Fish finder~necessity or toy?

[keninaz]

I have had many boats, mainly on salt water.
Two of them had depth finders, not what I would consider a fish finder at the time. Years ago the manual with the best one I had told me how to tell what kind of bottom I had and it seemed to work OK.
I am now inland and starting to lake fish.
I have an old aluminum boat I am fixing up and I fish smaller lakes here in the mountain elevations.
Just how valuable is a fish finder for trout and bass?
And if they are other than just a toy to most how much do you have to spend to get something decent? I know that technology has come a long way since my last depth finder was made.

 

[JB]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Whatever you call them, they are SONAR. They can always tell you how far down the bottom is and often what sort of bottom and/or structure is there. Useful information for bass fishing. They can sometimes locate fish, also useful information if you know how to read it. With experience you can often identify and size the fish.

Suspended fish can be located, also. Without the SONAR you would have no clue they are there or how deep they are.

If that is a toy, it is a dang useful toy.

What is "decent"?? You can find Eagle Cudas for under a Cnote or others that are no better but have higher resolution and a bigger screen (and/or color) for up to several hundred bux.

I always used the least expensive Eagles and got much more than my bux worth.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Keep in mind that most of cheaper locators use fish symbols to denote fish. Unfortunately the vast majority of what are shown as fish are really not. Go up in price until you find a locator on which the fish symbols can be turned off. Fish (and much less debris) will be shown as arches rather than fish. Learn what the locator is showing you and it is a valuable tool. Otherwise it is nothing more than a visual depth finder.

 

[kmarine]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

A depth sounder is usefull for maping the bottom to find drop off points thermal climbs and locate structure. I also like to use gps to mark where these areas are, and where i catch fish. It makes finding your favorate spot esier to find.

 

[Robbabob]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

How about .02 from someone that doesn't fish? I guess this is more of a comment than input at all. :facepalm:

90% of the peeps fishing in my area (lake shore and river edge) are casting "TO" a spot they recognize as "where the fish should be". Yet I see they have fish finders. I can see the value of the device if you are drop-line fishing to where it says the fish are.

I realize I will now be "stoned" with great reasoning in defense. Ignorance is no excuse.... or is it?

Don't take this too seriously, just sayin'

 

[keninaz]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

OK, I used to work on the sonar on the fast attack subs for a time while working for the Navy. It could do many things.
I will assume in this case the better the resolution the better the view with some limitations of course.
I don't expect it to do what the Navy sonars could.

 

[John_S]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Given you will be fishing, new to you water, I would think it would be invaluable with coming up the learning curve. Small waters, generally don't have very detailed depth maps, if they have them at all. Finding the right structure, baitfish and/or fish with a sonar, will save considerable time vs testing every spot and location. Even if you have someone that shows you the ropes, you might want minimal gps info to save the waypoints. If you don't have a handheld or other gps that can do that, consider a combo unit. Decent color sonar/gps combos can be had under $500. Considerbly less, if color is not a priority.

But, it is just another tool, and it does take time and experience to get the most out of it.

 

[keninaz]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

OK, thanks for the suggestions.
I am thinking I certainly would not want to spend a whole lot of money on a fish finder. So maybe I will stick with a major brand like Hummingbird and get something for under $200 discounted.
If it does not work out for me I am not out much.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Just how valuable is a fish finder for trout and bass?

A good one can be invaluable in the right hands. There is a learning curve to be able to interpret what your sounder depicts, so if you're not willing to apply yourself to that task, the sounder's usefulness will be diminished accordingly. The greater the "power" of the unit, the greater the screen size and screen resolution, (and choosing the "right" transducer to match), the better the detail, and hence, the better will be the information for you to interpret. If you buy small, weak and cheap, you will get what you pay for, and probably be disappointed as to any discernable improvement in your catches, although any unit will show water depth and bottom configuration, plus add some fun to the fishing experience.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

I wouldn't want to operate without one, just to know the depth of the water is so valuable. I use a small, cheap($130) Lowrance X50B, tells water temperature, my system charging voltage, and I can see some"fish", but not real confident that's what it's really showing...maybe sticks, logs, other debris, etc., but I'd feel blind without this unit. Good Luck!

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Necessity, case closed. dont leave the dock with out one.

 

[JB]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

FISH SYMBOLS?? They can be turned off in favor of arches in even the least expensive Lowrance and Eagle models. I don't know about the other brands, but I have always used and trusted Lowrance-made (including Eagle) units.

 

[WrenchHead]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

My Lorance sonar was part of the package on my Bass Tracker. I mostly watch it for water depth. But it will show drop offs, holes, grass patches, sandy bottom as well as large and small fish along with the depth the fish are at. It a tool and I need all the tools I can get to help me outsmart those ol' bass. To answer your question, they are not necessary.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Whether or not a FF is a necessity or not depends on your needs and desires.

If you like to boat, you don?t need one. If you like to fish, you might need one. If you like to catch, you?ll need one. If you?re a fish fanatic or fish competitively, you buy the best you can afford.

 

[John_S]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Whether or not a FF is a necessity or not depends on your needs and desires.

Unless you are selling fish, its recreational, and by default, nothing purchased for, would be a neccessity.

Just ask my wife!

 

[swl]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Maybe not necessary, but definitely helpful. Thats why its called "fishing" and not "catching" we need all the help we can get! I fish mainly rivers, and my humminbird is nice to have. It will show structure, dropoffs, how hard or soft the bottom is. pretty useful stuff. Plus water temp and battery voltage. I turn off the "fish id" it seems to just slow down the screen, and i really dnt trust it anyway. Now, my wife wont call it sonar or fish finder, she calls it "the liar" so i turned off that I.D. feature and it definitely scrolls faster now. But anyway, if you aren't catching anything it is interesting trying to discern exactly what's beneath ya.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Unless you are selling fish, its recreational, and by default, nothing purchased for, would be a neccessity.

Just ask my wife!

My wife is the opposite. She likes the checks that come with doing well in the tournaments.

My only fear is that when I pass away she sells all my stuff for what I told her I paid for it.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Mission critical, in my book.

If I'm bass fishing, I want to see the primary & secondary points, creek beds, structure & cover. But mostly I'm hunting for white/striped bass, I need to see depth, points, humps, and most importantly, baitfish. Most of the time in 20 foot or more depths, I'm marking the fish I'm catching.

$170, lowrance mark 5x, 480x480 pixels on a 5" diagonal screen, I think is a good value for the $$. HB has a 320x320 for around $150, that would be ok. Any lower resolution, to me, is more like a toy than a real tool.

[note to john S.: I've managed to convince my wife that recreation is a necessity, as the alternative is ulcer, heart attack, stroke, etc.]

 

[xeddog]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

I don't understand the question. TOY = NECESSITY.

Wayne

 

[ShoestringID]

Re: Fish finder~necessity or toy?

Ok dingbat you made me laugh out loud on that one about your wife selling your stuff...