this year was my 1st year of all out serious bass only fishing. im completely hooked and next year i plan on doin some tournaments and learning as much as possible. anyway my real thing i need to work on is working offshore structure and deep stuff. i got a cheap eagle portable depth finder from a friend but i really dont like it. anyway next year i wanna get a better one and im wondering what kind would be a good beginner fish finder for me. i dont wanna spend much more than 150 bucks. any input apprceiated.  im gonna use it on my 12" john for now untill i get a bass boat.

i actually was lookin at this one on sale but i dunno if its any good.

Bottom Line® Tournament 480 MAX Fishfinder

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=52704&hvarDept=200&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=1&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse

Ryan

Eagle Fishmark 320

is this one as good, if i was gonna spend an extra few bucks is the color worth it

Eagle® FishEasy® 320C Color Compact Fishfinder

also a member on another forum offered me a almost new garmin unit for a good price is it worth trying or is it a junker

http://www.garmin.com/products/ff90/#

Ok, these three "depth" finders are going to be basically the same, with the Garmin having probably less abilities than the other 2.  I don't know for sure, as i've never looked at the Garmin personally.  I'm just going to post pictures of the 3 different screens, and you'll see the difference clearly in the display of each.

Garmin FF90...as you can see, the display is very "pixely", which i personally hate.  For not much more money you can get a much better picture and more functions.

Eagle Fisheasy 320C...now, of course this does have the color screen, and a much better picture over all than the Garmin, but to me personally, i don't see the advantage of the color over the black and white, as you'll see in the next picture.

Eagle FishMark 320...Black and White screen, but very very readable.  Plenty of functions for everything you'd need it to do.  This is why i chose this one over the color screen, it was just like i said, i didn't see the advantage to it.

Of course, it's totally up to you.  I'm just trying to show you, as far as viewing the screen, the FishMark 320 is very nice for it's price range ($150).  It has tons of functions and will be great for what you want.  Try to go to a BPS or Cabelas or the like and play with them for a while, check them all out real good before you buy.

Good Luck!!

Jason

Hummingbird Smartcast Portable.

I vote for the Fishmark 320 also.

Ryan, What dont you like about the one you have already? The lowest price Eagles and the ones for $150 aren't much different. If its the pixel count or if you want a color model then it may make a difference otherwise you may just be getting about the same thing. For beginners using a jonboat I would suggest an $50 when on sale at Bass Pro Eagle Cuda or the 320. It will do the same thing as all the others and work better in some cases than expensive high power models.

i duno its a portable one and i dont like it, i dont like the clarity my friends got the 320c and i liked it when i fished on his boat maybe ill look into that one.

I would suggest the 320C if you like it. The only reason I asked is I take a bunch of people fishing who tell me they don't like their fishfinder. After I teach them how to use it they almost always like the one they already have. Most people expect to see perfect arches, bait and brush on their screen. After they realize that the screen almost never looks like it does in the comercials, brochures, packaging they discover nothing was ever wrong with the depthfinder they have.

oh well ive used mine and my friends and i can clearly see a diffrence between the two so im guessing im not in that group(i hope) anyway im gonna look into them more but i guess the eagles are a good start to chose from if nuttin else. i actually seen a nice hummingbird at dicks for 200 i likes alot

what do you guys think of this one

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=52575&hvarDept=200&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=1&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse

I dont know if this would intrest you but I noticed Trition Mike has a X-85 Lowrance for sale in the Fishing Flea Market for $125.

not any more

Ryan this is the one i have. It is a good fish finder, i have spotted fish on it and caught fish while using it many times.

I dont know if this would intrest you but I noticed Trition Mike has a X-85 Lowrance for sale in the Fishing Flea Market for $125.

it did intrest me but unfortuneatly its sold already