Fish finder recommendations

[russelln114]

Hey guys. I konw you've been through this a million times but here it goes. I'm looking for a new fish finder. I did a search on here and I'm still clueless. I plan on giving you guys all my wants and needs and let you decide.


1) I have a 12ft semi v (small boat) using trolling motor only (no motor)
2) I want a fishfinder that i can see the fish (crappie) not just a depth and structure finder
3)I will be fishing in fresh water no more than 50ft deep mostly will be fishing10-30ft
4) I do not need gps or si
5) I want to use a suction cup mount or mount it to the trolling motor. I don't want to mount it to the transum or shoot through the hall (aluminum)
6) I can spend about $350.00
7) i will be using the fishfinder mostly when stationary. If moving i'll be trolling very slow
8) I will be fishing day and night.
9) doesn't matter if its b&w or color. Or does it?
10) good resolution

I know some will tell me to search this site but i want to hear recent accounts as fish finders change all the time. I did have my eye on the new humminbird 570di which is not out yet but do i really need downward imaging with based on my wants and needs list. Any help and experience would be great.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

No locator will show you fish -- period! Most fish finders will give you two options in that regard however. 1) A sonar "arch" that results from a fish entering the cone produced by the sonar. 2) A fish "icon" that is nothing more than a software interpretation of what might be a fish. Most fish icons turn out to NOT be a fish at all but instead may be algae, a block of wood, a submerged leaf, etc. Visit the web sites of Humminbird, Garmin, Eagle, Lowrance, and the others and study the demos they show. Visit Bass Pro or Cabelas or any other retail store that sells them and play with the simulator to learn what the locator is capable of. Most folks tend to turn the sensitivity way to high so the locator shows any debris in the water as a fish. For your application, you do not need to spend $350. $100 - $150 will do the job.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I also fish freshwater, usually 25-45, rarely over 50 ft deep.

In my experience, resolution needs to be minimum 90 pixels per inch, that's 320x320 on a 3.5x3.5" screen (5" diagonal) otherwise it's more of an amusing toy than a useful device. 480x480 is really better. And I wouldn't mess with a screen smaller than 5".

I don't know about color, but on my B&W screen I have no trouble distinguishing a school of fish from cover (trees, submerged objects), but I can't tell if fish are holding tight to heavy cover. It works for me because the fish I'm after most (stripers & white bass) are usually chasing bait in open water or relating to structure (bottom contour). Color might make a difference, I just don't know. For myself, I've decided not to sacrifice resolution for color. GPS would be a real help, though -- sometimes if you drift off your spot, seems to take forever to find it again.

Best value for the dollar, IMHO is Lowrance mark 5x, about $160 at basspro. It's a serious tool without a lot of bells & whistles.

I agree w/silvertip, turn off the "fish ID" feature, it's just a distraction.

 

[russelln114]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I also fish freshwater, usually 25-45, rarely over 50 ft deep.

In my experience, resolution needs to be minimum 90 pixels per inch, that's 320x320 on a 3.5x3.5" screen (5" diagonal) otherwise it's more of an amusing toy than a useful device. 480x480 is really better. And I wouldn't mess with a screen smaller than 5".

I don't know about color, but on my B&W screen I have no trouble distinguishing a school of fish from cover (trees, submerged objects), but I can't tell if fish are holding tight to heavy cover. It works for me because the fish I'm after most (stripers & white bass) are usually chasing bait in open water or relating to structure (bottom contour). Color might make a difference, I just don't know. For myself, I've decided not to sacrifice resolution for color. GPS would be a real help, though -- sometimes if you drift off your spot, seems to take forever to find it again.

Best value for the dollar, IMHO is Lowrance mark 5x, about $160 at basspro. It's a serious tool without a lot of bells & whistles.

I agree w/silvertip, turn off the "fish ID" feature, it's just a distraction.

Does this unit come with a suction cup mount?

 

[jtexas]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

They sell accessory kits with hardware for T/M mount. Suction cup doesn't seem reliable enough to me.

If you're worried about drilling holes in the transom, my advice is "just do it". Seal the screws with 3m 5200. Or attach a mounting board.

I'd hate to have to deploy the T/M before I can see what's down there. For one thing, without GPS, I need to see the bottom just to find some of my spots. For another, sometimes I don't even shut off the outboard, if I don't see something I like. Not to mention, you can find new places to fish while cruising, if you keep an eye on the bottom contour.

 

[russelln114]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

No more holes. Can someone lead me to a trolling motor mount for this fishfinder as well as some more feedback for this unit. If i can't get a suction cup mount or a trolling motor mount for this unit then i don't want it.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Cut a 1x4 to the height of the transom. Mount the transom mount transducer to the board and clamp the board to the transom with C clamps. Or glue it (can be a shorter board in that case).

 

[russelln114]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

http://www.iboats.com/Trolling-Motor-Transducer-Bracket-Rig-Rite/dm/view_id.191095

Would this work with the lowrance mark 5x. the type of transducer is a skimmer. I have a minkota endura 55

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Forget "units with a suction cup mount". Suction cup mounts are separate items that allow you to mount virtually any transducer from any manufacturer. Buy what you want and then buy any suction cup mount. Stick the transducer on and go fishing. It is flawed logic to buy a locator just because it has a suction cup mount. The locator may not be worth a hoot.

 

[Dodger1234]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I had a 12' Jon boat for 6 years and I had the suction cup mount for my transducer. It worked great for 1 year but as soon as I picked up a few dimples on the transom from towing the boat the suction cup held for 2 minutes and would fall off. The surface has to be smooth like glass for it to stay on and anything less than that it was a major pain in the rear when you spent time fighting with it instead of fishing.

You mentioned you use a trolling motor, buy the kit to mount it to the trolling motor. Or as stated above just mount it on a peice of wood then have a clamp hold the wood to your boat.

FYI, I fish lakes under 40' for Pike and Perch all the time. I bought the Humminbird 718 and I love it. Check out the reviews on Cabelas ! I use mine here in Canada right up to the lakes actually freezing with no issues at all.

Regards Dodger1234.

Happy Fishing !

 

[John_S]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

2D and DI units are intended for use while the boat is moving. It shows the latest input and provides prior data to compare to. Sitting in one place produces just flat lines. For stationary fishing like that, a flasher or a ff with flasher mode might be of more use. Its what ice fisherman generally use. You want to detect where your verticle bait is positioned and see when a fish approaches it.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I've never seen a "suction cup mount" offered as a standard mounting option on any unit -- of course I haven't been looking for one, and don't pay attention to "portable" models (just cause of the extra cost for stuff I don't need).

silvertip is right, get the features you want, then mount the 'ducer in the way that works best for you. Most of the T/M mounts I've seen use large hose clamps or heavy-duty zip-ties.

fwiw, the humminbird 718 has lower resolution for higher price, with the trade-off being a "dual-beam" transducer -- the 320x resolution would be ok with me, I'm just not convinced the dual beam is worth the extra $$ for the kind of fishing I do.

 

[nlain]

Re: Fish finder recommendations

Something like this may work for you, comes with a universal clamp mount.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/308639?product_id=0d633a047446ff73dad49fab3ca41b1f

 

[dingbat]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I also fish freshwater, usually 25-45, rarely over 50 ft deep.

In my experience, resolution needs to be minimum 90 pixels per inch, that's 320x320 on a 3.5x3.5" screen (5" diagonal) otherwise it's more of an amusing toy than a useful device. 480x480 is really better. And I wouldn't mess with a screen smaller than 5".

I don't know about color, but on my B&W screen I have no trouble distinguishing a school of fish from cover (trees, submerged objects), but I can't tell if fish are holding tight to heavy cover. It works for me because the fish I'm after most (stripers & white bass) are usually chasing bait in open water or relating to structure (bottom contour). Color might make a difference, I just don't know. For myself, I've decided not to sacrifice resolution for color.

Screen resolution has nothing to do with the ability of a sounder to see fish. The sounders' resolution is a function of the transducer. You could buy a sounder with 1280 x 780 and still not seen that fish holding tight to the bottom because your transducer?s resolution can?t see it to begin with. You will see nothing more, nothing less on a 240 x 320, than you would on a 480 x 480 screen.

Something else to consider in evaluating display resolution is the resolution of your own eyes. For a normal person with 20/20 vision, the resolution of your eyes is about one minute of arc. In practical terms this means the ideal viewing distance is about 8 times the height (not diagonal) of the screen away. At that distance the individual rows of pixels merge into a solid. If you were closer to the screen than that, you would be able to see the individual rows of pixels. If you are further away, the image of the rows of pixels still merge, but the total image becomes smaller as you get further away. The higher the resolution, the closer you can sit to the LCD or the larger you can make the LCD.

 

[russelln114]

Re: Fish finder recommendations

Something like this may work for you, comes with a universal clamp mount.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/308639?product_id=0d633a047446ff73dad49fab3ca41b1f

Correct me if i'm wrong but I heard they were junk. People say that this is a depth finder not a fish finder.

 

[nlain]

Re: Fish finder recommendations

Correct me if i'm wrong but I heard they were junk. People say that this is a depth finder not a fish finder.

I do not know that particular one, I have used Humminbird for a lot of years and never had a problem. I was in there looking around and saw it, it looked like it may work for you. I am on my third one, just stepped up each time, my original still worked when I replaced it and it was 17 years old.

 

[russelln114]

Re: Fish finder recommendations

I do not know that particular one, I have used Humminbird for a lot of years and never had a problem. I was in there looking around and saw it, it looked like it may work for you. I am on my third one, just stepped up each time, my original still worked when I replaced it and it was 17 years old.

Thats the reason i posted. What do you have?

 

[russelln114]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

I also fish freshwater, usually 25-45, rarely over 50 ft deep.

In my experience, resolution needs to be minimum 90 pixels per inch, that's 320x320 on a 3.5x3.5" screen (5" diagonal) otherwise it's more of an amusing toy than a useful device. 480x480 is really better. And I wouldn't mess with a screen smaller than 5".

I don't know about color, but on my B&W screen I have no trouble distinguishing a school of fish from cover (trees, submerged objects), but I can't tell if fish are holding tight to heavy cover. It works for me because the fish I'm after most (stripers & white bass) are usually chasing bait in open water or relating to structure (bottom contour). Color might make a difference, I just don't know. For myself, I've decided not to sacrifice resolution for color. GPS would be a real help, though -- sometimes if you drift off your spot, seems to take forever to find it again.

Best value for the dollar, IMHO is Lowrance mark 5x, about $160 at basspro. It's a serious tool without a lot of bells & whistles.

I agree w/silvertip, turn off the "fish ID" feature, it's just a distraction.

will the lowrance mark5x work while i'm stationary?

 

[jtexas]

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Re: Please help!!!!!!!

Screen resolution has nothing to do with the ability of a sounder to see fish. The sounders' resolution is a function of the transducer. You could buy a sounder with 1280 x 780 and still not seen that fish holding tight to the bottom because your transducer?s resolution can?t see it to begin with. You will see nothing more, nothing less on a 240 x 320, than you would on a 480 x 480 screen.

Something else to consider in evaluating display resolution is the resolution of your own eyes. For a normal person with 20/20 vision, the resolution of your eyes is about one minute of arc. In practical terms this means the ideal viewing distance is about 8 times the height (not diagonal) of the screen away. At that distance the individual rows of pixels merge into a solid. If you were closer to the screen than that, you would be able to see the individual rows of pixels. If you are further away, the image of the rows of pixels still merge, but the total image becomes smaller as you get further away. The higher the resolution, the closer you can sit to the LCD or the larger you can make the LCD.

good point -- sounders don't "see" anything, they just chart sonar returns -- I'm not expecting to see fish in the midst of trees, not on a monochrome display. When I use the term "resolution" I'm talkin bout screen resolution -- how much space each pixel represents. I would tend to agree that better resolution on a small screen wouldn't help much.

The numbers I've cited in terms of minimum resolution & screen size are what works for me.

will the lowrance mark5x work while i'm stationary?

they all "work" while you're stationary; it's just that only the far right hand column of pixels is under you right now -- everything else is history.

The FF lights up a pixel in that column for any sonar return that it detects. You don't know where it is in relation to the transducer (ahead, behind, port or starboard), just that it's somewhere within reach. If you turn up the sensitivity, it reaches further.

If your boat is perfectly stationary (which mine rarely is), a stationary object under the boat is going to draw a straight line across the screen. Suspend the anchor a couple feet off the bottom, you'll see what I mean.

So with the boat held motionless over heavy cover, the screen won't show you what's in the trees. look for fish hanging on the edges and above the cover. look for schools of baitfish -- find bait, fish will be close by.

Lot of FF models also come in a "portable" version, with a hang-over-the side transducer, they cost extra.

 

[John_S]

Re: Fish finder recommendations

Correct me if i'm wrong but I heard they were junk. People say that this is a depth finder not a fish finder.

I believe that model was picked up from Bottom line or other mfg. It wasn't HB original model.