go-fishing
Cadet
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2003
- Messages
- 15
Re: Sounders / fish finders - worth the money ?
Si Squid, I havent been able to figure out whether you are trolling, drifting, anchored, or poking around and casting. Each would have somewhat different needs. I would think that chatting up local guides could effectively give you the information that you want on features and brands. Of course, you need to take it all with a grain of salt, and separate the bluster from the fact. And admit that you wont have the perfect instrument on your first try. If for no other reason than that the instruments keep getting better. Start small. Unless you troll a Fishing Buddy is not a bad place to start very versatile. If you troll, youll need something permanently mounted.<br /><br />I have used a number of different fish finders over the years, ranging from the old flashers to a Koden color video. My general impression is that most of the name manufacturers build good units, and that prices and quality are competitive. You get what you pay for. The more features, the more expensive, so only buy the features that you will use. <br /><br />For example, when Im fishing the Columbia River (big river) for salmon, the water is relatively shallow (typically less than 50 feet) and often very turbulent and full of bubbles and sediment, which block sonar. Mostly, I want to know whether there are fish present, and how deep. When Im trolling, I may want to follow a 24 depth contour at 2 mph. For this use, I have a relatively inexpensive Tri-finder Eagle, which also displays surface water temperature and speed. In the shallow water the Tri-finder gives nice wide coverage. I dont need fine detail, or lots of pixels. If I were to upgrade, I would go with one of the 3-D units to display the shape of the channel (bottom).<br /><br />When Im drift fishing for steelhead (small, fast, rivers) from a Fish Cat or a drift boat, I use a Fishing Buddy. It lets me look out to the side, all the way around, to check for under-cut banks, or to inspect holding areas without floating over the top and putting the fish down. It runs on c-cells, so I dont need a heavy battery. When I move on, the whole unit comes out of the water, so that when I drag bottom or bounce off the boulders in white water theres no outside transducer to hang up or be destroyed. I really like my Fishing Buddy; its relatively cheap, durable and very functional.<br /><br />When Im fishing the Finger Lakes in New York (large deep lakes,) Im trolling deep (100) for Lake Trout. There, I use a much more expensive Koden Color Video. The much narrower beam angle is fine for this depth, and allows me to fine tune the transducer so that the beam just misses my downrigger weight. (Otherwise the constant return from the downrigger weight masks every thing else at that depth.) The fine detail, and tremendous dynamic range of the color video actually allow me to spot the thermocline(s), which are crucial to catching fish. If I were fishing for Rainbows, Browns, or Land-locks which are progressively higher in the water column, I would still need to find the thermoclines, but I would also need to see out to the sides, because these fish move out and away from the boat as you troll by, and we fish for them from long lines or side planers.<br /><br />When fishing for bass in shallow, slack, water, I would want to know not only the depth but the character of bottom hard, sandy, muddy, weedy, brushy, etc. Elaborate "Gray-line" or "White-line" systems are available for this. I would also mount a side looking sonar on my bow mount trolling motor.<br /><br /> I usually re-read the instruction book on each of my fish finders every year, but my fishing mate likes the instructional videos which are now widely available. With practice and knowledge you can become increasingly expert. In general, identifying a particular species of fish by sonar comes from knowing where and when that species hangs out, and not from any peculiarities of the symbol on the screen, no matter how expensive the instrument.<br /><br />In my humble opinion
Si Squid, I havent been able to figure out whether you are trolling, drifting, anchored, or poking around and casting. Each would have somewhat different needs. I would think that chatting up local guides could effectively give you the information that you want on features and brands. Of course, you need to take it all with a grain of salt, and separate the bluster from the fact. And admit that you wont have the perfect instrument on your first try. If for no other reason than that the instruments keep getting better. Start small. Unless you troll a Fishing Buddy is not a bad place to start very versatile. If you troll, youll need something permanently mounted.<br /><br />I have used a number of different fish finders over the years, ranging from the old flashers to a Koden color video. My general impression is that most of the name manufacturers build good units, and that prices and quality are competitive. You get what you pay for. The more features, the more expensive, so only buy the features that you will use. <br /><br />For example, when Im fishing the Columbia River (big river) for salmon, the water is relatively shallow (typically less than 50 feet) and often very turbulent and full of bubbles and sediment, which block sonar. Mostly, I want to know whether there are fish present, and how deep. When Im trolling, I may want to follow a 24 depth contour at 2 mph. For this use, I have a relatively inexpensive Tri-finder Eagle, which also displays surface water temperature and speed. In the shallow water the Tri-finder gives nice wide coverage. I dont need fine detail, or lots of pixels. If I were to upgrade, I would go with one of the 3-D units to display the shape of the channel (bottom).<br /><br />When Im drift fishing for steelhead (small, fast, rivers) from a Fish Cat or a drift boat, I use a Fishing Buddy. It lets me look out to the side, all the way around, to check for under-cut banks, or to inspect holding areas without floating over the top and putting the fish down. It runs on c-cells, so I dont need a heavy battery. When I move on, the whole unit comes out of the water, so that when I drag bottom or bounce off the boulders in white water theres no outside transducer to hang up or be destroyed. I really like my Fishing Buddy; its relatively cheap, durable and very functional.<br /><br />When Im fishing the Finger Lakes in New York (large deep lakes,) Im trolling deep (100) for Lake Trout. There, I use a much more expensive Koden Color Video. The much narrower beam angle is fine for this depth, and allows me to fine tune the transducer so that the beam just misses my downrigger weight. (Otherwise the constant return from the downrigger weight masks every thing else at that depth.) The fine detail, and tremendous dynamic range of the color video actually allow me to spot the thermocline(s), which are crucial to catching fish. If I were fishing for Rainbows, Browns, or Land-locks which are progressively higher in the water column, I would still need to find the thermoclines, but I would also need to see out to the sides, because these fish move out and away from the boat as you troll by, and we fish for them from long lines or side planers.<br /><br />When fishing for bass in shallow, slack, water, I would want to know not only the depth but the character of bottom hard, sandy, muddy, weedy, brushy, etc. Elaborate "Gray-line" or "White-line" systems are available for this. I would also mount a side looking sonar on my bow mount trolling motor.<br /><br /> I usually re-read the instruction book on each of my fish finders every year, but my fishing mate likes the instructional videos which are now widely available. With practice and knowledge you can become increasingly expert. In general, identifying a particular species of fish by sonar comes from knowing where and when that species hangs out, and not from any peculiarities of the symbol on the screen, no matter how expensive the instrument.<br /><br />In my humble opinion