Electronics Recommendation

[BleacherBum28]

I apologize as I know this type of question is asked 100 times, but after a few nights of research, I am more confused than ever. What do you all feel are the most important features of a sonar/depth finder. I am looking to replace an old sonar, and am not going to break the bank to do so. I am willing to spend up to $400. I would classify myself as less than a weekend warrior. I come to Table Rock once or twice a year for a week at a time, so it is hard to justify spending large amounts of money on a sonar that isn't used.

Features I am interested in

1) A decent size screen - 5''. I think anything smaller will be hard to read (especially for my father). The unit will be sitting on the console.

2) Must accurrately show fish depth

3) GPS/waypoints

The 2 units I am interested in are:

Hummingbird 596c

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Humminbird174-596c-HD-Sonar/1159124.uts?WTz_l=YMAL%3BIK-021612

Lowrance Eilte 5

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Boating-Electronics/Sonar-and-SonarGPS-Combos%7C/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104588280/Lowrance-Elite-5-DSI-Sonar-with-GPS/1158267.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsonar-and-sonar-gps-combos%2F_%2FN-1100517%2B4294716470%2FNe-4294716470%2FNs-MIN_SALE_PRICE%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104794380%253Bcat104707080%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104794380%3Bcat104707080%3Bcat104588280

Additional thoughts:

1) Since I don't get to fish as often as I would like, are there cheaper units available to do what I am looking for? It seems as though reviews are all over the place on many units. For example, the Lowrance unit, a lot of people complain it does not mark fish well, which I think is crucial for a 1 unit boat setup.

2) I think I am looking for a unit which will help narrow down my searching for fish. In order to do so, is the structure scan needed/worth it, or do you just need waypoints? Ie., stumble across a rock pile or tree etc. and mark it.

3) I mainly troll/drift crawlers looking for bass and the occassional walleye. Over the years, we have found a few points etc. which have produced, but need to more quickly narrow down productive water. Do you need down imaging to do so?

Thanks in advance.

[Iclass]

Tacklewarehouse has a 15% off sale going now til the 5th... Free shipping too. Good luck

[Feathers and Fins]

The E5 will do what you seem to want. But if you are not using it but a few times a year I would look at the Mark5 it is much lower in price but still gives good detail imo. Most people want color this and that but unless you are using the boat a lot B&W is just fine, I actually use B&W more than anything else on my HDS units.

[flyman]

I just bought the Humminbird 597 ci hd di which I believe is the same as the 596 that you shared except it has GPS. I absolutely LOVE it. Wish the screen was bigger but it's still large enough to be very useful. The screen is clear amd fish arches are very easy to see. Interface is very intuitive and most needed things are just a button push or two. I like that you can have side-by-side down imaging and traditional sonar views. I'm pretty sure that you can only see the DSI with Lowrance. The concensus of the reviews that I found was that Humminbird 500 series has better resolution than the Lowrance Elite 5. I wanted to buy the Lowrance but after looking at the 597, I felt it was a better buy. I know it's a bit more but I would go with the 597 for the GPS. It's great to load the MDC fish attractors and by a push of one button you can mark a waypoint. I got mine from Amazon. It was a little cheaper than Bass Pro. I joined the free trial of Amazon prime which gave me free 2nd day delivery. Installation was a cinch. I still need to adjust the transducer a little. High speeds are a little fuzzy. Instructions state this ia normal and requires a few adjustments to make it perfect. I dont know that I care too much honestly. It only gets fuzzy above 25 - 30 mph. I will fiddle with it a bit more but I'm ok with that. Either of those units will be great. Go to the store and compare if you can. You may like one more than the other.

[flyman]

Sorry for the typos - on phone. To answer the second part, you don't need the downscan imaging. It's a little easier to read the bottom if your not used to traditional sonar but not necessary. If you have a phone with GPS or a GPS unit then you can probably get by without that too. (It is handy though). I downloaded all the coordinates for fish attractors from MDC and just this past weekend located them with my new finder and had a great time. That's a good place to start. You will also find structure to mark on your own too.

[Guest Brian B.]

I hear Hummungbird has a "choose. Your transducer. Type" program going- that is if you prefer. The correct type, the hockey. Puck that straps directly under the trolling motor bullet- they don't make you essentially but two- you can pick transom or t-motor puck.. Or so I am told- that is a $75 savings from the first day.. $.02

[Billfo]

I JUST picked up an Lowrance Eilte 5. Have not installed it yet, but mainly got it for my console to replace my crapped out gps unit. I was able to transfer my navionics data fro a standard card to a micro sd for the Lowrance Eilte 5.. Will report later if it works... ( ill be back on Table Rock in 2 weeks) Last month I got a Humminbird DI HD unit for the rolling motor. THAT works great especially sitting still...

These were MY choices for what "I" think "I" needed on a cheap bastard budget..... Good luck in your decision..

I apologize as I know this type of question is asked 100 times, but after a few nights of research, I am more confused than ever. What do you all feel are the most important features of a sonar/depth finder. I am looking to replace an old sonar, and am not going to break the bank to do so. I am willing to spend up to $400. I would classify myself as less than a weekend warrior. I come to Table Rock once or twice a year for a week at a time, so it is hard to justify spending large amounts of money on a sonar that isn't used.

Features I am interested in

1) A decent size screen - 5''. I think anything smaller will be hard to read (especially for my father). The unit will be sitting on the console.

2) Must accurrately show fish depth

3) GPS/waypoints

The 2 units I am interested in are:

Hummingbird 596c

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Humminbird174-596c-HD-Sonar/1159124.uts?WTz_l=YMAL%3BIK-021612

Lowrance Eilte 5

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Boating-Electronics/Sonar-and-SonarGPS-Combos%7C/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104588280/Lowrance-Elite-5-DSI-Sonar-with-GPS/1158267.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsonar-and-sonar-gps-combos%2F_%2FN-1100517%2B4294716470%2FNe-4294716470%2FNs-MIN_SALE_PRICE%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104794380%253Bcat104707080%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104794380%3Bcat104707080%3Bcat104588280

Additional thoughts:

1) Since I don't get to fish as often as I would like, are there cheaper units available to do what I am looking for? It seems as though reviews are all over the place on many units. For example, the Lowrance unit, a lot of people complain it does not mark fish well, which I think is crucial for a 1 unit boat setup.

2) I think I am looking for a unit which will help narrow down my searching for fish. In order to do so, is the structure scan needed/worth it, or do you just need waypoints? Ie., stumble across a rock pile or tree etc. and mark it.

3) I mainly troll/drift crawlers looking for bass and the occassional walleye. Over the years, we have found a few points etc. which have produced, but need to more quickly narrow down productive water. Do you need down imaging to do so?

Thanks in advance.

[BleacherBum28]

Thanks for the help. I picked up the hummingbird 587 DI HD. Installation was a snap and so far I have been very impressed. FYI, I passed on the Elite 5 as it is the only unit in the boat and lacked the sonar I wanted. The 587 is doing everything I wanted... still learning all the features.

Put my personal best in the boat on the 5th. A 6lb, 25.5 inch walleye... funny thing was the new unit had nothing to do with it... pulled in, dropped my worm, played with the graph a sec and it was on... must have dropped it on its nose.

[flyman]

Glad you are happy with your finder. Nice catch too!

[Billfo]

WHAAAT ??? No PICTURES ?????? We want fish pictures !!!!!

Thanks for the help. I picked up the hummingbird 587 DI HD. Installation was a snap and so far I have been very impressed. FYI, I passed on the Elite 5 as it is the only unit in the boat and lacked the sonar I wanted. The 587 is doing everything I wanted... still learning all the features.

Put my personal best in the boat on the 5th. A 6lb, 25.5 inch walleye... funny thing was the new unit had nothing to do with it... pulled in, dropped my worm, played with the graph a sec and it was on... must have dropped it on its nose.