Fishing electronics

[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.