what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

[whiteknight]

I would like to get the right finder the first time.I fish for crappie, walleye, bass, trout etc. I'm fishing in colo,wyo,neb,kans. area I dont care about a bunch of fancy stuff just want one that works good.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Most recommend Eagle or Garmin finders. It's just a matter of money and the features that you want as to which model you get. I have a Humminbird on my toon that has served me well, even though they get a bad rap on here. Then again, I have an Eagle on my runabout that's about 7 years old and have never had a problem with it either. Put "fishfinder" without the quotes, in the red search box above and you will be reading for hours!

 

[whiteknight]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

thanks rickboat

 

[walleyehed]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

GARMIN, no doubt, no question.....super unit, with EXCELENT factory support!!!!!<br />Very "user friendly"....can spot salt cedar in a single pass!!!!!!!! <br /><br />p.s. Don't forget that fish report!

 

[walleyehed]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

^ A few more comments maybe???

 

[LadyFish]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

We have a Garmin 240 Blue fish/depth finder, we love it. It also beeps when the battery is low and gives you your speed. Transducer is mounted under boat. Our primary use is saltwater, its a good dependable unit and easy to read.

 

[whiteknight]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

sounds like garmin is getting the votes so far heep comments coming <br /><br /> Thanks

 

[Boatist]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Whiteknight<br />I do not know about Walleye but the other fish you listed and normally fished at less than 50 feet. Almost any unit will work down to 50 feet I like Furuno for deep saltwater. For shallow fresh water I would check Eagle, Garmin, Lowrance in that order. The higher the resoultion the better it draws fish arches. Look for a unit with at least 240 vertical pixels. Temp and speed are also usefull.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Boatist, if I may ask, why do you list Eagle, Garmin, Lowrance, "in that order"?????<br />Eagle was born from Lowrance as a lower-priced unit to compete with hummingbird price, and quality-wise. Also, Eagle is not a "High deffinition" unit. Just curious as to the order you suggest, thats all...

 

[Boatist]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Whiteknight<br />The reason I listed in that order is because it appears to me you will be fishing in 50 feet or less. In 50 feet or less you do not need a lot of power or too high a resolution. The Eagle is the cheapest in the units I consider good quality. At 50 feet a 240 pixels unit with no zoom would show any fish that is at least 2.5 inches high. With the 4 times zoom it would show any fish at least 3/4 of a inch high. So for your application I think the Eagle would be the best choice for the buck.<br /><br />I can tell you my next unit will be a dual frequency color unit with at least a resolution of 480.<br />It will have 500 watts rms power or 4000 watts peak to peak. That because I fish as deep as 450 feet of salt water for rock fish and the color units you can read from the back of the boat.<br /><br />For deep water like I fish no one better than Furuno, Garmin very close in power and Lowrance by there specs also close but I feel Lowrance streaches their preformance more than most. It is a hard choice but they last a long time if you keep them in out of the heat. My present unit I got in 1982 and it is still going fine.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Boatist, thanks for the reply....it makes sense, and picking up 2" fish is exactly why I choose the Garmin.......finding the Baitfish, means finding the Big fish most of the time. With the Eagle it's near impossible to seperate baitfish from a stump unless suspended quite a ways from bottom.

 

[whiteknight]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

good info,ok walleyehed and boatist or lady fish or anybody what do think about the lowrance x97 its on sale for 329. has 320 or 340 pixels a lot clearer screen than garmin,<br />and supposedly a lot less steps to get through screens,I know walleyehed swears by garmin and i love garmins gps but if you think the x97 would be as good or better (or worse) let me know asap.

 

[Boatist]

Re: what fish finder to get ,garmin 240 or lowrance x97??

Whiteknight<br />Both are very good units down to at least 150 feet in fresh water. The Lowrance has a little bigger screen 5 inches and a higher resolution 320. The higher resolution will help some if you ever fish deep like over 100 feet. The Garmin has at 4.6 inch screen and resolution is 240. Both units have a temperature sensor. The Garmin has 400 watts of power and Lowrance has 375 watts. I do not belive either unit is really any harder to operate. If you want a speed sensor then you might want to check and see if can find a package that contains the speed sensor. Cabela's often has a packages that includes the speed sensor and much cheaper than if you got it later. Here at Iboat they have some good deals if you find what you want.<br /><br />For the same price I would go with the Lowrance.