Members fezmomasher Posted June 11, 2014 Members Share Posted June 11, 2014 Hi folks - Just moved back to NWA and stoked to get back out on the water after a two year hiatus. Any chance anyone has some advice for the best bang for the buck in terms of fish finders for Beaver? Looking in the 700-1000$ price range as a max and planning to focus on stripers and walleye. This forum has been super helpful. Looking forward to returning the favor with some fishing reports once I dig out from under the moving boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDSOXWSCHAMP Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 any lowrance 7" screen and smaller is gonna be under $1000 hummingbird 959 $1,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BIGBASSDAVEY Posted June 11, 2014 Members Share Posted June 11, 2014 Don't know how close you are to cabelas but they often have good deals on graphs in the bargain cave. A lot of the time they are just new returns that have never been out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feathers and Fins Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Its kinda like when people ask about what spinning reel to get... I tell them to try lots at the store, ask many people for advise, read all the revues and then buy Shimano... Same holds true for fish finders Do all that then buy a Lowrance https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beaver-Lake-Arkansas-Fishing-Report/745541178798856 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarraspook Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 DIDO- what F&F said..... "Look up OPTIMIST in the dictionary - there is a picture of a fishing boat being launched" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF52 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 The expensive ones are not any better than the 150 dollar ones if you don't spend many many hours learning how to interpret the display. That's my situation. About all I can tell is depth, temp, and boat speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5bites Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Its kinda like when people ask about what spinning reel to get... I tell them to try lots at the store, ask many people for advise, read all the revues and then buy Shimano... Same holds true for fish finders Do all that then buy a Humminbird *FIXT* Personally in that range I'd order a new 899 from universalmania.com using the bbc discount, buy a used 898, or buy a used 998. New 998's can be had around $1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Doc Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Cabelas is cheaper than anyone right now on the Gen2 Lowrance combos. Need marine repair? Send our own forum friend "fishinwrench" a message. He will treat you like family!!! I owe fishinwrench a lot of thanks. He has been a great mechanic with lots of patience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Doc Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 F&F is right. It's a personal preference and experience thing. I've heard a few bad experiences about Lowrance not lasting more than a few years. I think that's user issue and they didn't take care of their graphs. If you take care of them, remove them from boat after use (if kept outside) and keep them clean, they should last many years. On sale for $1,200 now at Cabelas. You don't need the structure scan module with touch units. All inclusive with Insight mapping. Best bang for the buck at that price range. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lowrance174-HDS-7-Gen2-Touch-SonarGPS-Combo/1421711.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3FrecordsPerPage%3D18%26No%3D0%26N%3D0%26nl%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dlowrance%2Bhds%26search%3DSearch&No=0&Ntt=lowrance+hds If you're targeting walleye and stripers, you need side scan. Helps reduce a lot of wasted time. Need marine repair? Send our own forum friend "fishinwrench" a message. He will treat you like family!!! I owe fishinwrench a lot of thanks. He has been a great mechanic with lots of patience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members marknsaw Posted June 12, 2014 Members Share Posted June 12, 2014 Get what you can afford. Bells and whistles aside... Big screen ( more real estate...easier on eyes), NAV/GPS compatible and upgradable ( BEST tool in the box ). These 2 features will allow you to fish where and why. Side scan or 360 are features that would be nice, but are not essential. Focus on those 2 and you won't go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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