I fish a lot of ponds and small lakes with the depth range usually topping out at 35ft.  I want to get a finder for the bow of my jon boat and have been looking.  I have a humminbird 597ci hd di on my center console so I am aware of the capability of that.  I was wondering if one of the finders, ie, humminbird 561, 718, or 571, which are grey scale sonars, will show fish decently.  I just want it to be able to show fish while I am fishing on the bow, so I can find schools or individuals when I am fishing in about 10-25ft of water.  I am open to other brands, I just used the Humminbird for an example.  I also cannot exceed $250, which is why I am looking at the midrange grey scale models.  Any help is appreciate, thanks.

Lowrance Mark series if you want grayscale. The Elite 4x is color with downscan and regular sonar for $199. 

All those Hummingbird units do the same as the 2D that your DI unit has.

The display is the only difference. The grey scale is a little harder to see in bright sunlight.

You do not have to settle for the tiny screen that the 4 series Lowrance units have.

I was looking at the Elite 4, but saw the humminbirds were the same price but bigger.  Right now I am using a portable fishin buddy.  The grey scale doesn't bother me on it, it is just the lack of sonar it has, or the transition to a picture on the screen.  So I figure if I could get a larger grey scale model for a cheaper price, that might be the way to go.  Thanks for the help.

I was looking at the Elite 4, but saw the humminbirds were the same price but bigger.  Right now I am using a portable fishin buddy.  The grey scale doesn't bother me on it, it is just the lack of sonar it has, or the transition to a picture on the screen.  So I figure if I could get a larger grey scale model for a cheaper price, that might be the way to go.  Thanks for the help.

 The 571 would be the best choice, it has the most power.