Fish finder. How good is yours ?

-JR- · #1 03-26-2009, 05:58 AM

On my boat I have a Cuda 242

Anyways its ok for dept reading ,but when fishing for lakers does not show me my down rigger ball at all , not even down at 100 feet.

So what should I buy at the Fishing Hole show this week end ?

What do you have ,and how does it work ?

JohninAB · #2 03-27-2009, 09:21 AM

JR, a man with your kind of coin should start by looking at the Lowrance HDS series of fish finder/GPS combo's. Starts out with the HDS 5 and goes up to a HDS 10, priced from around $900 to $2000 plus. Nice units!

Failing that, the Humminbird 565 is a nice unit and around $280 or so. Or the Lowrance LMS 510, Lowrance X96, Lowrance X 135 or 6 I believe. If you run Cannon downriggers you can get a link to run off the Humminbird Fishfinders that will control the depth of your downrigger.

Teamprotz · #3 03-27-2009, 10:10 AM

We run a Lowrance Lcx110c. At anchor , in 100 ft , it picks up a small inline swivel connecting the braid to mono. Depends what you want to spend !!

Mish · #4 03-27-2009, 10:29 AM

I hate mine. It tells me where the fish are, but not how to catch them.

dugh · #5 03-27-2009, 05:24 PM

We have a Lowrance with GPS mounted on the dash, it doesn't seem to mark fish, seems to be mostly a navigation tool. For marking fish we use an inexpensive portable Garmin. Just make sure you shut off the dash mounted unit, otherwise it will interfere with the portable.
Good luck
Doug

big zeke · #6 03-27-2009, 08:16 PM

I run a Lowrance LMS 512...this thing is awesome. It can run a split screen, does GPS waypoints and external maps (via PC or memory card) has great resolution, the screen stays visible in bright sunlight, it has WAAS so the GPS is very accurate. It also acts as a monitor if your boat has any NMEA 2000 network inputs (trim tab indicators, fuel flow sensor, engine management systems etc). The unit has a dual frequency transducer, sometime what is unclear at 50 Hz is crystal clear at 200 Hz, the water temp is handy and the speedwheel is very accurate (it matches the GPS speed almost exactly). I can't imagine anything that I might need that this unit cannot do.

I'm in the process of setting up my fuel flow sender and (at least I'm told) I can get it to divide my instantaneous speed by my fuel flow to give me fuel economy in MPG - kind of important to determine optimum travelling speed.

Mine is a year old and the prices have come down since I bought. The newer models have similar features with larger screens.

Spend as much as you can afford...you won't regret it.

Zeke

jpietrzak1979 · #7 03-27-2009, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -JR-

On my boat I have a Cuda 242

Anyways its ok for dept reading ,but when fishing for lakers does not show me my down rigger ball at all , not even down at 100 feet.

So what should I buy at the Fishing Hole show this week end ?

What do you have ,and how does it work ?

So am I crazy or is this nuts. What is the challenge to fishing if you have a fish finder to point out where they are for you. You need someone to hold your rod and catch them for you too? While your at it you can be proud of your skills fishing in a barrel so they can't get away.

gpguy7 · #8 03-27-2009, 08:31 PM

Ever been to a lake for one day, a lake you've never been to before? Or how about being out on Lesser Slave Lake for a few days? Usually when you plan a big trip you want to catch some fish, not float around aimlessly and get skunked your entire trip...hence the invention of the fishfinder

jpietrzak1979 · #9 03-27-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpguy7

Ever been to a lake for one day, a lake you've never been to before? Or how about being out on Lesser Slave Lake for a few days? Usually when you plan a big trip you want to catch some fish, not float around aimlessly and get skunked your entire trip...hence the invention of the fishfinder

Yes I have, and being skunked blows. I wont lie I know I cannot find the fish the way I could if i rigged up with a super sonar 5000... but why stop there lets get a sub, load up with some concussion rounds, rock the lake and scoop up the unconcious floaters.
I suppose I just am the last of the old fashioned cave people who try to do things themselves rather than have machines figure everything out for them. Yes I know thats a bit contradictory coming from me telling you this over a computer. Ah well each to their own.

Triple Threat · #10 03-27-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpietrzak1979

Yes I have, and being skunked blows. I wont lie I know I cannot find the fish the way I could if i rigged up with a super sonar 5000... but why stop there lets get a sub, load up with some concussion rounds, rock the lake and scoop up the unconcious floaters.
I suppose I just am the last of the old fashioned cave people who try to do things themselves rather than have machines figure everything out for them. Yes I know thats a bit contradictory coming from me telling you this over a computer. Ah well each to their own.

Do you ride a horse and buggy to work or have you got with the times and adapted to the new age. Are you still spear fishing ,if no to these questions than why are you bitching about a fish finder. Just because they are marking fish you still have to figure out what they are bitting on

#11 03-27-2009, 11:55 PM

jpietrzak1979, just because you have a fishfinder doesnt mean your going to catch fish.Sometimes it is just helpful."You need someone to hold your rod and catch them for you too?" Why dont you keep your remarks like that to yourself. You have your opinion and so does everyone else on this forum but most people arent rude if they disagree about something.

jimbo79 · #12 03-28-2009, 02:03 AM

Fish finders are a great tool for big lakes! It's nice to know what depth the water is as is the temperature of the water. And like was said if your going to be spending some money on a nice trip to Lesser Slave or a big waterbody like that, than having that luxury to help locate cruisers or schooling fish is a big bonus. When I fish trout lakes I don't use one. But If I go to big waters I like knowing what info I can get about them!

-JR- · #13 03-28-2009, 03:50 PM

Was looking into the Eagle Fish Marker 480 .But heard waranty on eagle is not good .
My cuda is just over 1 years old and is broken now .
So I hate to spend $900. for one of those Johnab fish finders then chuck it after the first season .
How is Garmin doing on waranty .
Does anyone have longer waranty than a year or in my case one season .

Mulestalker · #14 03-28-2009, 09:02 PM

Fished with the Humminbird 997 units,wow! what a unit,the side imagining is unreal, takes the guess work out of those spots on a spot, the ability to freeze and pan/mark areas, then come in and digg'm out….its almost like cheating…but comes at a price.