What type of fish finder do you use?

[atuck593]

I am in the market for a fish finder. I have a budget from $200 - $250. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know for certain that I would like to have dual beam sonar as well as GPS. Down imagining would be nice but I know that its expensive. I plan on fishing a few bigger lakes this summer and not that I would get lost, but I would like to use the map feature to show depths and location to try to find a few hot spots on my own. I have looked at a few Humminbirds online around the $250 mark that would meet my needs, but I am not sure on the other brands ( Garmin... Lowrance...etc.)? Does anyone have any input or suggestions for a finder that would meet the needs? Grayscale is ok and screen size 3" - 5".

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I don't have a specific recommendation that fits your bill. I am mainly experienced with HB units, so will comment on them. The lower end HB's typically do not come with any depth maps. Any built in maps are outline only, until you get up to 700 series. Make sure they can accept a map card. Just because they have gps does not mean they have that capabilty. If they do, HB uses Navionics or Lakemaster cards. Lakemaster doesn't cover PA or NY so it will be Navionics only. You will have to check with Navionics if your lakes are included in the NE addition. The lakes will vary in detail. The HD lakes are the best with 1-2' details. Most are much broader, with 10' or more depth lines. A Navionics map chip will be about another $100.

 

[muskiemike12]

Last year I picked up a nice little B/W Humminbird unit w/ GPS. 581i is the model and it goes for under $300 at Cabela's.

 

[wihil]

Lowrance's new Mark 4 series is B/W with GPS for about 200 or less if you shop around, leaves you a little extra money to find a used map chip or pony up the extra for a new one. The Elite 4 with GPS and color moves it up to 300ish. Got to play with the new Elite 4 in a store last weekend, heck of a lot of value for the money if you can deal with a 3.5" screen.