Fishfinder and or Combo Unit Reccomendation

[Bill]

Looking for a decent but small finder for next season..I got the Lowrance Elite 5 gps/sounder combo this year but I wasnt all that impressed with the sounder.. It was a good price (I think like $550) but bottom line is that I should have spent a bit more or maybe done a bit more research....I have seen a few decent ones on basspro and ebay but looking for an a recommendation..its going on my 19ft midland so nothing that big but I do want to be able to mark a lot better than this thing..I am considering selling this one and getting another combo unit or just getting a high def sounder..let me know what you got

 

[Bassin]

You have seen my fish finder/gps combo. I personaly like my combo for in the bay bass fishing, It reads the bay fine, But doesnt really get the job done in deeper water. A lot of people I know have garmin for their gps and they dont like them. On my old sea Craft I had a Lowrance Chartplotter and i loved it. I think you should stick to a gps finder combo just becuase of space. You dont want to have your whole console covered with screens.

Anyways good luck
- Nick

 

[Bill]

Ya I have seen yours .. I was just shopping basspro last night and saw this thing and just thought that I needed an upgrade..

http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-Fishfinder-596c-HD-DI-Sonar-Fishfinder/product/10210563/47951

 

[shoefish]

I have a Garmin 740S with a through hull and love it. I can run at any speeds and it won't lose bottom, picks up everything, and is really fast. I had heard bad things about Garmin so was hesitant to get it but have been really impressed with it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

 

[Bill]

Hey She.. first off welcome to the forum.. love that boat of yours..Im sure those lights bring up some nice bait at night..I will look into those garmins.. I looked at them before I bought this Lowrance but I just didnt like how you were roped into buying the card and the transducer seperate..but I think this time I will spend the extra money..where did you get yours?

 

[shoefish]

Hey She.. first off welcome to the forum.. love that boat of yours..Im sure those lights bring up some nice bait at night..I will look into those garmins.. I looked at them before I bought this Lowrance but I just didnt like how you were roped into buying the card and the transducer seperate..but I think this time I will spend the extra money..where did you get yours?

Hey Bill, thanks for the welcome and the kind words on the boat. The 740s actually doesn't need a card unless you want the 3d stuff- the standard machine comes with nav and bathymetric charts built in. It comes with a transom mount transducer which I had on it the first year. For all intensive purposes it worked great and didn't need to be replaced, but I just decided to do a through hull. I got mine from Navtronics in York ME. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!

 

[Blacktide]

I have a Garmin 540s that I love on my 18 footer. The Gps works great and has all the detail you need pre-loaded. You can get an addional card for sat images and 3-d stuff. I have been quite impressed with this unit and have owned it for 3 years, so much so I use it as a back up on my big boat. They have a newer model out now 546 or something like that which has even better resolution.
As far as the sounder goes my transducer is the transom mount and will loose the bottom at high speeds at times. Im sure it's the location of the mount because it works great at lower speeds. I have no problem marking individual fish on the screen. I only have used it in up to 70 feet of water so I can't vouch on anything beyond that.

 

[Blacktide]

I have a Garmin 540s that I love on my 18 footer. The Gps works great and has all the detail you need pre-loaded. You can get an addional card for sat images and 3-d stuff. I have been quite impressed with this unit and have owned it for 3 years, so much so I use it as a back up on my big boat. They have a newer model out now 546 or something like that which has even better resolution.
As far as the sounder goes my transducer is the transom mount and will loose the bottom at high speeds at times. Im sure it's the location of the mount because it works great at lower speeds. I have no problem marking individual fish on the screen. I only have used it in up to 70 feet of water so I can't vouch on anything beyond that.

 

[flood tide]

I went with a garmin 740s as well. I bought it from Starboard Marine in Oceanside NY. Due to the limited space of my console it seemed like the best fit. I was at first considering a lowrance hds-8. The down scan capabilities and side scan upgrade looked very intriguing. However, I had been told by a number of people that the lowrance customer service is a nightmare to deal with should anything go wrong. I've seen the garmin w/ thru hull in action on my cousin's boat. We went black fishing last week and the unit never lost the bottom even when flying across the sound at nearly 50 mph. The navigation seemed easy to use, and was very easy to get into marked spots. One thing I wanted to ask you Shoefish and blacktide. Does the garmin detect fish well? I didnt notice any real fish arches on the screen. But then again we really weren't catching a whole lot either. I bought the unit already and I am having a 600w thru hull installed now. Should be in next week.

 

[shoefish]

My 740 with through hull picks up fish really well- we have lots of tiny silver sides in the marina and it even picks them up. I put this in your other post, but do some research on putting in a fuels sensor for that 740- it's the balls.

 

[joman]

I have a Garmin 545s with a transom mounted transducer . It works good for me, but if you want to mark bottom at higher speeds I would suggest the thru hull transducer.

 

[Blacktide]

I have a Garmin 545s with a transom mounted transducer . It works good for me, but if you want to mark bottom at higher speeds I would suggest the thru hull transducer.

You are totally right. It's on the list, a very long list unfortunately

 

[tomy]

small boat combo ok! big boat combo NFG. Don't want to loose everything at once offshore. happened to guy i know, and he became too dependent on electronics. no charts onboard etc. had to change undies when he got home in foul wx...learn!