Thoughts on a fish finder?

[Cybersnow]

My project boat is outfitted with an old Eagle fishfinder. Since I am going to be doing some rewiring, thought I might replace the fishfinder with one that would be excellent for trolling for Kokanee. I used to run Lowrances on my boats, but that was 15 years ago. Not at all up to date on fishing electronics. Any suggestions?

 

[SuperD]

Budget plays the biggest factor in selecting electronics so knowing what you'd like to spend would be my first question. My second and third question would be whether you have interest in down imaging or side imaging?

 

[nofish]

Like Dave says find out what features are important to you and get the best you can afford. One thing I will add is screan size is something to look at. The older I get the bigger screan need.

 

[SuperD]

...... and going from what you have, anything you upgrade to will seem great. laugh hyst laugh hyst

 

[jacksdad]

I am also interested in what your suggestions would be. I have an older first gen hds that gave me a few problems last season, so I've been considering an upgrade. To those of you who have side and down scan, is it worth the price of admission and do you utilize it for kokanee in any way? Secondly, what functions do you guys find most critical for kokanee fishing? I hope I didn't hi-jack this thread, I'm pretty green to these forums as well. Thanks

 

[Cybersnow]

Thanks for the inputs.

From a budget perspective, hadn’t really thought about it. Best answer would be hopefully under $1,000.

From a use perspective...trolling for Kokanee across the Western States, maybe some trout in smaller lakes. Not sure about down, side, CHIRP, looking for advice.

Screen size, not a lot of room on the boat, so maybe 7”. Unit in the boat now is maybe 3.5”

Would like to stay with a well known manufacturer like Garmin, Lowrance, Hummingbird, etc.

Last fresh water boat was in 1997, so way out of date!

 

[SuperD]

Last Spring, I paid $799 for a Humminbird Helix 9 Chirp. I’m not a bells & whistle user like some and found it to be great for Kokes and trout at a price that didn’t break the bank. Humminbird has just recently released the new Gen3 Helix and I’ve heard the upgrades were marginal and a significant jump in price. The Gen2 are still available and I think worth you taking a look at.

 

[Cybersnow]

Spent a few hours looking at specs and reviews on Lowrance, Garmin and Bottomline. Think I agree that I want the Hummingbird Helix in either 7 or 9 inch screen. They make a version with chirp, SI and DI. Haven’t found a good source for the Gen2 but Gen3 might be on sale...will start watching for it. Thanks!

 

[CDK]

My thoughts?
I am one of the 1 in 12 men (8%) that are color blind. All the bells and whistles are designed for the rest of you.101yawn
Now incorporate the new designs into monochrome.tooexcited

 

[Pnwfisher519]

Running the new elite ti9 from lowrance and love it

 

[SuperD]

Running the new elite ti9 from lowrance and love it

How much are you using the multiple screen views? I avoided total imaging because I was never clear what I was looking at in the down and side imaging. 2D sonar and GPS seems to work for me so it is what I feel comfortable with. I'm curious how beneficial other Kokanee fishermen have found the total imaging to be.

 

[Pnwfisher519]

How much are you using the multiple screen views? I avoided total imaging because I was never clear what I was looking at in the down and side imaging. 2D sonar and GPS seems to work for me so it is what I feel comfortable with. I'm curious how beneficial other Kokanee fishermen have found the total imaging to be.

I run 4 screens, sonar, down imaging. Map, and speed. Down imaging has been crystal clear so far. I love the split screens. I can run a zoomed view of the sonar and a non zoomed view. Took about 2 hours to fine tune all the settings but man the chirp sonar is hands down amazing

 

[Cybersnow]

I steered away from Lowrance because of some poor reviews I read. Anyone have any experience with dealing with their support folks?

 

[KokaneeJoe]

Another option is Raymarine. I have used a Dragonfly 7 Pro for 2 seasons and am happy with it. You can get one with Navionics charts for about $500 on Amazon.

 

[bob r]

I steered away from Lowrance because of some poor reviews I read. Anyone have any experience with dealing with their support folks?

I have had Lowrance units for almost 20 years, all interactions with them have been great, when my transducer stopped sending temp. readings they sent a new one out, didn't even have to send the old one back. All help with technical issues have been great. I ran a 527 on our smaller boat, still use it on the canoe. New boat has a HDS 7 gen. 3, , down scan, side scan, all works great. Mapping included with unit is good, I haven't had to upgrade to Navionics although I did on the older unit. New maps are good, at least for salt water. If you do a lot of bass fishing you prob. want to upgrade to Navionics for more lake maps. Bob R P.S. I do have a small unit that is brand new for sale, good for small boat or kayak, Hook 2, 4x. Only $100 brand new in box.

 

[Bduck]

Another option is Raymarine. I have used a Dragonfly 7 Pro for 2 seasons and am happy with it. You can get one with Navionics charts for about $500 on Amazon.

Been using the RM Dragonfly 7Pro for 3yrs. I also like this simple to use without some of the bells & whistles unit. I lost my taste for Lowrance long ago after using them for a few years. Now I'm eyeing my 3rd Raymarine which is the Element. Dragonfly has down vision and no side vision which was a main factor in what I wanted. The Element has both which I believe is becoming the standard in todays units and pricing is competitive. It's available in a 7" 9" & 12" models.

http://www.raymarine.com/element/

 

[Cybersnow]

Ok, narrowed to A few manufacturers, I have owned several Lowrances in the past and never had any issues with them or their tech support. Any ideas where I can get my hands on a few of them to actually see the displays, etc?

 

[bob r]

Ok, narrowed to A few manufacturers, I have owned several Lowrances in the past and never had any issues with them or their tech support. Any ideas where I can get my hands on a few of them to actually see the displays, etc?

any Cabela's or Bass Pro shops carry them, prob. any dedicated sporting goods store.

 

[penak]

Tagged, this seems like a very interesting thread

 

[CDK]

any Cabela's or Bass Pro shops carry them, prob. any dedicated sporting goods store.

The problem is that carry/sells does not mean knowledgeable sales people. I know this from experience.bandmyhead