Whats the best Fishfinder for the Money?

[kthfish]

Whats the best Fishfinder for the money these days?
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[Teroy]

Here is a nice thread on this exact topic. Hope it helps. []

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=95156;search_string=Fish%20finder;#95156"]Fish Finders[/url]
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[tubeN2]

When you are done reading the thread then it will be time to make a decision based on your own personal opinion. There are so many contributing factors when it comes to a fish finder.

1 What features does it have or not have?

2 How accurate is it?

3 How easy is it to mount on what I need it for?

4 If something happens to it, how good is the warranty?



Ask yourself those questions when you are looking for a fishfinder. Find out from your local sporting goods what they would recommend. Listen to the knowledgeable and experienced anglers on this forum before making a final decision.

If you look around the forum, most people have either a Cuda or a Lowrance. I personally bought the Bottom Line brand and wished that I would have bought a Cuda or a Lowrance.

It seems like for a few dollars more, you can sure get your moneys worth. I hope this helps you in making a decision.
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[fish1on]

[size 2]Too many open ended questions to answer this correctly. Give us more info like type of fishing, boat or tube, lakes fished, budget, etc. etc.[/size]
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[Bigfishrule]

I have a lowrance that is excellent at the Gorge or Strawberry. I have taken it ice fishing and can see my jig on the screen in 50' of water. I can watch the screen and when a fish appears a can start jigging. No wasted time jigging when no fish are around.

John
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[Gumbo]

[size 1]Now is a great time to buy a graph since many of the low-end graphs are now sporting the features and resolution that you used to have to pay big bucks for. And you get these features for under $250. I've never been a Hummingbird fan, but their acquisition of Zercom several years back may have helped change the quality of their units. And their Matrix units, with good resolution and integrated GPS, seem to be generating a lot of talk these days.[/size]

[size 1]Here are some units to choose between:[/size]

[size 1]Garmin 240 (240v x 240h pixels) $199[/size]

[size 1]BottomLine 480 (480v x 320 h pixels) $209[/size]

[size 1]Hummingbird 565 (640v x 320h pixels) $239[/size]

[size 1]Eagle FishMark 480 (480v x 320 h pixels) $199[/size]

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[size 1]There are some other units you could include, but these are the main ones carried by Cabela’s, Bass Pro, or local shops. Historically, one of the best places to buy electronics is [/size][url "http://www.reedssports.com"][size 1]www.reedssports.com[/size][/url][size 1].[/size]

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[size 1]You'll notice I didn't mention power since it's one of the most hyped and misunderstood features. Any power differences in these units doesn't really matter. Also, realize that vertical pixels is very important since that is what shows detail--horizontal pixels is strictly a historical view of what you've already seen.[/size]

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[size 1]Good luck.[/size]

[wiperhunter2]

The units you listed are the ones I'm looking at. BLM and I were at Sportsman's on monday looking at the bottomline 480 max, it is 189.00 and it has the most pixel count, so that is the one I spent the most of my time with, although I did look at the Garmin 240, 199.00. From what I can tell the main difference between the two units is, the pixel count and the Garmin comes with a speed funtion but the Bottomline does not. I would rather have the Bottomline so I'm trying to work out a deal to get the speed funtion from the Bottomline sales rep. WH2
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[BADFISH]

In my opinion which is that of a new person to even owning a boat, but I have been using sonar and stuff on buddies and familys boats for years, that said, I think everyone makes quality goods anymore..electronics are great, displays get better all the time..pick one that YOU think looks good and reads clear..after that whats the difference in 4000 pixels and 3000?? probaly nothing you would notice uless you are an sonar engineer. the one line on the bottom doesnt get as thick into the mud as the other one.

I thought of 3 things while I was looking at my "options" for getting a used one from some great members of BFT.

I looked at if it had speed and temp, or one of each, or none of either.

I looked that if is was just sonar, can it be upgraded easily to have speed/temp...I want those things..I have a small boat, I dont know how fast I go, and I would like to know how warm the water is so if the fishin is not good I can take a swim.

I looked up the components for the unit should I decide to get any of the "add ons" after the fact.....different mount base, portable setup, new transducer...all the thing I may have to replace, eventually.

It turns out for 60 bucks I can have speed and temp..along with fish reading capabilities to 600 feet, so says the manual...I dont plan on testing that one. I ended up with an Eagle Strata 128 plus. there are parts redily available, I can send it to Eagle to have it serviced if need be...and its compact and energy efficient...I will have to take it in and out of the boat...it has its own storage case and works like a champ.

So get a cheaper unit without all the bells and whistles, learn to use the hell out of it..then get some more additions..I even came across a few you could set up to a LIVE satalite link for instant updates in real time to your gps units linked to the damn sonar....I got so confounded just looking and reading decriptions that I reverted to basic, easy use, upgradeable.

We all want fish finders to show us 3 things normally...

1. whats under the water (i.e fish, bottom, structure, rise and fall of waterlogged land)

2. how fast we are going.

3. what the temp is.

Most of them will do that...so choose the features you want..do you really need one with a gps in it, maybe you already have a gps hand held. do you need one that makes coffee in the am and dipenses cold budweiser in the pm..there is a world of options out there. I kept it simple and easy to use...I am happy. I am done ranting...dont buy a unit with all that other stuff just cause it has it...get one that is practical to what you want it to do. find fish.

Laters,
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[tubeN2]

I ended up buying the Bottomline Tournament 1100 model. It shows the water temp and depth to 600. It also has the fish alarm on it as well as the quick scan circuitry. I can adjust the gain, turn the light on or off, and also read out the charge on the battery. I didn't quite need the speed funtion for my float tube. Just depth, temp and structure. I have a GPS already mounted on my tube as well.

When I get my boat then I will definitely need to upgrade to something with speed.
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[pontoonfool]

I got a Bottomline tournament 4300 with temp. and speed and I've had no problems with it.
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[mateo]

I've been looking at the humminbird 5x5 series. They have the "real time" update of 40 times per second, which I think might come in handy for ice fishing. The price is right too at walmart.com.
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[tubeN2]

Maybe that could be my next upgrade. I know you can achieve some speed on a toon as opposed to a tube. I just need something fast enough to justify the speed settings on the unit.[cool]
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[Kent]

Don't give too much priority to the necessity of a unit having a speed function (unless it is a combination GPS unit, and then you are talking big dollars). The speed functions on fishfinders are notoriously inaccurate. If I want to know how fast I am trolling I don't even bother looking at my fishfinder anymore I grab my GPS.
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[wiperhunter2]

The speed function is one of four things of high priority for me. I went back to Sportsman's today and found out it will only cost $15.00 to add the the speed function on the Bottomline 480 max. For the price of the GPS, at least $100.00, this 15.00 speed function is cheap. The first speed function I bought as an add on cost 70.00 but when you buy it with the FF as a unit it is usually cheaper. As far as being 100% accurate, you are right, I have seen some off by .5 mph and some off by 1 mph but once you find the speed that is working the speed function works fine at staying at that same speed. If I had a GPS I would use it but until that day comes I'm OK with the FF speed option, just my opinion though. WH2
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[tubeN2]

I use the speed indicator on my hand held GPS. When I'm kicking around in my float tube it still reads "Pedal Faster Dummy". I guess it will never be fast enough to troll for Tuna with.
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[MRJ]

I just bought the Humminbird Matrix 37 from Reedsports.com with a free tackle logic bag for $250 including temperature snesor and used it down to Powell for a week. WOW!!! What a unit. Killer resolution and detail. So far I am really pleased. It is GPS ready and I am going to add a $80 receiver (after rebate at Boaters World) and a $40 Weathersense barametric pressure sensor after rebate at Boaters World). Big screen and lots of pixels. It gets my vote.
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]What is the best fishfinder for the money? My vote? The best you can afford. Just like everything else you get what you pay for. The $200 units don't compare in quality or features with the $500 units or the $500 units to the $750 units. You need to figure out what you can afford and then try out the units that fit your budget.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]The only way to find out what the best unit is you can afford is to play with them. If you don't know a thing about sonar, take someone you know has a clue and go to a place like sportsman's and push some buttons. They'll have all the units set up and you can run the simulators and check out all the features you think you need. Don't be afraid to nab a salesman and question him down one side and then the other. Have him show you all the features, If he can't, get a salesman who can. Just some words to the wise? Don't ever think a unit is too good for you or you'll never use a piticular function. Believe me, you will if you've got it and you'll find a way to use it to your advantage.[/size][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I'm a big Lowrance fan. I like the software, functionality and logic. Others like other brand names. Bottom line, know what you need your sonar for and get the best unit you can possibly afford. JMHO...[/size][/font]
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