Fish Finder help

[BassinPreacher]

I don't have much money to play with and have a lot I want to do to my boat.(What's new) My boat came with a Hummingbird 100. I am looking to spend up to $175 or so on a new fish fider and need help finding the best bang for the buck. I could swing little more if a GPS was involved but I don't think that is possible.  Since this is my limit would it be better to get a cheaper one and use the extra for something else?

Which features are the most important? More pixels or bigger screen and so on. I checked out Lowrance's web site and they did a great job of explaining how it works. Which brands are better? I have heard bad things about Hummingbird.

Where is the best place to get them? I have looked on ebay, but most are more expensive with shipping than buying new.

I mostly fish the bank, but want to learn to fish offshore structure.

When I get a new one where is the most useful place to put it?(running the trolling motor or outboard)

What would you do with HB 100?

Thanks for the help.

[topwtr81]

first of all DO NOT BUY A DEPTHFINDER ON EBAY

I've seen unit's that haven't been made in 18 year's sell for 200 buck's

for just leatning to read one I believe if you buy a Eagle cuda 168 you will be happy

it only run's around 100 buck's you get 168 vertical pixel's and all the alarms

that are on the bigger unit's, unless you are going to buy a combo unit with gps the size of screen is not that important for your aplication remember once the image is on the left of the screen it's ancient history already.

that will leave you with some extra money to apease the baitmonkey also

[preach4bass]

I didn't know preachers could fish ;D  Welcome to the board, and stay away from those HBs

[Ben]

Start checking with Cabela's, BPS, Gander Mountain, Acadamy, Dicks Sporting goods and those places for sales on last years models, this is about the time they start introducing the new models. YOu can pick up great buys on nice units. I would not get anything less than 240 pixel, 320 or 480 would be better. Cabela's recently ran the a Lowrance X-87, 320 pixel with temp for $150, very nice unit, great price. You can find the Eagle 480's with temp for the price range you're looking at.

Some like the Garmin 240, Some like the HB's. There is no such thing as a "BEST", it's all about what you think is best for your needs. As for quality, don't think theres much difference there either. Ones person my have had problems with one brand, and swears by another. While the next person will be totally the opposite

Find one that has the features and price you like, get the most resolution you can afford and a screen big enough to see. Screen hight is something to watch for also, get one too small and zooming in gets difficult.

As for where to mount. have the transducer mounted as close to where you're going to be fishing from as you can get it. YOu want to know what's either just in front/under you, not what you just passed over.

[Cephkiller]

You can find the Eagle 480's with temp for the price range you're looking at.

I agree with that.  I have a Fishmark 320 and it has really good detail and features for the money.  The Fishmark 480 is on sale at BPS right now for $189.88 and it can only be better than mine.

[BassinPreacher]

Thanks for the help.  I checked out Cabela's and they have Bottomline 320 max on sale for $140 and it includes temp and speed.  Is the speed sensor accurate on these things?

[KU_Bassmaster.]

Welcome to the board, and stay away from those HBs

What's wrong with Humminbirds?

The reason I ask is because I am looking at the 535 portable.  It seems to be the best portable one out there.  

BTW, I have to get a portbale because this is going to be used on two differnt boats.

[Madhouse27]

I've had several humminbirds and never had a problem with any of them. Right now I have a 535 with 320 pixels, temp, nice screen size with lots of viewing options. Bass Pro has them on sale for $149 and I think it's a steal. I'm thinking about getting another one to upgrade the cheap Lowrance on the front of my boat.

[preach4bass]

Ones person my have had problems with one brand, and swears by another. While the next person will be totally the opposite.

My dad, my neighbor, and I have all had bad experiences with HBs.  The main problem we've had is that when we're running over 10 mph we can't get a reading.  Also, my dad and I have both had them read 500-600 feet while we're sitting in 5-10 feet of water.  That's why I'm not a big HB fan, but there's probably a hundred guys on this site who have had the same problems with all the other brands.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

Ones person my have had problems with one brand, and swears by another. While the next person will be totally the opposite.

My dad, my neighbor, and I have all had bad experiences with HBs. The main problem we've had is that when we're running over 10 mph we can't get a reading.

Shouldn't be a problem for me.  It will either be in my two man bass boat or my buddy's Jon boat both powered by a trolling motor.

[Ben]

a couple of other things you mentioned.  Most of the newer LCDs do pretty good at tracking the bottom while moving.  At 70+ mph, I'm not looking a no flipping LCD to see what the bottom looks like so don't know if it's tracking or not.  At 45 - 50 I think it does pretty good, but to be honest I'm not paying much attention to it, I run my flasher when I want to see the bottom in water I'm not sure of.  Many of the newer unit's have gotten much faster so the boats not 20 yards past what's showing on the display, but the flasher is still much quicker.   You will most like loose all signs of bait fish on the LCD once your moving even fast enough to get on plane.  

As for the speed sensor, yes it's fairly accurate but has to be calibrated.  I calibrated mine with my gps at 65 mph and it's usually within a mph or two everytime I check it with the gps.  The speedometer and odometer are about all I use mine for when running.  Much above that on mine and the pad has lifted the sensor out of the water so it starts giving crazy readings.  I think it's kinda neat to be able to look at the odometer and see I've driven my boat 980 miles since I put that unit on it about two years ago.