I am looking for info on fish finders, depth finder , fish tv , sonar finders.

I see so many different things out there.

I am thinking of one for my 12 ft boat.

do they point sideways or just down?

how far can you see?

can you actually see fish moving?

how hard are they to use?

brands?

Budget is the big determining factor here. You can spend anywhere from under a hundred bucks on up to several thousand. You do get what you pay for. You want the best unit you can afford because it will make a huge difference.

To answer some of your questions specifically, you can get into a unit that points to either side of the boat for 1K+ (not practical for a 12 ft boat). Google Lowrance Structure Scan or Humminbird Side Imaging if you want to read more about that.

With a less expensive fish finder you'll be able to see straight down (check the section on "cone angles" in the link at the bottom of my post. All of these units will hold bottom in any depth water you'll encounter around here.

You can see fish on these units. They'll appear in the shape of an arch or a kind of upside down U.

The more money you spend and the more features the unit has the harder it will be to use. If all you want to be able to do is see the depth of the water and water temp you can get an inexpensive simple unit. If you want to fish for smallmouth on deep structure you're going to have to spend more. It's all about budget and what you want the unit to be able to do (or what kind of fishing you do/will do).

Two major brands in the bass fishing world: Lowrance and Humminbird

Here is the link I mentioned earlier. If you read through this whole thing it'll be a huge help.

Thank You a ton of info and help.