Hey everyone, just joined the forums and thought I would get a lot of information and tips. I'm looking at buying my first ever fishfinder/depthfinder and am quite excited. I'm looking at a HumminBird Matrix series. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with these. Wondering also how well it picks up fish and if it's easily readable. Thanks everyone!
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Welcome to the site. I have the Humminbird 575 and love it. Easy to use and easy to read. Haven't had any problems with it reading accurate depth or fish.
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I've owned one as well, and you should be happy with it. Welcome to BFT
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Great, Is there any key ways to reading a fish finder? I've always been interested in how you read them. Would you recommend just buying a dvd on how to use them or watching a youtube video, etc.?
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They have a demo mode on the finder that you can run and see how different things work. Shows what the different screen set ups look like. Then you can start playing with the settings like use fish icons don't use the icons. Zoom in on the bottom. Give yourself a few trips out and changing the settings until you find what works for you. Also remember your finder is looking down below you. It's not exact but for every three feet deep the water is the finder looks at a foot circle. If you fish in 30ft of water you are only looking at about a 10ft circle below the boat. Unless you are jigging what you are looking at and what you are fishing for are not the same.
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Your first fish finder depends on the type of boat you are operating. If you fish competetively or just for fun makes a huge difference.If I was just starting out and had the finances I would have gotten the very best to begin with when I started. The very best right now is the Lowrance structure scan or the humming bird with the side imaging.. If you fish just recreational then you just want a decent fish finder the one you mention is fine.
If you plan on fishing tournaments in the future you may just want to get the best now, with gps etc. If you have to bite the bullet you should do it now rather than pay for a new unit now and then a better unit latter.. Explore all the units , your style of fishing, your budget and the amount of time you spend on the water. When you do decide you should also be able to get a online download of your unit to make the learning curve a lot easier.. whatever you decide good luck and good fishing, Just my two cents.
Mike
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