Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

[TheChad]

Hey all,


RIght now I have a Humminbird 727 on the helm of my boat.

I don't know a whole lot about exactly how to read them, I mainly use it to see the debth, and the bottom contour, I have it set to show me when there are fish, but It's never helped me to catch any!

I want to put the 727 up on the bow to use while trolling, and get a new Color GPS FIsh Finder for the Helm.

I don't want to spend more than I have to, but I don't want to save $50, and be unhappy later just to save $50!

I fish mostly around IL & MO. I normally fish in waters under 50', but in the future I may fish in the Chicago side of the Great Lakes.

I would really like to spend under $700, but will spend a little more if required to get a unit that will do a good job.

I hope this information Help, If you guys need more info Let me know...

Thanks,

-TheChad

 

[JB]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I think the Garmin GPSMAP 178C is about as good a unit as you can get in that range, TheChad.

Go to Garmin.com to get details and options, then buy it here.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I just bought a Lowrance 337. What I like about it is that I was able to buy a fuel flow meter that integrates into the unit that can calculate my MPG

 

[Bill kubiak]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

Look at the Garmin 392 combo GPS?/Sonar/Fishfinder with all the maps and charts built in for inland lakes and waterways, for under a grand. All you need to buy extra is a transducer and they have a big selection to choose from.
www.garmin.com
Go to Marine then to Chartplotters and check it out

 

[LFK]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I think the Garmin GPSMAP 178C is about as good a unit as you can get in that range, TheChad.

Go to Garmin.com to get details and options, then buy it here.

I'll second that recomendation. I switched over to the 178C at the start of the season, and have been very happy with its performance & options.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I'll have to agree with the Garmin 178C. Its a great unit for the money. Also check out the 298C, this is another great unit with a lot more features

Also check out brokenlegdave.com for the best prices on the internet. Another side note, a lot of dealers (West Marine) will price match, so print out a copy of the item and the price and shop around.

 

[TheChad]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I'll have to agree with the Garmin 178C. Its a great unit for the money. Also check out the 298C, this is another great unit with a lot more features

Also check out brokenlegdave.com for the best prices on the internet. Another side note, a lot of dealers (West Marine) will price match, so print out a copy of the item and the price and shop around.

What type of features does the 298c have over the 178c?

I often purchase electronics with every possible feature, and find that I don't ever use any of them.... But I want to make sure i get the best unit I can, because I wont be buying another unit for many, many years.

Thanks,

-TheChad

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

Look here......brokenlegdave.com ........Lots of detailed info and the best prices

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

I was looking at the Garmin 178C before I decided on the Lowrance. Make sure that if you use your boat on large lakes that the lake appears correctly on the screen when zoomed in. I was trying a 178C unit out at West Marine and when you zoomed in the lake turned from blue to brown. The unit was in functional mode not demo.

Also, the Lowrance has way better resolution that both the Garmin178 or 298.

 

[TheChad]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

*** Update ***

I went to Bass Pro Shop this last weekend, and spent about 6 hours in the store :% Asking questions, looking at the different units.

It was obvious to me almost the minute I walked up to the Fish Finder display that the Lowrance units were the nicest. The resolution just blew away everything else on display.

I was pretty set on the 337 Unit, but after talking to the rep over several hours time, I was filled in on many things I did not know..

Like the Dual Freq. Lowrance Transducers, the 200khz beam is only a 12 degree cone, where as the single freq. tranducers are a 21 degree cone.

This makes a huge difference for me since 98% of my fishing will be below 50', and even the larger lakes I will fish from time to time only have depths of under 500' mostly in the 200' for less range.

After playing with the units for several hours, and asking many more questions, I determined that by the time I paid $649 for the 332 (Single Freq, External Antenna) unit, and purchased the 2-3 Mapping cards I would need to cover the states I fish, I would be right around $1000.

Sitting next to the 332 on display, was the X26HD for $1399, with the 20g Hard Drive, all reigons HotSpots Maps loaded, and a larger 7" screen.

Plus they gave me 5% off because the outer box was open, even thought the inner boxes were all still sealed.

So after a few more hours of going back and fourth, I Grabbed the X26HD!

Of course the damn thing is soo big it wont fit under my windshield, so I am going to have to order a Ram Mount, to offset the unit enough to fit.

Hopefully I made the right choice! It just made more since to buy the unit with all the maps loaded inside, so that no matter where you end up, You are ready to go, not having to worry if you have the maps, or if your going to need to buy another chip!

I didn't want to spend $1400 on a fish finder, but I figured I hopefully wont have to buy another for many, many years, and this one should have enough goodies to keep me busy for a long, long time.

I purchased the external antenna model, because I was told by 2 different reps at 2 different bass pro's that the internal antennas had problems with tracking the sats, and that the external antenna's were just much better for the few minutes extra it takes to mount the antenna.


If anyone knows any tips/tricks, or anything else helpfull/usefull about this unit, I am all ears!


Thanks all for your help.

-TheChad

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

Like the Dual Freq. Lowrance Transducers, the 200khz beam is only a 12 degree cone, where as the single freq. tranducers are a 21 degree cone.

This makes a huge difference for me since 98% of my fishing will be below 50', and even the larger lakes I will fish from time to time only have depths of under 500' mostly in the 200' for less range.

Okay. Got a question on this.

I'm looking at the Eagle SeaCharter 642C.

Eagle site

I'm replacing an Eagle FishEasy240. I want to stick with this size of unit (so a 5" screen) as I have a portable mount for when I'm in my 12'. Plus I've got a soft top and would prefer the internal GPS.

So, i'm going to be fishing in lakes up to 50' when I'm in my 12' and up to 300 feet (with fish 40-150 feet) when in my 18'. Is the dual frequency going to give me trouble? Should I look at the Fishelite 642C which is only 200khz?

I'm sticking with Lowrance/Eagle as I have an iFinder and have maps for it already that will work (just won't give lake detail). Plus they are good products. And, for some reason, the Eagle has better resolution (640X480) than the comparable Lowrance LMS-339C (480X480). Not sure on the pricing of both as it is hard to find someone who carries both. iboats only carries the Intellimap (which is GPS only).

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

More looking on web sites (too bad I can't edit my last post).

I'll never need the 50khz transducer. The 200 will see as deep as I need to go (for some reason I thought it worked the other way and the 50 was for shallow water).

So, now I'm looking between the Fishelite 642 and the LMS-334Ci. Eagle still has better screen res (640X480 vs 480X480) but has less power (1500 vs 2400 peak-to-peak). Still thinking the extra power won't matter where I fish as I rarely get over 500 feet.

Now back to looking at prices.

 

[TheChad]

Re: Best Color Fish Finder & GPS Combo Unit For Under $1000

Like the Dual Freq. Lowrance Transducers, the 200khz beam is only a 12 degree cone, where as the single freq. tranducers are a 21 degree cone.

This makes a huge difference for me since 98% of my fishing will be below 50', and even the larger lakes I will fish from time to time only have depths of under 500' mostly in the 200' for less range.

Okay. Got a question on this.

I'm looking at the Eagle SeaCharter 642C.

Eagle site

I'm replacing an Eagle FishEasy240. I want to stick with this size of unit (so a 5" screen) as I have a portable mount for when I'm in my 12'. Plus I've got a soft top and would prefer the internal GPS.

So, i'm going to be fishing in lakes up to 50' when I'm in my 12' and up to 300 feet (with fish 40-150 feet) when in my 18'. Is the dual frequency going to give me trouble? Should I look at the Fishelite 642C which is only 200khz?

I'm sticking with Lowrance/Eagle as I have an iFinder and have maps for it already that will work (just won't give lake detail). Plus they are good products. And, for some reason, the Eagle has better resolution (640X480) than the comparable Lowrance LMS-339C (480X480). Not sure on the pricing of both as it is hard to find someone who carries both. iboats only carries the Intellimap (which is GPS only).

I origionally wanted DF because I figured I would have it If I ever needed it. But after talking to several people, and even Lowrance suggests, to get the SF for inland lakes. You loose 9 degrees of cone angle by going with a DF (With lowrance/Egal). You also get more power to the 200Khz Freq on the SF.

If you never fish water over 1000' you wont every need the DF, and would bennifit from the SF's larger cone angle.

As for the Eagle having better resolution... I said the same thing, Bass pro had both models. I asked the guy and he showed me, that the Eagle was not as wide as the Lowrance, The lowrance was wider, the Eagle was taller.. But for a fishfinder, wider is better than taller.

Also the Lowrance has ALOT more features than the Eagle, the Transducers on the Lowrance models also have more power than the Eagle Transducers.

The Eagle models give you a cheaper price point, while still giving you a quality unit. The lowrance models cost a little more, but give you more power, and more features.


-TheChad