Fish Finder Opinions

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cornbread

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Fish Finder Opinions

I'm currently in the market for a new Fish Finder to replace the stock fish finder (cheap and pretty useless) that came with my boat. I'm not looking for anything really fancy, just something with a GPS, color, and better detail regarding structure, fish, etc.

Just a recreational fisherman.

Is Down Imaging more accurate than the standard sonar? And what do thank about it if you have it.


Just curious to hear from Yawl.


Thanks for the input!
 
"Down Imaging", which could be referred to as Hummingbird's Side Imaging (Si) , Lowrances's Structure Scan (LSS-1), etc. is imaging technology and in a class of its own and, of course, are not inexpensive. There are many other types if fish-seeking technologies (which do not include the highly advanced imaging technology) that are very sophisticated and some with every "bell and whistle" that you might want according to a budget, if any. I have an idea that users of these various "fish-finders" here will help point you in the right direction.
 
I have the Lowrance hds7 with the structure scan unit.
It is fantastic. The down scan image is much more detailed than the regular image i get on the depth finder.
You can see the the branches of a tree or lay down clearly you can see the grass also. bait fish and bigger fish can also be seen.
now to have both the structure scan that gives you both down scan and side scan you are looking at around $1000. hummingbird also has the side scan sonar for a bit cheaper and you can download their version of down scan for free. but still looking at $700plus.
 
I wish I could justify a $1000.00 for a fish finder.

A $1000.00 fish finder on my 14 ft John would look out of place but it would look good don’t you thank.

I will be standing by to see what others have to add.

Thank you,
 
Post a budget, and I'm sure you'll get some suggestions on specific units that folks could recommend for ya.
 
After looking for about 6 months, I just picked up the Humminbird 798ci Side Imaging for $699 at Cabelas. I figured it was a no-brainer because it was the same price as the HDS-5 but had the side imaging and downscan technology. Looks like they have a new model coming in 2011(called 798ci HD) so I'm guessing that's why they were discounted so much. You might be able to find a model like this for a similar price range. I know Fleet Farm up here had them for $800(regular $1049).

Since it's winter up here I set it up portable for ice fishing until spring. I haven't had it on the water but it seams much more user friendly than the Eagle 320 I had previously.

Also, the 2011 Lowrance Elite units have downscan added to them for 2011.
 

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