07-05-2017, 06:28 AM
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At the risk of getting scolded here.........well I guess that sometimes frank answers are better than walking on egg shells and never getting the truth out.
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I have fished with fish finders and heard the sales pitches since the late 70's. My first "fish finder" was the Hummingbird little green box. It had a suction cup for the transducer, had a round flasher screen and made a hummingbird whirr as the flashing indicator raced around the screen telling you what the bottom depth was, and yes, it showed fish, by flashing a light at a specific depth. Did it show fish? YES, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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I went to an Eagle depth finder much later, made by Hummingbird, and it had lousy resolution, but it gave a pixel picture of the bottom, and pixel picture of fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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My brother got a used Bass Boat used by a Pro and it had one of those newfangled Lawrence charting fishing finders. It went through bunches of paper, but it gave a great view of the bottom, and it gave great lines or arches showing fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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Since then I have used BOTTOM LINE finders, Eagle, Hummingbird, and ......... by now you get the point. They all show the bottom and they show fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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I would suggest that you would save lots and lots of money by learning your current unit first, learning the limitations and how to use the unit. You will see bottom and will see fish, if you KNOW THE LIMITATIONS AND HOW TO USE IT.
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Single beam, dual beam, CHIRP, down imaging, side imaging, Structure Scan, 3D, Generation 2, Generation 3, 360 degree imaging, and a bunch of things I have failed to mention, are all great things to have, but if you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
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There are great videos for "how to" on YouTube, and on most of the manufacture web sites. Lawrence actually has training courses they put on at a lot of fishing shows. Use them, and read the instruction manual.
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Last, have an expert, someone that knows what they are doing, install the unit. Transducer placement and angle can and does make "all the difference". If it is not pointing where you are, you won't know where the fish are even if it does show them.
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Now, to summarize some great information from other posters.
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Dual Beam is not necessary, but it is one of the options I use to use. Actually, it is old technology, but it works, once you know how to use it. Side scan, if set up correctly, does what it says it does, it show a current scan of what is to the side. Down imaging is more modern technology and can give far more information, but, yes, it is more money. It is easier to read as well.
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If you have interference from other boats nearby, you should get with an expert and have your boat grounding checked, and then get with the maker of your unit. I have not heard of this problem in 20 years.
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Lawrence verses hummingbird verses Garmin verses Simrad, verses……. They are all great units, it is a matter of specific features, mostly programing and setup.
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RockyRaab is dead on with his assessment. As far as he goes, I find no issues with what he says. Like he said, “this refers to the original look-down models, of course.” With the 360 degree options and the one that looks forward and tracks fish hitting your lure, even this is changing, but they are hard for even experts to read. I would wait for the next generation of the one that tracks the fish hitting the lure if I were so inclined.
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Burley has given an excellent option. It is not the only one, but an excellent one.
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Tin-Can also gave an excellent option.
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My last serious unit was a Hummingbird 787, many years ago, and it was as good, or better, than the Lawrence units at the time. My son is now using it and he loves it. It is a dual beam, split screen, and one screen shows a composite of the two beams and the other gives the focused beam for better bottom separation when fishing for Walleye.
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My advice, as I mentioned, first learn you own unit. Eagle fishmark 320 fish finder will find fish just fine. You can get better units that show better separation of targets, especially near the bottom, and there are units that are easier to use, but most people, myself included, seldom use even half of the features available to us.
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Next, if you get a new one, get one with the ability to load maps, with on board GPS, one that you can see the screen well with Polarized glasses, and the rest is personal preference. Have an expert install it for you.
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Now, I think I have made it as plain as possible. They will all work, if you know the limitations and how to use it. If you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
At the risk of getting scolded here.........well I guess that sometimes frank answers are better than walking on egg shells and never getting the truth out.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
I have fished with fish finders and heard the sales pitches since the late 70's. My first "fish finder" was the Hummingbird little green box. It had a suction cup for the transducer, had a round flasher screen and made a hummingbird whirr as the flashing indicator raced around the screen telling you what the bottom depth was, and yes, it showed fish, by flashing a light at a specific depth. Did it show fish? YES, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
I went to an Eagle depth finder much later, made by Hummingbird, and it had lousy resolution, but it gave a pixel picture of the bottom, and pixel picture of fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
My brother got a used Bass Boat used by a Pro and it had one of those newfangled Lawrence charting fishing finders. It went through bunches of paper, but it gave a great view of the bottom, and it gave great lines or arches showing fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Since then I have used BOTTOM LINE finders, Eagle, Hummingbird, and ......... by now you get the point. They all show the bottom and they show fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
I would suggest that you would save lots and lots of money by learning your current unit first, learning the limitations and how to use the unit. You will see bottom and will see fish, if you KNOW THE LIMITATIONS AND HOW TO USE IT.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Single beam, dual beam, CHIRP, down imaging, side imaging, Structure Scan, 3D, Generation 2, Generation 3, 360 degree imaging, and a bunch of things I have failed to mention, are all great things to have, but if you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
There are great videos for "how to" on YouTube, and on most of the manufacture web sites. Lawrence actually has training courses they put on at a lot of fishing shows. Use them, and read the instruction manual.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Last, have an expert, someone that knows what they are doing, install the unit. Transducer placement and angle can and does make "all the difference". If it is not pointing where you are, you won't know where the fish are even if it does show them.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Now, to summarize some great information from other posters.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Dual Beam is not necessary, but it is one of the options I use to use. Actually, it is old technology, but it works, once you know how to use it. Side scan, if set up correctly, does what it says it does, it show a current scan of what is to the side. Down imaging is more modern technology and can give far more information, but, yes, it is more money. It is easier to read as well.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
If you have interference from other boats nearby, you should get with an expert and have your boat grounding checked, and then get with the maker of your unit. I have not heard of this problem in 20 years.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Lawrence verses hummingbird verses Garmin verses Simrad, verses……. They are all great units, it is a matter of specific features, mostly programing and setup.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
RockyRaab is dead on with his assessment. As far as he goes, I find no issues with what he says. Like he said, “this refers to the original look-down models, of course.” With the 360 degree options and the one that looks forward and tracks fish hitting your lure, even this is changing, but they are hard for even experts to read. I would wait for the next generation of the one that tracks the fish hitting the lure if I were so inclined.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Burley has given an excellent option. It is not the only one, but an excellent one.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Tin-Can also gave an excellent option.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
My last serious unit was a Hummingbird 787, many years ago, and it was as good, or better, than the Lawrence units at the time. My son is now using it and he loves it. It is a dual beam, split screen, and one screen shows a composite of the two beams and the other gives the focused beam for better bottom separation when fishing for Walleye.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
My advice, as I mentioned, first learn you own unit. Eagle fishmark 320 fish finder will find fish just fine. You can get better units that show better separation of targets, especially near the bottom, and there are units that are easier to use, but most people, myself included, seldom use even half of the features available to us.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Next, if you get a new one, get one with the ability to load maps, with on board GPS, one that you can see the screen well with Polarized glasses, and the rest is personal preference. Have an expert install it for you.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
Now, I think I have made it as plain as possible. They will all work, if you know the limitations and how to use it. If you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
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