Your choice for fishfinders/sonars?

[Jayball]

I am looking to buy a fish finder and have found many brands and models to choose from.

What's most important to me is depth/structure readings and water temp. Fish marking comes second. My budget is $250-300. What are your thoughts on color screens vs grayscale...

I have a 12ft alum boat that i keep tied up to dock (along a busy road) which is about a 5 min walk from my cabin, so i would like something portable i can take with me when i walk back to the cabin after a day of fishing.

Are those gell cell batteries rechargable?

thx in advance...

[riderpride55]

We have used the fishin buddy in our 14ft lund for many years. it does a good job of depth finding and bottom structure. its b/w and its portable. it would be in your price range. I don't think your going to get a good color screen for that price, I my dads new boat, we chose a lowrance HDS5. when itsa set up right ( a million settings) it will show your hook on the bottom.

[Jayball]

The fishin buddy... is that the unit with long leg that has the transducer on the bottom and you can mount on side of boat? operates on double a batteries or something?

[hockey1099]

I have the following:

PIRANHA MAX 150 PORTABLE SONAR By: HUMMINBIRD

it costs 160 at the fishing hole. its portable comes with a battery (not all do) a charger and a carrying case. The battery will last you for 8-10 day trips easy. Mine lasted that long then i accidently left it on for a week straight and it sill sort of worked.

It shows depth, structure, temp and the fish alarm works well. its easy to use

[riderpride55]

Thats the one,, its runs on 3 C Cells

[Jayball]

Thats the one,, its runs on 3 C Cells

I have been looking at that.. how long do the batteries last?

I suppose when your rippin across the lake from one hole to another you have to remove it from the edge of the boat right?

thx for your adivice on this...

[cribfisher]

Just do not buy anything made by eagle or lawrance. Many of the cheaper ones never work properly and the customer service is a joke. My boat came with a lawrance that didn't work. I went through 3 units without any improvement, each taking 6 months to be sent out. I know people who have had the same problems and if you look at reviews on bass pro or cabelas web sites there anr very mixed reviews.
I did finaly get mine working by replacing it with a hummingbird.

[sheephunter]

I've got an Eagle Fish Easy 245 that I picked up at Canadian Tire for a bit over $200. It's an awesome unit with great resolution and all the features of the higher priced units. It runs 3-5 days of hard fishing on the the AA battery pack. Just remember to keep the backlight shut off. Great unit for the money.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

I like the EAGLE FISHELITE 480 LCD I use this for ice fishing mount it to my handle bars on my quad drill my hole and drop the transducer down the hole .
With the fishing holes sale on right now you might just get a really wicked deal . I know I paid about 325 for mine . Uses 8 AA batterys to run .

Heres a picture of the unit .http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii122/JOHN_CONROY/winterfishfinder.jpg


5" (12.7 cm) diagonal screen
Film SuperTwist LCD
High-definition 480x480 resolution
Amber LED backlit screen and keypad
16-level grayscale
Overlay Data feature displays GPS data on sonar screens and sonar data on GPS screens
Resize Window feature allows width adjustment of either picture panel when in split-screen display

Sonar:

Digitally record/play sonar graphs and GPS trip details with optional, reusable compact Multi-Media Cards (MMC) or Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. One waterproof slot for instantly-expandable memory using a single 8MB-512MB card
Depth capability to 800 ft (244 m) with 1500 watts of peak-to-peak power
High-performance, low-profile 200 kHz Skimmer® transducer with built-in temp sensor delivers up to 60ø of fish detection area with high sensitivity settings - Operates at boat speeds up to 70 mph (61 kts)
Trolling speed and distance log readings available with purchase of an optional sensor
FishReveal™ feature exposes fish targets hidden in surface clutter, weed beds, thermoclines, and other types of underwater cover
HyperScroll™; feature locates and displays fish targets at higher boat speeds
FasTrack™ vertical bar flasher displays realtime sonar returns and relative strength of each target
Advanced Signal Processing (ASP™) automatically adjusts your settings for the best sonar picture
Patented GRAYLINE® separates fish from nearby structure and bottom
Advanced Fish I.D.™ shows underwater targets in different sizes of fish symbols
FishTrack™ displays target depth readings above fish symbols
Surface water temperature readings come from a built-in temp sensor in the transducer
Zoom with zoom bottom tracking and easy zoom-in/out control
Selective on/off sonar alarms: Shallow, Deep, Fish and Zone

GPS+WAAS:

12-parallel channel GPS+WAAS reception with fast, strong satellite lock-ons, precise tracking, and position updates every second with the external EGC-12W receiver
Selectable on/off WAAS reception for enhanced position accuracy to 3 m (under 10 ft) at select locations
All-new, built-in Eagle® background map with enhanced continental U.S. and Hawaii detail including nav aids
High-speed map screen updates
Optional MapCreate™ Accessories Pack with MapCreate™ CD software that:
Lets you create unlimited, custom, detailed maps on MMC or SD memory cards
Includes unique, searchable database of streets, a ddresses, and over 700,000 Point-of-Interest (POI) to easily find/identify marinas, restaurants, airports, emergency services, and more
Saves up to 1,000 waypoints, 1,000 event markers, and 100 routes (up to 100 waypoints/route)
100 savable plot trails with up to 10,000 points per trail
42 graphic icons to mark your favorite spots
38 map zoom ranges - from 0.04 to 4,000 miles - with easy zoom-in/out control
Compatible with optional plug-and-play Lowrance FreedomMaps™, Fishing Hot Spots™ Elite, LakeMaster® Pro Maps, and Navionics ® electronic charts

Performance:

Internal back-up memory keeps stored GPS data and sonar settings safe and accessible for years
Completely sealed and waterproof, even for use in harsh sal****er environments
Full one-year warranty

[riderpride55]

ya, you do have to pull it out of the water when moving fast. the c cells will last for about 40 hours or so

[Rick.]

I just dropped my fishin buddy three and broke the handle. No big deal I thought until I could not find a replacement for the c battery in the handle style. Emailed hummingbird and got a curt response that they no longer support the model I have and sent me a web linc to there new fish finders. I bought a hummingbird portable 160 this spring and it seems good for the money. 160.00 If you make it to the Fishin Hole this weekend they are having their annual sale and you will get a good deal on whatever finder you decide on. Rick.

[Unregistered user]

I bought this last year for my 12 footer and am happy with it. http://store.humminbird.com/humminbird-products/sonar-gps-combos/500-series/565-portable/prod407100-1.html Comes with rechargeable batt-pack and smart charger. Versatile unit, does many things well but will not wipe my ass. Toilet paper is cheap though.

[Buckhead]

For a portable I like the Eagle FishMark 320. Get yourself the Eagle portable kit to go with it and a rechargeable gel cell - lasts about 24-30 hours of use. Sure beats carrying a bunch of spare batteries. Kit also comes with an adaptor so that 8 D cells can be used in an emergency.

Eagle 320 Portable - 299.99 @ Wholesale.

[jrcw]

I recently bought a Lowrance X96 for $300 at Wholesale. Unit has been great. Good detail, good settings, and a 5 inch screen. It came with a water temp sensor which is nice. This isn't the first time I've used a Lowrance and in my experience they make a good product.

[bsnyder]

:wave:most of the pros and tourny fishers use Lawrance:D

[bowfin]

the one good thing about the fishin buddy it has side scanner where most of the other portables don't have if you do lots of casting from your boat it works real good i have used mine for 10 yrs now and its great for ice fishing when i got mine it was made from bottom line and the transducer is built in no messing around with a suction cup to your boat

[fishbone]

the one good thing about the fishin buddy it has side scanner where most of the other portables don't have if you do lots of casting from your boat it works real good i have used mine for 10 yrs now and its great for ice fishing when i got mine it was made from bottom line and the transducer is built in no messing around with a suction cup to your boat

Does the "side viewer/scanner" works well ? and can you point the unit at any direction from boat/shore and able to detect fish ?

thanks for any info.

F_B

[Jayball]

hi all.. thanx for your advice. I picked up the Humminbird 343c (it was given to me as a gift for my bday) and i tried out this weekend. Great little portable unit, comes with battery and charger and carrying case... perfect for my 12 foot alum boat.The 4 x 5 inch display is color which comes in handly but I suppose grayscale works well enough. sti;l working all the settings. I was catching tons of walleye this saturday afternoon at pigeon... anchored... but the unit was not marking any fish. I guess i have to work on transponder placment.

QUESTION: when fished are marked on a fishfinder.. are they in front or below
your boat?

[AlbertaAngler]

Try the this site

fishfinder howto (http://www.fishfinder-store.com/howfifiwo.html)

or

lowrance tutorial (http://www.lowrance.com/en/Support/Tips-and-Tutorials/Sonar-Tutorial/)

It's hard to cover everything that could be happening to keep you from seeing fish, including that you may see fish without realizing it.

The most likely thing is that the fish are hugging the bottom and sonar isn't picking them up.

[sheephunter]

hi all.. thanx for your advice. I picked up the Humminbird 343c (it was given to me as a gift for my bday) and i tried out this weekend. Great little portable unit, comes with battery and charger and carrying case... perfect for my 12 foot alum boat.The 4 x 5 inch display is color which comes in handly but I suppose grayscale works well enough. sti;l working all the settings. I was catching tons of walleye this saturday afternoon at pigeon... anchored... but the unit was not marking any fish. I guess i have to work on transponder placment.

QUESTION: when fished are marked on a fishfinder.. are they in front or below
your boat?

Your transducer sends out a cone of sound waves and anything in that come is marked on the display screen. Cone angles can vary 8-20 degrees or more and the depth of the water and cone angle determines how much of the bottom you are seeing. The cone should shoot straight down if mounted properly.

[bowfin]

yes it does fishbone mine can shoot sideways 120 ft and it does work real well when the side view is on it beeps when a fish come into line of site cast that way

[fishbone]

yes it does fishbone mine can shoot sideways 120 ft and it does work real well when the side view is on it beeps when a fish come into line of site cast that way

Thanks Bowfin. My next question is that Do you find 24 in length tube sufficient or should I consider the 130 model where there is the telescopic tube (able to extend to 48 in) ?

Fishbone

[bowfin]

i would go with the 130 can get the tranducer down a little deeper to cut down some of the surface clutter and would be better for other boats and for ice fishing