Hey guys I'm going to buy a Fishfinder for my kayak today at Cabelas, because they are on super sale, I'm looking at the Lowrance Elite 3x or the Lowrance Elite 3x DSI. I'm thinking I am primarily going to use if for bottom comp and finding structure. I might even use it to find some bait fish. For my kayak what are your alls opinions? Thanks.

It is much easier to see fish and bait with traditional 2D sonar. That said, you can see some great bottom structure with the DSI unit.

You don't want a DSI unit, It has Down Scan only and should not have ever been put on the market. They have been discontinued for a few years.

 

The units that replaced them are HDI units that have Down Scan AND 2D sonar.

 

The units that replaced the HDI units are called Elite Chirp.

 

There are several versions of each, READ the specs so you choose the one that has the technology you want at the price you are willing to pay.

 

There are 2D versions with just 2D sonar, there are 2D with GPS, HDI version and HDI with GPS.

So Wayne P you don't think the DSI would be worth the money for what you get? I liked the thought of having clear bottom images vs the regular sonar but is it just a gimmic?

So Wayne P you don't think the DSI would be worth the money for what you get? I liked the thought of having clear bottom images vs the regular sonar but is it just a gimmic?

Down Scan is great, but not by itself.

 

If you got a DSI unit, you would want a 2D unit also as a companion.

 

The imaging technology takes movement to generate the picture like images. You don't need movement to use 2D sonar. A single unit with both is the intelligent way to have imaging.

Wayne is right. Try a non chirp Lowrance elite 5 hdi with 2d sonar and downscan and gps for $299 incl transducer. Check out on internet for sales right now.

I think for DSI to have maximum use, having a screen big enough for 2D and DSI side by side makes most sense.

 

having to toggle back and forth from screen to screen is cumbersome at best and I bet you will not do it often enough to make it worth it.

 

DSI makes it "interesting" but not near a necessity...or for that matter useful in my opinion.

Unless you spend over a grand on a system, the dsi image isnt that great.

Also you gotta be right over top the object to see it...so if you used 2d sonar you would get a very similar picture of the object.

Side imaging is faaaar more useful