buying a fish locator

[punthouse]

Need some advice on buying a fish locator. Just to be used mainly on small lakes in Wiscosin for bass and pan fish. Have a budget of around 100 dollars. Looking for a brand name and model numbers that would be recommended. To be used or mounted on my 17 foot Sea Ray 130hp I/O. Thanks so much for your time.

 

[NathanY]

Re: buying a fish locator

fish finder <br /><br />Had one of these, good for the money.

 

[JB]

Re: buying a fish locator

iboats has the Eagle Cuda for under $85.<br /><br />Check the Mega Mall.<br /><br />Moving to Electronics.

 

[jtexas]

Re: buying a fish locator

I hate to break to be the one to break it to ya, but these things don't find fish worth a darn! Hooked mine up, turned it on, and it just sat there. Had a dog like that once, just wouldn't hunt!<br /><br />I have the bottom of the line humminbird (came with the boat). Near as I can tell it measures depth accurately and shows structure. Doesn't work at any speed over idle, but they say that's a matter of transducer angle. Sometimes the screen freezes and I have to reboot (maybe it's a microsoft product).<br /><br />I've decided for sure that my next one will be Eagle or Garmin based largely on comments on this forum. I will definately buy from iboats if the price is right because these guys have saved me a boat-load of money on engine repairs!

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: buying a fish locator

hey, heres my two cents... i got my eagle cuda for 69.99 from walmart last month.. it has 3 diffrent alarms, its removable, its backlit for night veiwing, and includes water temp sender, all for 70 bucks.. and the ladys just love it !

 

[ChrisMcLaughlin]

Re: buying a fish locator

I'm runnin' the piranna 5 and like it. It's about 150 bucks. Onboard temp sensor too. It finds fish but hides the hungry ones!!!

 

[Barry Duncan]

Re: buying a fish locator

I have had very good luck with the Fishin Buddy. We use it mostly in the Northern Minnesota lakes but have taken it to Canada on a fly in trip. It is powered by 3 C cell batteries and is very light weight and portable. It comes with a clamp that goes on your transom or side of the boat. The base model sells for arount 100.00 at Cabelas, Kmart, Bass Pros, etc. but I think it only reads down. The model I have is $150.00 and reads both down and out. It is also great to use from the dock or ice fishing.

 

[roscoe]

Re: buying a fish locator

Bought a Cuda 168 last year.<br />Works great and holds bottom readings up to 25+mph.<br />As with all transducers, proper mounting location is vital. You may want to test it before doing a permanent installation.<br /><br />Cuda 128 is about the same, but has less lines of resolution on the screen.<br />Both model have water temp sensors in the transducer.<br /><br />The only thing I don't like about mine, is that the display does not swivel left and right.<br /><br />If you are going to use it to actually locate fish, not just bottom depth, structure, and weed lines, then take the time to learn to use it in the "arches" mode.