I've been fishing for many years. I have a pontoon with a trolling motor and various fishing tackle for bass, striper and sunfish. I do not plan to do any tournament fishing. I just like to go out and fish or take my kids and grandkids out. I am looking for a good fish finder for less than 300. I don't know anything about fish finders. Right now, I just fish by instinct and have landed some nice bass. Thank you so much for all your help

First Fish Finder is a misnomer they don’t find fish unless you have FFS-Live Target.

What you can expect for $300 is a 2D Sonar unit that displays surface to bottom depth and any object with internal air (fish bladder) plus GPS lake map showing you location on the water. 2D sonar displays what you have passed over so it’s like looking in the rear view mirror. 
Suggest going to Bass Pro Shop near you and touch and feel the units.

Tom

I bought one last year, but returned it because i decided i didnt want the kayak to become more work and use more space.... Plus i wanted to fish old school.

 

But the one i got was the Garmin Striker Vivid 5CV, the 7CV would be better for a boat.

I did a bit of research before buying it and liked the Garmin's the best, i got mine at around $290.

I really really did not want 2d only, this one had more features than other brands at the same price, main one was the ClearVu. Being able to have 2D and ClearVu side by side was amazing to me and i didnt want side view because of mainly price but also the space it would take up.

Do a quick google search of the garmin 5/7CV and go to pictures of the 2D and ClearVu side by side its amazing what you can see in the water.

 

Also watch alot of youtube videos to understand what you are seeing under/behind you on the screen, i wouldve mostly just used it for depth and finding under water structure.

 

Thank you so much. Not sure of the terms regarding 2D? But I will research. Thank you again. 

21 hours ago, WRB said:

First Fish Finder is a misnomer they don’t find fish unless you have FFS-Live Target.

What you can expect for $300 is a 2D Sonar unit that displays surface to bottom depth and any object with internal air (fish bladder) plus GPS lake map showing you location on the water. 2D sonar displays what you have passed over so it’s like looking in the rear view mirror. 
Suggest going to Bass Pro Shop near you and touch and feel the units.

Tom

Thank you so much. I kind of figure about the Fish Finder part. Just using the terminology everyone uses. Thank you for all your help.