best fishfinder

[nelsonk11]

I have an older color furuno. Can see bottom ok, never any )fish. I want to upgrade to something that actually works. I fish in salt water--never over 100' deep. What is a solid fishfinder only unit for under $400? (I have a good chartplotter already). Please--only first hand observations only.
Thanks

 

[Boatist]

Re: best fishfinder

You do not say what model Furuno you have but no better brand for SaltWater in my opinion.

Make sure your transducer is clean. In Water under 100 feet use 200Khz frequency.

Make sure you have the sensitivity turned up until you see some false returns.

A fish is built like a stealth fighter and if you do not turn up the sensitivity you will not see fish with any brand.

Most guides and pro fisherman I know will tell you that you can not see Salmon. Some will say can see bait fish in the cavity that they have eaten. I seen a lot of discussions about the Salmon and more say you can not see them than say you can.

Anyway you should see lots of fish if you turn sensitivity up to the point that you get some false returns in the depth you are fishing.

Also if fishing rough water or big swells turn on Bottom lock. This will make bottom look like a straight line and you should see lots of fish near the bottom. In this mode you will not see rocks or changes in depth but should see fish.

In my area 70 percent of the party boat captains and commerical fisherman use Furuno Fish Finders.

 

[JB]

Re: best fishfinder

What boatist said. For salt water Furuno is the best.

I think your current problem is related to your unit and its operation. Clean the xducer, study the operator's manual and experiment with settings.

Good luck.

 

[xtraham]

Re: best fishfinder

if you can see the bottom thats all you need, my first one was a flasher then paper, over the last 25 years i have used prob. 50+ machines, catch more fish when there is nothing showing on the finder, just look for good bottom, but please let me know when you find a finder that shows the fish that are hungry.........