I'm searching out info on fish finders and since I'm a new to them and how they work I was wondering if you guys can help me. So far I'm looking at the Humming Bird 565 or the 535 with transom mount, temp, depth, don't care about speed. Not interested in color either. Also the boat that I'm going to use it on would be used in shallow water applications, 5ft to 20ft. I want this for finding structure. I looking to spend around 200.00 and I'm not tied to one manufacture. Any advice will would be welcome, is there one better than the others? So far I see there are single and dual frequencies, clarification? How about 250 RMS ? or 2500 watts ? Thanks for the help Ram
I don't know much about the details, but I bought an Eagle Cuda 168 for my micro and I love it. Reads into water at one foot. All the things I've heard is that it works as well as fish finders three times its price (I got it for $70 at Bass Pro). It's good with depth and temp. I don't know about technical stuff but I've heard that "weaker" fish finders work better for shallow water applications, i.e. you don't want one too powerful. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will chime in and sharpen my point!
ok here ya go. A single frequency unit will do absolutely fine for you, which is a 200kh unit. the cuda 168 mentioned above would be perfect that is the unit that will be going on my gheenoe if i dont sell it or on my new gheenoe if i do. duel frequency units are mainly for the boater that doen a mix of both if you are gonna be staying shallower than 100ft you will be fine. Alex
Definately go with something basic! Up here in the great lakes you'll find the real fancy ones on the porcupine boats (down rigger rods sticking out the stern like a porkys ass) but they're using them to locate fish in 100-600ft. You can get away with something cheap and simple. I have a simple hummingbird on my micro for the lakes and rivers I fish on the regular (the deepest end of things is usually 80-90ft) and mostly to locate structure and drop off's. Definately want a transom mount and keep it away from your cavitation plate, hull strakes, or trim tabs to keep the interfence "noise" to a minimum. I wouldn't spend more than 120 bucks if I were you. I'll post a few pics of how I did mine on here so you can see how I did it.
I had a Garmin 300c that my girlfriend had bought me for valentines day, but I returned it to buy one that comes with a chart plotter. It's going to cost me around 500 bucks. Are you guys saying I shouldn't get it? My boat previously had a Humming Bird but the signal got messed up, so I threw it away.
The problem with a fish finder for inshore thin water fishing is that you will not really be able to use it....the boat will scare the fish long before you can see them on the fish finder. Temperature readings may be helpful if your unit provides this feature. For a bit deeper water you will have more success. Depth and Temp are nice to have info on as well as the fish.
Well, I also fish a lot in local fresh water lakes, and I've always wondered how deep they are, and if there's any structure to fish in. Also when I'm in the bay, there's areas that are deep, and the grass flat where I fish for trout, ranges from a foot to about 3, 4 feet depending on area and tide.
I am saving the cash and waiting for a deal on a very good GPS map unit. most of the time I can see how deep it is and feel the temp. Looking to get a better map unit and skipping the fish finder
Thanks for all the info everyone. A guy here at work just gave a older Hummingbird 300tx. It works but its dual frequency with temp and speed. I'll run with that for now and see how it works. My boat is still in pieces and should be done in a month or so. We will see if that fish finder works and if its any good, price was right
RAM - Any updates? I'm thinking about adding a Lowrance XD50 for $107. I know there are some deep holes and/or structure in a few places, just can' prove it!
humminbird 383=sonar w/gpsmap basic--put it on my riverhawk and love it----used a ram mount least expen. w/ the goodies
