What is the best fish finder out there?

[TEAM CATTER]

so, what is the best fish finder out on the market today. Someone told me that their is a fish finder detach cats on the bottom or cats in general.If,so which fish finder is it. I'm willing to pay a pretty pennie to get all the feactures like color and GPS.THANKS

[Catfishhunter]

You can't beat a Lowrance...

[ShilohRed]

You can't beat a Lowrance...

That is not what you told me the other day in my boat. LOL

There is no easy way to answer this question. Because theres a bunch of great units out there. and each person will pick a different unit.
So I would day post how you fish and what you expect out of the unit. And then you will get a lot better answer.
Also for me its the Humminbird 987c SI. See what is there not just think you know what is there.
Also if not used right. None if them are good. To get the most out of a unit spend lots of time working and learning the unit. not fishing .
Pete
Would you like to see trees?
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Or standard like this?
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Humminbird 987c SI High but you get what you pay for.

[katcatchingfool]

hey team catter who is that little guy in your avatar i know that aint you ive seen you before and you aint that cute lol

[fishhook]

I don't have picture's of my screen on here but I just installed a Lowrance 339cDF iGPS on my boat and it has a lot more clear and sharper detail then the pictures previously posted but like what has already been said, you get what you pay for and this unit is kinda pricey. What you want to look for is the power in watts peak to peak. The 339c has 4000 watts peak to peak which lets you see more detail on the bottom like structure or fish and works good in muddy water which shows as clutter on most units.

[TEAM CATTER]

Someone told me that the lowrance 400 can pick up the different between scale fish and catfish. Is that true. katfishfool that is my new fishing partner until you heal up and he does catch to many drums.

[cat tamer]

the humminbird 777 is one that I rely on the most

[dcaruthers]

I'm in the market also...you guys put some prices along with the units your pushing. It helps me decipher the term "a bit pricey"

[Catfishhunter]

Pete, I love the side imaging but I like my sonar better. Maybe when you learn how to set the sonar up I might change my mind.LMAO...

[Mr.T]

Someone told me that the lowrance 400 can pick up the different between scale fish and catfish. Is that true.

I've seen folks post here and elsewhere that they can tell the difference between a fish with scales and a catfish by the shape of the echo on their sonar.

Personally, I think it's a bunch of hooey. But they can't prove they're right and I can't prove they're wrong.

[Mr.T]

I'm in the market also...you guys put some prices along with the units your pushing. It helps me decipher the term "a bit pricey"

That Humminbird side-imaging unit that Pete has is about $2k or just a little less.

"A bit pricey" is an understatement.

[blackwaterkatz]

I know there are plenty of people who are much more proficient in using sonar than I am, so I sent an email to lowrance pertaining to this question. This is the reply I received:

Thank you for your inquiry. Sonar detects fish by essentially bouncing the signal off of the swim bladder. ALL fish have swim bladders, however,some fish, like salmon has a VERY small one. The arch seen on the screen is a result of movement from the boat and of the void created by this swim bladder in the water as the echo is reflected back to the transducer and interpreted by the unit. The shape of the arch is no indication of species or skin type of the fish it is registering.
Please feel free to contact us if we may be of further assistance.
Thank you for Choosing Lowrance Electronics
12000 E. Skelly Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74128
1-800-324-1356
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I'm not arguing the point, simply posting what lowrance's tech person said. There are excellent tutorials at lowrance and other sites that give very good explanations of arches and how to read them. Each person has to learn and understand them as he/she sees fit. Remember, belief is the the biggest part on confidence!

[blackwaterkatz]

You gotta have confidence in your equipment. Learn to use it, then trust it. I still remember the first time I ran my boat in pea soup thick fog, relying solely on my gps route that I had saved. My instincts told me the gps was wrong, but I stuck with it, and lo, I ended up exactly where I was headed. I learned that day to trust my equipment ('course I still carry a back-up :lol: ). If someone believes there sonar shows scales, so be it.
As for the best unit, go to the various websites and compare features. You get what you pay for. My preference is lowrance, of course, but I've owned humminbird and eagle in the past. Eagle is very good for the buck. I've only owned cheaper versions of humminbird, so I can't speak for them. The things to look for are power, screen resolution, screen size, and ease of use. If you are fishing in 50' of water all the time, you may not need the 4000 or 8000 watts of power. I have an eagle fishmark 480 @ 1500 watts that does an excellent job, but I upgraded to a lowrance x107cdf w/4000W because I wanted more power and the color screen. I'm still learning the characteristics of the new unit. It is much more sensitive to the various settings, I suppose because of the extra power.

[spoonfish]

You might check here.
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They have some of the best prices I've found.

[blackwaterkatz]

This is a very good basic tutorial of how sonar works:
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This is one of the best tutorials I've seen for interpreting what you see on the screen:
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And, one on GPS, if anyone is interested.[Link only for Registered Members]

[fishhook]

I also have an Eagle fish finder on my 25' Carver. I installed this 339c on my 17' Invader reef runner. I like the Lowrance better and it costs $699.99 plus shipping at Bass-Pro, Cabela's or West Marine. They just came out with the 339c this year.

[ShilohRed]

That Humminbird side-imaging unit that Pete has is about $2k or just a little less.

"A bit pricey" is an understatement.

It was $1749. Look around on line and it can be found for around that now. but most places have it for $1999. And yes it does cost a few $$ But what other depth finder can you find all the trees even rocks or other stuff to fish. Like this picture.
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Its not for everyone. but sure cuts down on all the extra time finding new spots to fish.

Also James. I has the unit cranked up to see the smaller arches i that picture.
Pete
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Her is a tree. Yes a tree on a drop and its on side imaging and standard unit. That gives you a better ideal of what is there.
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Here is what a ball of bait fish and fish feeding on them look like on this unit.
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[dcaruthers]

Thanks for all the info folks. With the amount of money involved, I will probably go out on a few boats before I decide. I always have had a bad habbit of paying for extra features that I never use. Maybe I can make my mind up at the gathering if there are good demos of a few different types.

[Shanadoia]

My reply to this posts is that i agree with puttin a price out there for someone to go by which weeds out the one you know you cannot afford and maybe one that you can... I just bought an Eagle Fishmark 320 on ebay... I could have gotten it from wal-mart where i work but on ebay at that time i actully saved only 39 bucks and had to go through the process and bid, bid and more bids and wait forever it seemed. At wal-mart online only you can get it now and it has been rolled bacl from 188 to 168 dollars and be to you in 2 days so think about that... The fishmark 320 is a great unit at a great price in my opinion. I also come with temp sensor built in the unit and transducer. Take a look at it at walmart if you like..

[duxsrus]

The old saying "It ain't the size of the tool, it's how you use it" kind of applies here. If someone doesn't know how to correctly use a sonar, it doesn't matter what they got. If you leave the fish symbols ON with any of the modern sonars, they're all going to show you fish everywhere.:lol:

[Shanadoia]

For all that are interested here is a pic. of the Eagle Fishmark 320

[Shanadoia]

Sorry, i had to resize the pic so i could upload it to this reply so here is a pic of the a Fishmark 320

[beeheck]

I have two of the FishMark 320's and they are good units and I can say without boasting that I can read mine as good as any person out there. I just used mine last night and to recount a little of how well I can read one of these things.... 10 feet.........11.5 feet.........back to 10 feet...... etc., etc. lol
Just kidding but what I'm trying to say is that your fish locater is only as good as the person using its ability to interpret what is on the screen. For years I have just read depth of water and was so bad at using it I used the little fishy pictures to help me determine fish. I have since started using it more like what it was intended and while I'm a long way from being proficient with it I feel more comfortable with it. Lots of posts on here got me to buck up and just start using it right and to study the screen and not just look at it and feel over whelmed. We USED it on LOZ a couple weeks ago and the 320 could use a little more power for clarity and separation but I can find fish where before as written above all I could do with it was tell the depth of water. Lots more to learn before I go for a better unit.

[dcaruthers]

I plan on having plenty of discussions on the topic at the gathering. See ya'll there.

[Cheez]

In the same price range most all of the units are about the same. I have owned Eagle,Lowrance,Garmin and Humminbird. Humminbird is by far the easiest to learn to use. You have to go around the world on the Lowrance units to get to menu options that are just a couple button pushes on a Humminbird. If you have access to a Bass Pro Shop you can see exactly what I mean at their marine electronics counter. Read the specs and listen to others opinions because they are very helpful. Before you buy though, go see for yourself.Also listen to the guys when they say to learn your unit!
Hope this helps.

whatever it takes

Cheez

[TEAM CATTER]

I'M STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED I'M GOING TO BASS PRO TO PLAY WITH SOME ON MY DAY OFF.:ooooh:

[swampthang_matt]

the one me and dad have on are boat is called a humminbird dad said it has been out for a long time so i guss that means it is good:big_smile: