Looking for first fish finder

[Whiskey]

I am wanting to buy my first fish finder. I have been trying to catch some walleye lately and decided I need to know what is going on down there! I really only want to spend around $200-300 but I don't know what to get/do.

Would It be worth buying something slightly more costly, or would a $100 used finder be good enough?
I would mainly use it in a small aluminum boat, but perhaps for ice fishing as well.

I think I would prefer second hand to get more bang for the buck, but perhaps new technology is worth the extra price? Any feedback is welcomed.

[calgarygringo]

Helix 5 basic model under 300 bucks and also has flasher mode and just add the ice transducer for winter. Spend a few more bucks and get the gps upgrade if you can.

[Whiskey]

yeah I was looking at the helix 5, as well as the lowrance elite models

also Costco has the Garmin® STRIKER™ 4 Portable Fishfinder Bundle for $270.

I am not sure if gps is needed for me, as the lakes I fish in are small and I would like to think I wouldn't need to mark much on them. And is the new Chirp down imaging really needed? Most of my lakes have sand/weed bottoms and wouldn't a normal fish finder work just fine with that? So confused.

But I really don't know. If I get something in a package then it is truly portable for me and would be much less hastle then buying a bag, battery, ice transducer, ect.

I just wish I had more money to spend I guess. Haha

[calgarygringo]

Summer mode is always in the past/what has gone by. Flasher is in the now. If you are jigging in winter you want to see the relationship between your lure/bait and fish below you now not what has already happened. That is where having a flasher or flasher mode is good.

Yes you can get most of the small units in a combo pack if you wish but $$$$ or just make your own.

[Whiskey]

Did anyone ever try the FishHunter 3D? They are less then $300 and have plenty of options.
http://www.fishhunter.com/directional3d/

The reviews I read on amazon are actually really good! Apparently it works well for ice fishing, and the fact that you can shore fish with this unit might make it better than a traditional finder perhaps....

I also found a sale at fishin hole. This is for a Lowrance ELITE-4 CHIRP ICE MACHINE COMBO, so it includes an ice transducer, flasher mode, battery, case, ect. Regular $530 on sale for $370
http://www.thefishinhole.com/index.cfm?action=product&se=29061&sale=1

[oilngas]

To me you are asking a lot of a single unit.

For my smallish Aluminum boat I use a finder with fairly basic functions, but the most useful features to me are the sonar obviously (find structure, weeds, fish etc. ) but the GPS function is invaluable. Some of the Reservoirs and Lakes I fish have numerous hazards to navigate (Crawling and the hills just below surface) etc. and the tracking feature allows me a very high degree of confidence to follow a proven route and the location of previous trolling tracks.

In addition I really should get another unit to fit on the bottom of the front mounted trolling motor. Maybe I'll put my older unit (5 years) up in the bow and get a new one for the side console, what an idea, more $ into the boat!!!!!!

Ice fishing is another whole different unit of which I know nothing.

[scel]

I will piggyback my question...

Has anyone tried the Vexilar Sonarphone.

http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/new-sonarphone-available-for-any-open-water-situation

I am a paddle warrior. I use a canoe, pontoon, and kayak. I would like something mobile. This almost seems too good to be true.

[Whiskey]

I looked at the vexilar sonarphone too, but after lots of research I feel the fish hunter 3d is the way to go as it maps the bottom in 3D, shows the direction of fish, and ability as an ice flasher. They are having a sale now on their website, and you will get it for $270 after shipping plus a bunch of accessories and a bonus battery. And they are Canadian.

[hami30051510]

if you want to save some pennies and not compromise on quality try looking on amazon or ebay at the deeper its a pretty good fish finder very popular in Europe also fish spy camera also very good but less of a fish finder more of a live feed camera

[scel]

I looked at the vexilar sonarphone too, but after lots of research I feel the fish hunter 3d is the way to go as it maps the bottom in 3D, shows the direction of fish, and ability as an ice flasher. They are having a sale now on their website, and you will get it for $270 after shipping plus a bunch of accessories and a bonus battery. And they are Canadian.

Holy crap. Fish Hunter is awesome. Good tip. Thanks.

[Whiskey]

I just ordered one, I will post reviews after I get/use it.

[wildwoods]

I don't use a "fish fnder" per say. I use my Humminbird for GPS and it's sonar capabilities. In the deeper, clear lakes I enjoy marking arches and sight fishing for them. Alberta lakes it's mostly about structure to me. Find structure and it's a good bet you'll find fish. Found an old river bed in CVR on time. Stayed on it all day last year and slammed em.

[SamSteele]

I don't use a "fish fnder" per say. I use my Humminbird for GPS and it's sonar capabilities. In the deeper, clear lakes I enjoy marking arches and sight fishing for them. Alberta lakes it's mostly about structure to me. Find structure and it's a good bet you'll find fish. Found an old river bed in CVR on time. Stayed on it all day last year and slammed em.

This. It's rare that I can pick out a specific fish and target it with my electronics (unless jigging over them I suppose). What I can do is locate schools of baitfish, structure, bottom changes, weed beds, etc. Once you start identifying all of these items, you can actually figure out where the fish will be and target those areas. Much better success than just looking for a fish arch on a finder.

The ability to map and drop waypoints is also a bigger deal than many realize. Especially if you are fishing the same body of water more than once. It saves you time trying to locate that exact spot again, and you can use them to figure out what the fish are relating to specifically.

SS

[Mudslide]

Before you buy a vexilar sonar phone or fishhunter, go outside and look at your phone in bright sunshine, because that's what you are going to use to see your sonar. Just sayin....