25 replies to this topic

[dino]

Garmin in my opinion makes a pretty good combo unit for the money. I bought the 440 series. It comes preloaded with your choice of charts and on a couple of nights when I just wanted to try one more pass before heading back up the river to dock, I was amazed how accurate and reliable this unit is. It is also user friendly as I can barely type:)

[BobP]

I think Garmin and Lowrance have very good basic sonars. I've used a Garmin on the front of my boat for 8 years and it works great and has a nice sharp screen. Number of vertical pixels is where it's at when comparing sonar screens. The more pixels, the better the unit can distinguish fish from cover or the bottom. 480 x 480 is nice and can be had on some Lowrance units.

If you add GPS into the mix, the field narrows. I'll only use Navionics map chips because they're the best - and Garmin uses a proprietary map chip, so they're out as far as I'm concerned. That leaves Lowrance, Eagle and Humminbird. BTW, the map chip adds an extra $100-150 bucks to the cost.

Lastly, if you want Side Imaging, you are now down to Humminbird ONLY. The 797 is their base SI unit. SI is wonderful! I use a 987C on my boat and love it. But its big transducer has to be externally transom mounted so it can "see" out both sides of the boat. That's usually do-able on most boats but not always. And guys want to protect that expensive SI transducer from damage (replacement cost $200), so many mount it in a protected higher area and operate a 2nd thru-the-hull transducer when cruising on plane. A Hbird switch connects both transducers to the head unit. The 797 uses an external GPS antenna you need a place to mount. The good news is the 2009 Hbird antennas are now 50 channel and give a VERY exact position (within a very few feet). Anyway, when all is said and done, your $800 797 is now $1000 after adding the 2nd transducer, Hbird switch, and $100 Navionics map chip.

To me, GPS and SI are worth the expense and hassle because of where and how I fish. Both features can make you a much more knowledgeable and productive fisherman and a little safer on the water. But they aren't for everyone. You need to decide if those features provide info that fits the way YOU fish, as well as your budget.

[jatman1988]

At the $500 price point I would say a Lowrance lms 522c would be the best bang for your buck, especially if you don't have a good place to mount your gps antenna, it is internal on the 522 other than that it is the same as the 520.For double the money you can get into a side imange from humingbird, they are sweet but you will pay a pretty penny for the new technology.

[WannabeeFishing]

I've seen the SI in action and it's really cool. But I'd like to see some more players get in the game to maybe drive the prices down.

Lowrance is rolling out it's new high-def units in Feb 2009. You might watch the clearance pages for Cabelas, BPS, etc to watch for deals on the older models. Also watch for last year's Navionic chips. You can really save some money, but you have to check the pages regularly.

[BobP]

For those of you interested in mapping GPS units like the Humminbirds or Lowrance, you can go to the Navionics web site and find lists of lakes that are covered in their Hot Maps and other chip families. The Hot Maps Premium cards seem to be the most comprehensive for fresh water lakes. I use one on my H'bird 987C and it has been great. Now JMHO, I like the high end H'bird units with sidescan sonar if you can afford them - they aren't cheap! For less expensive sonars without GPS mapping, I have enjoyed using Garmin units because of their very clear displays, good service, durability. But I don't like that Garmin only sells proprietary GPS map cards that will not work in any other brand. The wide applicability of the Navionics map cards allows that company to update their lake maps more often and includes many popular lakes in "HD", that is 1 ft interval topography via custom surveys. You also need to think about future upgrades to your system. If you are running a Lowrance or H'bird unit now and you plan to move it from the helm to the front trolling motor while upgrading to a bigger/better helm sonar, you want to get the same brand unit. That offers the possibility of networking the 2 units. It also allows you to troubleshoot one unit with components from the other same brand unit if a problem arises.

Edited by BobP, 29 June 2010 - 11:21 PM.

[M@TT]

Humminbird, Eagle or Lowrance you can't really go wrong. I run a Lowrance 527c w/gps and love it. I have used Eagle two of them to be exact one was a 320c w/ gps both failed me or broke after about 2 years. I guessed I got what I paid for.