Looking for suggestions on a cheap but reliable fish finder for a 12 ft alum boat. I have never owned one so any suggestions would be great.

             Thanks for the time.  

Look at the various models of Eagle for one in your price range.

do the manuals for fish finders tell you how to properly read them or does that just come with usage/experience? Also I saw a ...Humminbird i think for a round $100 at Gander this past weekend. This will mainly be used to find structure. I want to be able to mark locations and what not so in the future i can go back to them spots and record them in my fishing journal.

i recently bought an eagle cuda 168 for $70 from BPS. i plan on putting it on my 12ft alum. jonboat too. im gonna hook up the transducer to the trolling motor with a little mounting kit i bought. havent used it yet so i cant really give you a review, but there are some good reviews on bass pros website.

Sorry for sounding so uneducated but... I am lol What is a transducer?

its the part that u mount to the hull and it sends signals to the bottom and back to show depth, conture, sturcture,grass, fish...ect ..it's the eye while the monitor/screen is the brain

and about which one to get for cheap. im a huge humminbird fan but think for the $100 range the Eagle (made by lowerance) is the better option. i've have a couple on smaller boats like yours and they work just fine

Definitely look at the Eagles.  I have the Fishmark 480, a bit more expensive, but a good fish finder.

Sorry for sounding so uneducated but... I am lol What is a transducer?

Hi,

I agree look at the fishmark series from eagle. I have the 480 myself and am very happy with it.

To learn about them read the info on this link. Even though its lowrance, its basic fro every manufacturer.

http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips-and-Tutorials/

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Thanks for the help guys.. i just bought the  eagle cuda 168 for $70 from BPS