Gaaahhhh fishfinders!!!

[Nikanit]

Geezuz..
Trying to figure out a good fishfinder to buy. We had a Lowrance Mark 5 that was great but we smashed the screen (sigh). I am looking at a Garmin because they come with a flasher. Whats your opinion on the Garmin.

What say yee?

[SamSteele]

Helix units come with a flasher too.

[Willowtrail]

I would go with a Lowrance and they also have Flasher mode on sonar.

The new Elite FS is bulletproof. 7" or 9", Touchscreen, Free Genesis Social Maps, and many more features. I ran one this winter and it was an awesome unit.

[-JR-]

I would go with a Lowrance and they also have Flasher mode on sonar.

The new Elite FS is bulletproof. 7" or 9", Touchscreen, Free Genesis Social Maps, and many more features. I ran one this winter and it was an awesome unit.

2x

[mlee]

I'm a garmin guy....have 4 units. Sold my bird to buy more garmin. But realistically all the newer units no matter what brand are pretty darn good. I'm a huge fan of garmins active captain and I will 100% say when being used as a flasher with an ice ducer the garmin has better target separation then a helix.

[AlbertanGP]

I would go with a Lowrance and they also have Flasher mode on sonar.

The new Elite FS is bulletproof. 7" or 9", Touchscreen, Free Genesis Social Maps, and many more features. I ran one this winter and it was an awesome unit.

Do explain these many more features. I'm interested to know what I'm missing.

I have Lowrance Carbons on my summer boats and run Garmin EchoMaps/Lowrance HDS Gen 2's in the winter. IMO, the two brands are a wash. Lowrance is better if you want to get heavily into making your own maps (both have an "automap" feature), and Garmin still has the best live imaging if you want to go that route. I try to support Garmin because I have been $^%&ed over by Lowrance customer support so many times in the past.

[SamSteele]

Helix units come with a flasher too.

[Willowtrail]

Do explain these many more features. I'm interested to know what I'm missing.

I have Lowrance Carbons on my summer boats and run Garmin EchoMaps/Lowrance HDS Gen 2's in the winter. IMO, the two brands are a wash. Lowrance is better if you want to get heavily into making your own maps (both have an "automap" feature), and Garmin still has the best live imaging if you want to go that route. I try to support Garmin because I have been $^%&ed over by Lowrance customer support so many times in the past.

Genesis Social Maps is a community made map. You can get for free with no expensive Branded card, any card 32gb or less will work and you can overlay Live mapping over top of it. Users create maps for lakes and anyone has access to them.

NMEA 2000 - Engine interface, stereo, powerpole function, Outboard Auto pilot (which I use for Laker downrigging and love), Auxiliary temp sensors, etc

Ethernet - Can connect to another Elite FS or HDS and share sonar, StructureScan, Waypoints, transducers and no need to add a network box, will connect directly unit to unit.

Color Shading on C-Maps - choice of color for depth and choice of what depth to make that particular color.

Navico Canada - Located in Edmonton if you ever do have an issue and I know the emplotees personally and they will take great care of you.

ActiveTarget compatible

Any Elite FS or HDS (Gen 2 touch and newer) unit is capable of all 2D, Downscan and Sidescan, only depends on transducer

Lowrance owns the patent for Downscan, Bird buys the rights to it and Garmin doesn't, they patch the 2 sideviews to make ClearVu.

Fish Reveal - Lowrance is the only company that can overlay the 2D arches onto the downscan screen so you get 2 screens in 1

Lowrance doesn't compress side imaging to make it "Appear" more clear. You lose distance with some competitions units

Quick access programable key

There's just a few things.

[58thecat]

well comes down to cash...the sky is the limit with this technology. Settled on a unit like this, very versatile in every aspect from the boat to ice fishing etc and is not a monster to lug around....

https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/fish-finders/helix/helix-7-chirp-mega-si-gps-g3n?jo-page=2

[SNAPFisher]

Helix units come with a flasher too.

Helix...what....bueller...bueller
:)

[Poppa]

Chevy, Dodge, Ford...... they all more or less do the same things. I've got a Lowrance Elite Ti9 on the boat, but use a Helix 7 Ice in the winter......both are great.

[Cageyc]

I have hummingbirds in my boat and a garmin for hard water. I really like the garmin screen, ease and functions. But that’s just me.

[AlbertanGP]

Genesis Social Maps is a community made map. You can get for free with no expensive Branded card, any card 32gb or less will work and you can overlay Live mapping over top of it. Users create maps for lakes and anyone has access to them.

NMEA 2000 - Engine interface, stereo, powerpole function, Outboard Auto pilot (which I use for Laker downrigging and love), Auxiliary temp sensors, etc

Ethernet - Can connect to another Elite FS or HDS and share sonar, StructureScan, Waypoints, transducers and no need to add a network box, will connect directly unit to unit.

Color Shading on C-Maps - choice of color for depth and choice of what depth to make that particular color.

Navico Canada - Located in Edmonton if you ever do have an issue and I know the emplotees personally and they will take great care of you.

ActiveTarget compatible

Any Elite FS or HDS (Gen 2 touch and newer) unit is capable of all 2D, Downscan and Sidescan, only depends on transducer

Lowrance owns the patent for Downscan, Bird buys the rights to it and Garmin doesn't, they patch the 2 sideviews to make ClearVu.

Fish Reveal - Lowrance is the only company that can overlay the 2D arches onto the downscan screen so you get 2 screens in 1

Lowrance doesn't compress side imaging to make it "Appear" more clear. You lose distance with some competitions units

Quick access programable key

There's just a few things.

Oh , I get it. You meant just more features than you listed, not more features than Garmin. I mean they all have there little proprietary knick knacks like Fish Reveal with Lowrance. They'll all have NMEA2000 and Ethernet in comparable units...Active Target isn't really a benefit comparing Lowrance to Garmin...the 2D/DownScan/SideScan/Live Imaging battle rages on Ford/Dodge/Chevy-style...Lowrance's Social Maps is the best of a crappy lot (all three brands offer something similar, and I spent over a month with the tech staff at C-Map questioning their algorithm when it came out with no resolution of the discrepancy) with poor coverage in Alberta other than a few of the more popular lakes in the south. And I'm not even going to discuss customer service with a person listing himself as a Lowrance Pro Staff member in his signature. I mean, I can probably pick up the phone and plead my case to Wayne as well and get better service...doesn't mean much for the average Joe that has to call a 1-800 number.

Still, thanks for the clarification. Lowrance does have some good features. I was a fanboi for a long time. I look at them a lot more critically now.

[Vapor]

X2 for Lowrance. Love my Elite Ti 9.

C-Maps is what you want to make of it. The free version "Social" is actually quite good for free. If you want to enter subscription based C-Maps it gets even better with customizable color shading "Edge". And then new "Reveal" is absolutely insane with 3D color shading.

[AlbertanGP]

The new Elite FS looks like a nice unit. I think I'd get one if it used a cradle system like Garmin so that I could quickly swap it between my Ranger and on ice.

C-Map Genesis is not a bad program if you're new to making your own maps. It is severely limited once you start to figure out what you're doing though. If you're going to pay $99USD every year to use it to make your own maps, you *really* should check out ReefMaster. It's sooooo much more robust than Genesis. It also has a 14 day free trial. Download it, look at some online tutorials, start uploading your logs and see what you get. You may not bother with Genesis anymore. ;)

And yes I still maintain a Genesis Edge account for giggles, and to see if they ever fix the things I don't like about it.

[Fishwhere]

+1 for lowrance.

Talked to a guy that tested lowrance and hummingbird side by side and they said lowrance picked up stuff that the hummingbird didnt.

[fish99]

used the helix 7 this winter for ice fishing and it would pick up a # 12 wire worm .
i would think that is sensitive enough for fishing

[Nikanit]

Well, I settled on a Lowrance Hook with GPS. I really liked my other one, and I decided to pull the trigger on another. Thanks for your input folks!

[SamSteele]

I just realized that I did a double post up above. Apologies!


Without knowing what models and settings were compared head to head, it is next to impossible to say that one brand sees things that the other doesn't. There are simply too many variables. I know that I could take any two comparably priced models from any brands and make one look far better than the other simply by changing the settings. That doesn't mean that one is better than the other. It simply means I may know how to set one up better than a different brand or model.

SS

[HuyFishin]

the way I see it is money talks.

The more money you dump into it the better the unit. This goes for any product from any brand. I would be happy with any unit.

[aulrich]

for me Lowrance = Ford, I won't buy either again :)

[The Fisherman Guy]

Having run Bird, Lowrance, Eagle and now Garmin - I'm surprised it took me so long to make the switch.

It might not be the highest resolution SI or DI, but the price and features that Garmin is bringing to the market will invariably strongarm the other big tech brands to reduce their prices - a good thing for anglers.

Garmin boasts:

$1000 for a 9" Touchscreen unit with SI/DI...
Includes maps, no $250 map card needed...
Includes screen cover...
Quick detach head unit...
Zero QuickDraw (AutoChart) issues...
Flasher mode included...

It makes me wonder why folks are so hung up on paying 3x the price for a unit that is more difficult to operate with less features?

[Walleyedude]

Having run Bird, Lowrance, Eagle and now Garmin - I'm surprised it took me so long to make the switch.

It might not be the highest resolution SI or DI, but the price and features that Garmin is bringing to the market will invariably strongarm the other big tech brands to reduce their prices - a good thing for anglers.

Garmin boasts:

$1000 for a 9" Touchscreen unit with SI/DI...
Includes maps, no $250 map card needed...
Includes screen cover...
Quick detach head unit...
Zero QuickDraw (AutoChart) issues...
Flasher mode included...

It makes me wonder why folks are so hung up on paying 3x the price for a unit that is more difficult to operate with less features?

That is cheap. Got a link?

[mlee]

Having run Bird, Lowrance, Eagle and now Garmin - I'm surprised it took me so long to make the switch.

It might not be the highest resolution SI or DI, but the price and features that Garmin is bringing to the market will invariably strongarm the other big tech brands to reduce their prices - a good thing for anglers.

Garmin boasts:

$1000 for a 9" Touchscreen unit with SI/DI...
Includes maps, no $250 map card needed...
Includes screen cover...
Quick detach head unit...
Zero QuickDraw (AutoChart) issues...
Flasher mode included...

It makes me wonder why folks are so hung up on paying 3x the price for a unit that is more difficult to operate with less features?

Yep...and don't forget about active captain. Much better mapping then anything I've ever seen from a card.
I paid under $700 for my side view/down view 7" unit.

[AlbertanGP]

Hey O. I bought a Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 95sv with a GT-54 transducer from Cabelas just after Christmas for $870. Maybe not apples to apples since it was likely some sort of Boxing Day sale. Still, that is the current gen top of the line ECHOMAP 9" unit. And God knows I've never got a break on price from Lowrance for anything. I am genuinely shocked they are still supporting my Carbons.

Grats to the OP on your new unit. ;)

[LJalberta]

Hey O. I bought a Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 95sv with a GT-54 transducer from Cabelas just after Christmas for $870. Maybe not apples to apples since it was likely some sort of Boxing Day sale. Still, that is the current gen top of the line ECHOMAP 9" unit. And God knows I've never got a break on price from Lowrance for anything. I am genuinely shocked they are still supporting my Carbons.

Grats to the OP on your new unit. ;)

They were clearing them out as the new models come with the GT-56 transducer.

But I agree. Insane deal. I bought one myself. Extremely pleased with it during my ice fishing use thus far.

[Curado]

The Garmin 95sv ROCKS! Nothing better at that price point! :sHa_shakeshout:

[AlbertanGP]

They were clearing them out as the new models come with the GT-56 transducer.

But I agree. Insane deal. I bought one myself. Extremely pleased with it during my ice fishing use thus far.

Makes sense. The GT-54 is no slouch as a transducer. The GT-56 whoops it in SideVu, but otherwise they are pretty comparable AFAIK.

[wcbarker]

Just remember humming bird repair is in USA
Lowrance is here in canada

[SamSteele]

Just remember humming bird repair is in USA
Lowrance is here in canada

Humminbird also has repair centers in Canada. https://www.humminbird.com/support/faqs/AuthorizedServiceCentersCanada

SS

[The Fisherman Guy]

Yep...and don't forget about active captain.

That's right - so many features with the Garmin units - I forgot about:

A free app platform to download bathymetry maps, and user generated maps, wireless software updates, mark waypoints, connect to my smartphone with the OnDeck system to display text messages and updates, all without a monthly subscription fee...

It boggles my mind that card companies will sell you an SD card with maps, then ask you to pay $15 a month for access to the same maps on your handheld device - with less features?! :sign0111:

[kingrat]

Hey O. I bought a Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 95sv with a GT-54 transducer from Cabelas just after Christmas for $870. Maybe not apples to apples since it was likely some sort of Boxing Day sale. Still, that is the current gen top of the line ECHOMAP 9" unit. And God knows I've never got a break on price from Lowrance for anything. I am genuinely shocked they are still supporting my Carbons.

Grats to the OP on your new unit. ;)
If anyone knows of or sees a sweet deal on this unit please let me know