freshwater fishfinder

[MASTER Brian]

I am looking for a good, yet inexpensive fish finder for the front of my boat.

I will mainly be using it in water less than 100ft and I don't care about color display, unless it's just that much better.

I have seen some for around $90 and then they go up. I kind of like the idea of speed, temp, etc. But up front they probably aren't necessary. I am thinking under $300. The $90 one I saw was a Humminbird® PiranhaMAX 15 Fishfinder. I've also looked at the 500 series from Humminbird. I just don't know what to look for.

Some History...
I am replacing an old lawrence (sp?) dial type unit. The wires for that got chewed up by a rodent, prior to me buying the boat, so it might be a fresh re-wire job. I have a transom mounted transducer that is wired to another dial type (mounted in dash) and a graph type finder that I'm not replacing at this time. They are both lowarnce. I don't mind buying a new transducer, but I need to know what I need.

 

[xtraham]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

master brian: I know nothing about fresh water fishing I fish bays sound and ocean,but in salt 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 hard bottom, obstructions,ect

 

[fishingdan]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

There are a lot of decent units in the $150 - $200 price range. They will do all you need to do.

Take your pick of any Lowrance, Eagle or Humminbird finder in that range and you will get good results for your needs. The new garmin units in this range perform nicely, but the screens resolution is a real step back. I understand that they chose an less expensive display so that they will have a good price point, but they are very blocky.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

Thanks for the replies. There is a gander mountain here, maybe they have some displays setup I can look at.

So then my next question is if everything else is 20 years old, should I just plan on getting a new transducer as well? I don't know how all of these units interchange, but I'd like to eventually update the one on my dash as well.

I thought about getting a transducer for my trolling motor, but there might be times I don't want it down, but would still like to have the use of the finder.

 

[jtexas]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

three most important features of a fishfinder: resolution, resolution, resolution! Get the most pixels per vertical inch you can afford. Less than 320x320 on a 5-inch diagonal screen is like a child's toy by comparison.

Eagle fishmark320 at $150 is the best value for your money, fishmark480 $50 more is even better. Both will have water temp included, extra cost speed sensor also tracks distance traveled.

I would depend on anything in the Eagle or Lorance lineup, I know there are many other good ones out there that's just my experience.

Your new fishfinder will come with a transducer in the box.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

I was comparing the eagle with a lowrance and noticed they looked very similar. Are they made by the same company? The fishmark 480 and the X135 look identical. Buttons are the same, case is the same, etc. The Eagle appears to be much cheaper.

Is there a reason?

 

[jtexas]

Re: freshwater fishfinder

Same manufacturer...I think it's kinda like Chevy and Oldsmobile...hi-end vs. economy. But I think their functionality is identical and I don't believe there's a quality difference. Eagle is the FF of choice on my local fishing board and I've never heard a complaint. I've been told that Lorance has more output power - that'd be listed in the specs. I've read that's an issue in deep (hundreds) and/or salt water...but that's beyond the scope of my ops.

disclaimer: I have no connection with eagle or lorance, don't even own stock...maybe I should...hmmmmmmm