what I use, have had nothing but problems with Hummingbird products in the past

[breausaw]

[lloyds]

I initially thought the same thing about Humminbird, but after having bought a boat with the matrix system FF/GPS I had to eat my words. It performed flawlessly for the years I owned it. And they weren't easy years. It was mounted on the console of a Boston Whaler, out in the open and taking a beating. It was very easy to learn and use. But I am still a Garmin fan.

[gljjr]

I've used both HumminBird and Lowrance for years. I've not had problems with either units. I will likely go with the Lowrance LCX series for my next unit as I like their ability to record both GPS and Sonar for playback later and I want at least a 6" screen.

I really liked my old Humminbird Legend 2000 Deep. Even though I mis-mounted the transducers limiting its functionality (I mounted them too close together and too close to a strake), I loved the fact that it had KNOBS rather than buttons. The knobs made it very easy to adjust even in rough water.

[thataway]

There is a Yahoo Hummingbird side image forum, which also discusses the other various Hummingbird units, plus the Chart plotters. There always seems to be Hummingbird Tech support present on this forum. I subscribe on a daily basis, even though I only own a couple of very cheap hummingbirds, the side scan technology (limited to about 100 to 150 feet) interests me.

[breausaw]

Thanks for all the input and great advice, I’m now reconsidering buying the GSD 20 module and turning my Garmin 172c into a duel unit even though the screen is a little small. The reason for this move is because I’m seeing the modules new in the box on Ebay for about a 3rd of what they were selling for new a year ago, $125 vs $333. That’s the way of technology, great today obsolete tomorrow-at least by industry standards.
So here I need to look at the cost/benefit analysis; what do I really need.
This boat is going to be a money pit; one I look forward throwing money into.

Let’s see:
$Tender
$Radar arch
$Camper back
$Trim tabs
$Permatrim thing
$Radar?
$Shrimp pots
$Pot puller
$Fishing gear
$Windless?
$Storm anchor
$Blue chart card
$Charts
$Ditch bag accessories
$Etc
$Etc
$Etc

[thataway]

For the same $125 to $150 you can buy a good B & W 4 to 4.5" Eagle, Hummingbird, Garmin or Lowrance Fish finder. This would keep the full size of the screen of your chart plotter, plus a decent sized fish finder. I always consider it better practice to have the separate instruments, since both are used for navigation, and if you loose one, you still have the other.

[Wefings]

We have had many problems with the inexpensive Humminbirds. But folks with the new Humminbird sidescan 3d gizmos rave about them . We have had a few problems with Lowrance as well . I have an X135 Lowrance on my bay boat and it does paint a great picture . Its 500 watts with lots of pixels. You want at least 300 watts. Color is better for fishing .For navigation go for the monochrome and wattage.....
Marc

[breausaw]