fishfinder purchase

skoda · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:04 am Post subject: fishfinder purchase

i want to upgrade my electronics and would love some tips
i have a 13 ft with 15 hp and a crappy fishfinder that is mainly for depth

any suggestions ? somewhat 250 ~ 300 $

jwall046 · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:32 am Post subject:

Check out some of the new Lowrance units. They just came out with more this year. U can get sonar/side imaging combo i believe for a good price.
One of the things to review is pixel count. I'd get color too.
If you go to the sportsman show they will have a booth there from Garmin,Hummingbird and Lowrance and you can get more info than can handle.

maddog · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:57 pm Post subject:

Side imaging (Humminbird) or Structure Scan (Lowrance) (same thing different name) will increase the price by a large amount. The Lowrance SC starts with the HDS-5 Gen 2 which you can get with just a transducer for sonar but that starts at around $700. To add the structure scan you have to have the LSS-1 unit (+$600). Gen 1 stuff is cheaper and they are offering a rebate through the beginning of February. Difference between the generations is processer speed/memory/new feature called structure map. But for $300 you can still get a good unit in the 5" screen size that does standard sonar and temperature. They do make some nice GPS/Sonar combos that are Navionics capable for around $400. The Humminbird® 385ci Compact Sonar-GPS-Chartplotter Combo and Lowrance® Elite-5 Fishfinder/GPS Chartplotter would probably do the trick. Check the specs between the two because I'm not sure the pixel count is the same between the two.

volume4130 · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:19 pm Post subject:

I just picked up the Humminbird® 385ci Compact Sonar-GPS-Chartplotter Combo that was mentioned above, but I got the ice combo. It was $440, the non-ice one is a bit less expensive. I havent' played around with it yet, so I can't tell you much about it, other than it looks nice and its a good size. The ice version comes with a flasher setting and a carrying case, but it's also mountable in a small boat, so it's like killing 2 birds with one stone. This whole set up is not very big, so it shouldn't take up too much space in your boat - I plan to use mine in my kayak this spring without any issue.

jwall046 · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:28 pm Post subject:

Nice addition Ted.
It will be awesome to use on the ice next year too! Laughing

volume4130 · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:29 pm Post subject:

Haha...yes...next year! guess there wasn't much need to rush that purchase Smile

pocketfisherman · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:43 pm Post subject:

Don't worry you ice fishermen. It's gonna get colder before it starts getting warmer on a regular basis. We got 2 good months plus left of winter unfortunately!