Members solus_vero Posted January 27, 2010 Members Posted January 27, 2010 In Your opinion, what is the best Fish finder made ? Eagle, Lowrance, Hummingbird? Side scan, GPS, etc? Have you had any bad experiences with certain fish finders? I am looking to purchase a good quality fish finder and I don't mind paying a little more for quality but I haven't had that much experience with them and I don't want to get stuck with a P.O.S. If you know of any links to reviews it would be nice to see them. Solus_vero ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Latin for - " Only The Truth"
Dutch Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 I would steer clear of Eagle as most, if not all, can not be networked. I have heard good and bad about Low and Bird. I run low units and would like to be able to afford the new HDS10 with sturcture scan but I am a poor boy. There is a website that has lots of chatter about df/gps units. You might want to go there and do some reading. There is lots of info. It is bassboatscentral.
troutgnat Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 My friend you have opened a can of worms now..........LOL. There are quite a few posts on here about this already, use your search button. There are some recent posts in the Table Rock forum. Darren Sadler "Fishing is an Education...Often the fish 'school' me, yet I do not complain. I just keep going to class!"
bigredbirdfan Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 This is like the ford vs chevy and coke vs pepsi . Everyone his their own experinces, preferences and taste. In addition those offering opinions here also have affiliations (sponserships) with some of the boat manufacturers, fishing eq., batteries and electronic eq. So It would be nice on this forum if those who have relationships would disclose this information when offer opinions. Anyway, I'm looking for one as well and I believe that both hummingbird and lowrance to be equal in quality (someone will take exception to this). The lowrance models can include lake maps for the entire US. The lake maps are avail with hummingbird but you buy them for the regions. Just be prepared to part with $800-$1000 for smaller screens and $1,200 to $1,500 for larger screen. OOUCH!
FishinCricket Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 In Your opinion, what is the best Fish finder made ? Eagle, Lowrance, Hummingbird? Side scan, GPS, etc? Have you had any bad experiences with certain fish finders? I am looking to purchase a good quality fish finder and I don't mind paying a little more for quality but I haven't had that much experience with them and I don't want to get stuck with a P.O.S. If you know of any links to reviews it would be nice to see them. The best fish finder is a Cricket in the front of the boat, but you won't like the hourly rate.. Only the Truth, scouts honor!! !! Good luck in your fish finder hunt, I look forward to helping you learn how to use it.. Bwahahaha!!! Might want to identify for these fine advisor fellows what type of boat this fishie finder will be for, as well as what type of options you are looking for and what type of water you will be fishing on mainly.. Might even throw in what species you are targeting.. You fish the lakes exclusively, drift for cats, hunt for bass or crappie/whites.. I know you want one that has two different screens, one for the front of the boat and one for the console.. What else? cricket.c21.com
KCRIVERRAT Posted January 28, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 My guess is a guide or a gull... (sorry guys) HUMAN RELATIONS MANAGER @ OZARK FISHING EXPEDITIONS
Members solus_vero Posted January 28, 2010 Author Members Posted January 28, 2010 Seams as though I may have hit on a touchy subject to some. Like Mr. Bigredbirdfan said, Fords and Chevy's. I haven't been around fish finders enough to be biased in my opinion so they are all optional to me for now. I have done a little research and this is what I have found,, WOW !! TMI !! I had no Idea there were so many options! The first thing is price, (of course). Put in order of cost (cheapest first) it would be, Eagle, (Eagle Fish Finders are made by Lowrance). Hummingbird, Lowrance, Garman. As far as Quality, the list would be exactly backwards (of course). It is all according to the type of fishing a person does. They make fish finders that you can use from the bank (You cast out the transducer and it floats on the surface like a bobber). If your fishing from a sea going boat catching shrimp, of course you need more than a bobber you can cast out. Mr. Fishing cricket asked what kind of boat/fishing I'd be doing so,,, I have a 17ft 05 Nitro Bass Boat. I'll be fishing the local lakes, LOZ, Pomme,Tanny, Truman and hopefully Table rock. I'd like to get a fish finder in the front of the boat with a screen big enough to see from the steering console, side scan, dual beam, GPS with chart mapping and maps of US lakes installed (or at least included). As far as networking goes, I'm not quit sure what that is yet. I was up till 3:00am reading reviews and I passes out about the same time I got too "Networking". Right now, I am leaning towards something in the Hummingbird 900 series. It's all still up in the air though. That is kinda the reason I started this thread. To gather as much information as possible to make a good informed decision and maybe help a few other fellow anglers at the same time. Especially sense these dern things are SO DARN EXPENCIVE !!!! Maybe I should just watch for the gulls like Mr. Kcriverrat suggested. Sure would save a lot of $$. On a different note, I personally seen Mr. Fishing Cricket catch 2 fish on the same lure(I think it was a Goggle eye and a small mouth) So maybe I should just nail his feet to the deck of my boat. Solus_vero ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Latin for - " Only The Truth"
FishinCricket Posted January 28, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 On a different note, I personally seen Mr. Fishing Cricket catch 2 fish on the same lure(I think it was a Goggle eye and a small mouth) So maybe I should just nail his feet to the deck of my boat. snicker, snicker.. Yeah, I cost a bit more than a garmin.. especially if you expect me to put my fishing pole down and direct you toward the fish! On a similar note: on the very next fishing trip I Solus outfished me by darned near 100 fish! (from now on the rules clearly state that shad don't count on the talley board!) cricket.c21.com
Gatorjet Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 Ford, Chevy, Dodge is right. Everybody will have an opinion. I won't even mention brands that I have. A graph on the bow, and a graph/GPS combination at the helm. The important thing will be to learn to use them correctly. My first suggestion would be to turn OFF the fish indicator that puts the little fish on the screen. Learn to read what the bottom is like, the structure, and cover. Use it to help you locate where the fish should be. Those little fish things only show something that is not touching the bottom. They could be sticks, weeds, trash, or what ever. They can be useful if everything else is right, but they can also be misleading and confusing. Real men go propless!
Members Adam B Posted January 29, 2010 Members Posted January 29, 2010 Well it is a little pricey but I have personally owned quite a few Lowrances and I have loved all of them but... One of my employees just bought 2 Lowrance Side Imaging units for the deck and console of his boat and man... Those things are sweet! We met up with a Lowrance Rep at a local boat show not long ago and looked and some more and they are unbelievable. He had some different pictures of all kinds of structures, sunken boats, and fish. Absolutely amazing. But like they say, Its really not cheating but the fish think otherwise. haha Adam B
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