Looking for a decent depth finder. So much new technology is a little overwhelming. I realize personal opinion plays a part, but what would you recommend. Just a small aluminum panfish boat so mainly fish the river or dock lights in the summer months. Any particular units to steer clear of? Hummingbird reviews online, aren't very favorable as a whole
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Depth finder sugggestions
- Thread starter Dbender
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trad bow
wooden stick slinging driveler
A side view fish finder is a game changer for fishing docks and finding bream beds. All manufacturers have pro and cons and a lot of online reviews are written by competitors so those reviews can be sketchy.
Garmin 93 or 73. Both should be on sale right now for a very good price.
Supposedly Lowrance and Garmins are easier to learn. In my experience they all work as designed and work well. Get as many features as you can afford with comfort because you don’t want to regret an expensive purchase. I would stay around 9 inches at a minimum and I’d get touchscreen capable units if possible. I’d also strongly consider one for maps and one for down imaging and side scanning simultaneously. If you can 2 are better than one. Finally I’d get one that was compatible with the live scanning that they all offer even if I didn’t buy the extras now because almost everyone is going to be using that tech in a few years and you don’t want to start again from scratch. I like Lowrance units but they all work well when someone knows how to use them
My opinion: Go to Bass Pro/Cabelas,etc during the middle of a day & play around with ALL of them. Figure out which one YOU like the best,what size you like & can operate easiest. I would spend the money on one that has side+ down views. Lowrance seems to have more detailed graphics (in my limited opinion). Garmin seems to give the least trouble..and they often go on sale this time of the year. MAKE SURE IT COMES WITH MAPS…and Transducer…! sometimes you will see them on sale..but missing the map cards,and transducer! That’s several hundred more $ to spend…so it’s really NOT on sale..? *I would not necessarily BUY from BPS/Cabelas..but that IS somewhere you can go see most models,in person..but their prices can usually be beat..?*
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doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
I've got 6 hummingbird Helix units, that'd be my choice. In my opinion you get better sonar with them, you get better mapping with lowrance, and Garmin is in between the two. I'd rather have a 7in screen with side imaging than a 9in without it. I'd also rather have a hd transducer and a smaller screen. If I can't kill my hummingbirds fishing saltwater as rough as I am, you should be fine in a jon boat with them.
menhadenman
Senior Member
I’ve had a couple Lowrance units, really like them. For a small panfish boat you might check out one of the cheaper units with a chart plotter. I had a high end unit on my last boat (HSD7) and a cheap 3” on the one before that... marking spots where I caught fish was always helpful and I wouldn’t buy one that can’t do that. Good luck.
HOOK2 Fish Finder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077PDL6GR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_37PF58S1457Z9JBZ0MCV
HOOK2 Fish Finder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077PDL6GR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_37PF58S1457Z9JBZ0MCV
I have had several hooks and to be honest they work as well as my Elites. The elites are a little more user friendly but the cheapest Hook would have been a serious game changer 20 years ago. They will do just about anything the $5000 models will do for most users. You can still get HOOK 12s that are new in the box.
littlejon
Senior Member
It all depends on your budget and fishing Style
I just looked and academy has the Hook 2 12 inch triple shop with the US lakes maps for $799 including the TS transducer. That thing would make a fisherman in 2007 a Bass Masters Classic Champion if he knew how to use it then. For less than $800. similar elite unit is about $2-$300 more but is a touch screen unit.
Bass pro has the 73 for 499. I think I'll try it out. Maybe I can figure out how to use it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Read the fine print as to whether it comes with freshwater map card,or not! Often they won’t at that price. Also see which transducer it comes with…?
NE GA Pappy
Mr. Pappy
I have a Helix 5 di at the console and a Helix 7 Si on the bow next to the trolling motor. I like them and only had on issue, and hb handled it really quickly
Comes with gt 54 transducer and g3 inland maps. What would you recommend?
B. White
Senior Member
I'm going to look at them at Bass Pro this week. The last one I had was early '90s technology I believe. Seems like I can find more bad reviews on all of them than I would like. Just my opinion, but there are too many sub-models and all are pricey.
trad bow
wooden stick slinging driveler
I hope you find the setup that’ll let you have the confidence in to catch more fish
