Fishing electronics

[metlhead]

Pulled the trigger yesterday on a new 20' hardtop. I've got a month until it is fit and delivered. So, I am looking for good advice for fishfinder/gps combo. Budget would $800 top end and not really interested in downloading stuff. Have one of those on my sled and never had a need to import any info. Simple is good, and bottom contour intrigues me. Boat would be used primarily on the Columbia and near coastal areas. Also would be taken east for big water trips.

[Stein]

Lowrance Elite 7 ti will be in that price range, I would check Garmin and Simrad, but $800 is pretty tight and you will likely be getting a package deal with transducer in the 7"ish screen size.

I'm happy with my Elite 7 for the price, but just bought a new transducer as the package one has significant limitations mainly due to the lower power.

[HntnFsh]

Garmin echomap plus 7

[MADMAX]

Garmin = Easy operation

[metlhead]

Great info. Looked at both online for reviews.

[Wetwoodshunter]

Just curious. When you say taking East for bigwater trips are you talking the Atlantic Ocean? 

[bassquatch]

Have to be new?

I have a Lowrance HDS-8 on my Jon Boat I've been considering selling.

[metlhead]

I would prefer new, thank you. Eastern WA-Columbia, Moses Lake. These give me some ideas where to look. Is the side scan really helpful?

[fowl smacker]

Raymarine Element HV would fit your bill and in my opinion blows Garmin and Lowrance units away with the imaging detail.

[ASHQUACK]

I bought the Garmin Echomap UHD 73cv for.my 20' sled. Upgraded from the Lawrence hook and couldn't be happier.

[h2ofowlr]

Raymarine Element HV would fit your bill and in my opinion blows Garmin and Lowrance units away with the imaging detail.

I moved away from Raymarine to Garmin.  Way easier to use the Garmin and better graphics.  Garmin all the way if you want a good system.

[fowl smacker]

Raymarine Element HV would fit your bill and in my opinion blows Garmin and Lowrance units away with the imaging detail.

I moved away from Raymarine to Garmin.  Way easier to use the Garmin and better graphics.  Garmin all the way if you want a good system.

That's funny, I'm opposite.  Guess it's all personal preference.

[scotsman]

Garmin is much easier and more intuitive to use. Last thing you need on the water is, while marking a fish or location, is to try to remember which third level of which menu has the map you want. Lowrance drove me nuts.

[MADMAX]

I know 2 guys with lowrance units
They never turn them on
Can’t figure them out

[GWP]

If you were closer I would say come out and play with my newer Garmin down and side scan. I also have one of the early Live Scan set ups. They are pretty fun. Get the best you can afford now, then forget the ‘newest latest and greatest’ and use what you have. I still occasionally use the original 4” original permanently mounted for depth, but that is about it. Only if I don't want to fire up the 7510.

[Barbarossa13]

If you ever plan on putting an electric trolling motor on the bow you may want to consider which brand of fish finder you go with.  I got a minn Kota on my 18’ hewescraft, ended up with a humminbird finder so I could pair the two together. Being able to follow a contour line is the cats meow.  Good luck with your decision!

[Stein]

Garmin is much easier and more intuitive to use. Last thing you need on the water is, while marking a fish or location, is to try to remember which third level of which menu has the map you want. Lowrance drove me nuts.

Press the waypoint button twice.  I think it's what you get used to, just like cell phones.  I've been using Lowrance for probably 20 years now.

That said, they aren't the leader for higher end units for sure and my next unit will likely be something else but it also won't be at the same price range either.

Garmin makes great electronics outside marine stuff and I would heavily consider them as well but haven't used their units on a boat.

In the $800 range, the transducer is going to be the limiting factor regardless of the brand, especially if you use it deep and/or in salt.  The head unit can only work with the information it gets back.

If I absolutely had to stick with $800, I would be really tempted to spend $250-300 on a higher power transducer and get the best screen I could for $500 knowing it's likely smaller or less features.  That's for salt though, I don't know much about lake and river needs.

[metlhead]

Do most units come with a low end/weak transducer?

[fishngamereaper]

Do most units come with a low end/weak transducer?

They come with ducers that match up well with the unit they are paired with...meets the needs of most people.

You need to go to a larger airnar to get 600-1000 or more watts to really up the functionality of a head unit...if it can handle it...most base line lower price head units don't need that type of watts though.

[Stein]

I guess it depends on where you fish and what package you buy.  I think most people that buy them are more concerned with the size and functionality of the screen than the transducer, so they put more money in there and scrimp on the transducer to hit a price point.

I know the Elite 7 can power much more transducer than it comes with.  I want to say the transducer is 200 Watts and it can power 500, but I might be wrong on that.  I usually have trouble shooting bottom starting at 300 feet or so while trolling and it won't hold bottom up on a plane unless I'm in super clear water.  I've remounted it more times than I care and got it better, but in deep salt it just isn't ideal.  It also has trouble marking fish with big schools of bait or junky water.

For a lake, I'm sure it's great, I just don't really do that often enough to have much of an opinion.  In fairness, it's not really marketed as a salt water tool with all the structure and side scan stuff.  Yeah, it works and for $800 all in, I think it's a solid value.

If you are interested in going that route, I'll make you a deal on my transducer and you could just buy the screen.  I'll have it off my boat in a week or two.

[metlhead]

For my needs, most freshwater would be 80' or less, and saltwater would be less than 300'.

[metlhead]

Any thoughts on the Helix series. I stopped over at a coworker and checked out the Helix 7. Seemed to be a good unit. The down imaging is very nice.

[Bill W]

DI is nice if you are in deep enough water.  I have the Helix 10 with SI as I fish central WA lakes.

[Angry Perch]

I have a Helix 10 and like it a lot. Easy to use and does everything I could want!

[metlhead]

Is the difference in number just correspond to the screen size on most units, or is more power involved?

[Stein]

Most reference the screen size, I would always double check the power though.  There can also be differences sometimes in the smallest size to the mid and large screens, they can have less features.

[metlhead]

Thanks for the input folks. I pulled the trigger on a Garmin. Sounds like it will do more than I need.

[Badhabit]

Metlhead, what Garmin unit did you get? I've got some old Lowrance on my 01 Lund I might want to upgrade.

[metlhead]

74cv

[dilleytech]

I really don’t think you can beat a garmin. The custom contour mapping you can do with it is priceless. No stock maps are never that accurate but with the garmin QuickDraw feature you can simply push a button and map out everything you fish while fishing. It really helps show you why some spots are better then others. And when it comes to trolling or sitting in small Channels know exactly what the bottom looks like around you is super helpful. Lowrance sucks. Avoid them

[CP]

I really don’t think you can beat a garmin. The custom contour mapping you can do with it is priceless. No stock maps are never that accurate but with the garmin QuickDraw feature you can simply push a button and map out everything you fish while fishing. It really helps show you why some spots are better then others. And when it comes to trolling or sitting in small Channels know exactly what the bottom looks like around you is super helpful. Lowrance sucks. Avoid them

I've never used that feature.  I'll have to figure out which button to push.

[Bill W]

I really don’t think you can beat a garmin. The custom contour mapping you can do with it is priceless. No stock maps are never that accurate but with the garmin QuickDraw feature you can simply push a button and map out everything you fish while fishing. It really helps show you why some spots are better then others. And when it comes to trolling or sitting in small Channels know exactly what the bottom looks like around you is super helpful. Lowrance sucks. Avoid them

Humminbird has autochart.

[Stein]

So does Lowrance.  The problem is that it only works if the water doesn't change.  If there are waves when you are mapping, tide changes, river or lake level changes, then it's all off.  I think if you are looking to map things in great detail in freshwater it could be useful, but for general contours, ledges and that sort of thing it's not that great.

My hope was to find and map pillars that hold cabezon.

If you do want to use it, my suggestion is to leave the rods at home and map everything you want on the same trip when the water is flat, don't do some today and go back next weekend and try to fill it in.  Also don't be pulling pots, running downriggers or anything else that might accidentally block the transducer, you want a perfectly clear view of the bottom without any bouncing, rocking, etc.