[rockylinx]

Im looking for a fish finder thats dependable nothing fancy, willing to spend 250.00
how do you rate your fishfinders??
Thank You
Pete

[David Reid]

You can buy a pretty reasonable Lowrance for that. Go to Google and type in Fish Finder Review and that should turn up plenty of good info. Here is a reasonable article/info: http://www.fishfinder-store.com/fifira.html or http://www.fishfinder-store.com/howfifiwo.html. Eagle are a lower price range Lowrance. If possible buy a colour one. Read some of the reviews such as the first one I mention above and that will tell you what to look for.
After you have read that talk to some of your local boaties ask them what they would recommend and who is a good local dealer who will give you good service and backup plus a reasonable price. (preferably someone that services them as well). Service is more important than price so concentrate on that and you are likely to find someone who will give you a reasonable price as well. Good Luck

[rockylinx]

Thank You David that site is informative
I just was wondering why the color ff are better

[cadman]

rockylinx, I just put an add in the paper for a Lowrance X-85 and a Lowrance gps. PM me if you are interested.

[David Reid]

Because the colours quickly visually display the depths the fish are located at and this quickly separates them out especially to the untrained eye. In the hands of the experienced and trained operator a black and white FF with good high definition is no problem and is quickly understood but to the inexperienced and untrained person colour is quickly understood and separates the differences. Try looking at 2 photographs of the same scene or landscape one in black and white and the other in colour and you will see what I mean. Try looking for reviews that compare FFs ideally in the same price range and why in the opinion of the reviewer one is better than another. Obviously a $1000 FF is generally a lot better in terms of quality and definition than a $250 one and in this case you are not comparing apples with apples but an apple with an orange or maybe a lemon. Compare one review against another and see why one reviewer thinks this one is best and why the other thinks another one is. Often personal and past experience enters into it. Try and find reviews where the operating conditions reviewed are fairly similar to the conditions you are going to operate in. Eg. If you are going to use a FF in a marine situation you want to read reviews that compare units operated in this situation rather than one that compares them operated in freshwater situations such as on a lake or river. Once you have more or less settled on a unit look for reviews that compare that particular unit against others and also look at the negative aspects as well. Another good source of info is a good dealer who sells several brands. Sometimes they will have a definite preference on brand as they receive a bigger markup on that brand but a good dealer will often also give you an honest opinion. Remember anyone can sell you a unit and these guys are a dime a dozen but a good dealer who has the experience and knowledge and who will give you first class service and backup are much fewer. Ask around among your local boaties and a lot of these guys will give you a pretty straight forward answer. Often one or two names will keep coming up. A dealer who services them will often give you a fairly straight forward answer as well. Try and finder out the local service and repair agents and talking to this guy/s will often tell you a lot. Out here Furuno have a particularly good name but they are also generally more expensive. Look at them by all means but in your case if you have settled on the figure of $250 I would tend to look at Lowrance, Eagle. Hummingbird and maybe Garmin. Like I said ask around and read some good reviews and I am sure you will quickly start to come to some conclusions. Remember generally the higher the frequency the better the resolution and defintion and cone angle determines the area covered and is generally determined by the depth/s one wants to fish at (the shallower the water the wider the angle required and the deeper the water the narrower the cone. From this one can quickly see or deduce reviews conducted at a shallower depth in a river tend to be less meaningless if you are going to be fishing in a marine enviroment at a depth of 100 M (328 ft) most of the time. Do the donkey work before deciding and I am sure you will be satisfied.

[David Reid]

I just saw Cadmans post. If buying a secondhand one remember one operated in a freshwater situation is normally in a lot better condition than one operated in a saltwater one. Ask him the necessary questions like how old it is, what sort of condition it is etc etc and he should give you the answers. I dont know Cadman but he seems to be a regularly poster and from what I have seen of most of the guys on this site just about everbody tries to help one another so as long as the price is alright you may do as well there as anywhere else. Ask the necessary questions and like buying everything and anything Caveat Emptor. Good Luck

[Mac10]

You may wish to consider a wide angle finder in black and white such as the Humminbird 535. Better for locating structure and cover as the cone within a cone system covers a 60 degree angle rather than the 18 to 20 degrees a regular finder covers.

[David Reid]

Also good advice from Mac10. Dont know if you are fishing salt or freshwater. If you are fishing shallow water worth considering as it covers the important aspects you need to consider. If fishing saltwater and depth go for colour even if it costs you a little more

[jrhopkins]

most of the places i fish are less than 30' deep, is that considered shallow and would that wide cone angle work best in those locations?

[rockylinx]

hello all,
im looking for a good fish finder and i narrowed it down to 2 models, i mostly fish saltwater to about 100-150 feet

1 Eagle FishEasy® 250 Sonar

240x240-pixel 4.5 display

1,500 watts peak-to-peak power.

83/200kHz Dual beams produce up to 120° of fish-finding
coverage


or the

2 Humminbird PiranhaMAX 240 TriBeam Sonar

240V x 160H, 4" LCD

800-ft. depth capability. 1,600 watts peak-to-peak.

Widest coverage Tri-Beam with two 35° and 20° beams - 90º
total.

All suggestions welcome
Pete