Ok looking for recommendations on a fish finder for a 16 foot sled, 6 degree v hull, transom is 25 inches. Don't know if the boats mostly going to be used in the Hood/South Puget Sound, or rivers. It mostly depends on how well the tracking device I placed on FNP's rig works.


Please, any suggestions are welcome. The help I got with the rain jacket problem was great.


Vince

What is your budget? I really like my Lowrance LCX 26C, but you may not need the GPS combo which increases the price.

SA

I like the Raytheon models. I use the L750. As a matter of fact I have an extra L750 and an extra L470 with either transom or thru-hull transducer that I would be willing to sell or barter for.

Garmin 250. Great product for the price. You can get them on eBay right now for +/- $230.00. Easy DIY installation.

It's "never read the instructions" easy to use, which I can't say about Lowrance or other models. Has good power, speed, and temp which is all you need out of a finder.

I have no experience with anything but Garmin, But that experience has been great! Awesome customer service, easy to use, blah, blah, blah,
I've managed to break the plug on mine twice now, both times due to stupidity, both times I sent it back to Garmin with a work order and a credit card # more than willing to pay for the repair's. Both times I got it back fixed and updated with new software and drivers to boot....no charge...

Thru Hull transducer? Hmmm. Hows that compare with a transom mount? Does it really affect performance?
Probably looking at up to $400 for a budget

I had the high-end Raytheon and was not impressed. The transducer lost signal with no warning and there was nothing interfering. Just a loss of bottom.
Nice features, weak warranty and Boaters World in Bellevue wanted nothing to do with helping.
I think a Garmin combo unit would be my first choice.
Then Lowrance.
Good luck.
Lots of people on this board know more about the subject than I do.

vhawk:

Most people don't really use the "finder they have"......I use the "Bottom Line"...does what is suppose to do.......and you can be anchored and turn the thing so that it points where you want it to point......unbelieveable the amount of fish that are within 3-6 of the shore. I have the Fishing Buddy 2255 but only because they had to replace a 1200, and didn't have a 1200 so sent me the better unit.

If I fished the ocean or foggy area's, for sure I'd have a GPS BUT I'd probably have a hand held unit, so I could use it for other things.

Even took it, once, just to find summer run steelies.......worked good!!!!! Just walked out in the river and pointed it.....goes out to 120 ft. on the "side view".

Put a lowrance 337 on my new boat and absolutely love it. GO COLOR!!!! You can see a heck of a lot more detail down there with a color finder than a bnw. If you are going to get a bnw compare pixle counts as this is the most important part about seeing things clearly on the screen. One of the best things I have found with the finder/gps combo is that a lot of times when you are trolling you are trying to keep your gear right off the bottom. With the gps you can set a depth line and just simply follow it as you troll along. Anyhow... lot of good untis out there, personal opinion is that power and pixle count are the two most important features in a finder. Shop around and you should be able to find something.

Could be wrong but don't think you are supposed to use a thrull-hull on an aluminum

vhawk,

I looked for a long time and tried out several units (from low end portables to super high end chartplotters) in friends boats and came up with the following rules of thumb before I bought mine:

1) I felt about the most important things was to get as much vertical resolution as you can on the screen. The more dots you have in the vertical, the more detail you can see, especially if you fish deeper waters (> 100') in the south Sound. For example, a fishfinder with 240 vertical pixels in 200' of water means each pixel represents 10" of water. Using a finder in the same depth with 480 vertical pixels means each pixel represents 5" of water. When looking for fish, obviously the more pixels in the vertical means the more detail you can see. Two fish close together will look like two fish in the high-res screen but will look like one big fish in the lower-res screen.

2) Color is nice... but you pay a BIG premium for it. I found that it was easier to glance at a color fishfinder than a grayscale, but in the end you get just as much information on the grayscale (all else being equal) at a much reduced price. The bottom line for me was did I want to pay as much as $200+ more for the color when I could look a few seconds longer to get the same information from the grayscale.

3) As long as you can get your transducer in clear water, location doesn't seem to matter too much. Non-through hull transducers (that mount inside the hull using special epoxy) work but the concensus was they are fussier to locate correctly and once they are installed, moving them is a major pain. Also, in theory you loose a little depth / clarity shooting through the hull. For wood or metal hulls, you must use a through-hull or transom mount. I saw no noticable difference in performance between a transom and through hull except in a few cases where a well placed through-hull transducer out-performed the transom mount at high speeds (presumably because of turbulence).

4) Transducers come in many flavors. Dual-band (20kHz/200kHz) transducers will go deeper than single band 200kHz but at the cost of reduced resolution and generally a narrower "view cone". I found that single band 200kHz transducers worked just as well as dual band everywhere we tried them here in the south Sound (water to 500+ feet deep). So IMHO, single band 200kHz transducers are just fine for the fishing around here.

4) To revisit the transducer cone of view a sec, not all transducers are the same with some providing narrower (30-40 degree) view cones and others providing wider (50-60 degree) view cones. Obviously, the wider the view cone the more you see under your boat, and that is generally a good thing.

5) Power is also a factor, with more power allowing you to get deeper and also less directly impacting the resolution detail (more power can mean a cleaner return signal). One rule of thumb I was told by a rep was for saltwater reduce the maximum depth advertised by the manufacturer by 50-60% to get something realistic. However, most 1500W units are rated to 800-900' and even using the 50-60% for saltwater rule of thumb that still gets me 400-500' of good return in saltwater (being conservative). The next step up in power is the 4000W range often rated from 1500-1800' or so, with the associated price premium. I only tested one 4000W unit (which was also a dual frequency transducer) and saw no benefit vs. the same unit in 1500W (screen resolution and everything else was the same). Also, the power ratings I list above are peak power, a number generally considered to be pretty misleading. RMS power is a much more meaningful measure of power but not all manufacturers list it.

6) Screen quality varies and this is an important consideration since if you can't see it in broad daylight it may not do you any good regardless of other features you found important. While it is possible to go into a ton of theory, I found the best thing to do is to go to different stores selling the units you are interested in and look at them in person. If you can, adjust the view settings as well since unit A may look a lot sharper than unit B until you tweak unit B to look its best.

In my experience, the Garmin units just didn't have the resolution I wanted and I ended up buying an Eagle FishMark 480 as it had the second highest vertical resolution and the best transducer of all the units I tried and looked at. The Humminbird 565 was almost my first choice (and a very sweet unit) but in the end I liked what I saw from the Eagle/Lowrance (Eagle is made by Lowrance) transducers even though the 565 had 640 vertical pixels of resolution... just one of those cases where results in the field didn't quite sync with what the specs would indicate. I suspect it is a transducer quality / RMS power issue between the units. Overall both were very nice units and both were under $200! Like you, I set the top price at around $400 so I would have gone higher and while I would have liked color, I had a hard time justifying the price premium being as steep as it was just for the color and often the vertical resolution dropped in the color units as well.

One other thought, if you are considering a combo fishfinder / GPS then I would definitely go with color and as much screen resolution as you can afford. Maps in B&W just plain suck and you need a LOT more resolution to use a combo unit effectively than you do for just a fishfinder (in my opinion).

Hope this helps...

I bought a Lowrance LCX-20c sonar/gps through Cabelas last month. It normally was $ 999. but $699. on sale. A buddy has one also. We are both very pleased with it. We have heard great things about customer support through Lowrance. I think it is a very good value. I believe they continue to have some with the 20 degree transducer (maybe the 20/50 too).

I believe you are right. I looked for one when I put my raymarine C80 in my boat and they didnt make one for it. I even remember reading something about not for aluminum.

I would look for a color finder at a resonable price. My c80 really shows the detail. But was rather high priced.

I've used several Bottomline, Humminbird, and Eagle units and recently bought a Lowrance X102c. Hands down the best I've used. The color, resolution detail, and width of transducer cone are super. $489 mail order.

I like my Garmin 250

If you go to Lowrance.com you can download a simulater that you can test drive all their depth finder products. Cool feature. Trouble is there is no one depth/fish finder that well work best in all areas with out spending $$$. Color has to be the way to go, in my grayscale finder I can't see it in certain light conditions(bright Sun).

I just purchased the Lowrance M68 S/Map for my new sled. 800 watts, Color, GPS and Mapping for 419.00 Nice unit you can see the screen in bright sunlight and you can split screen it for mapping waypoints while running.

VHawk,

The boat show is coming up starting the second weekend in January. Most of the manufacturers will be introducing their new units. That means last year's units start selling much cheaper. Outdoor Emporium had some real sweet deals on some of the previous year's Lowrance models, during the 2005 show.

The Boat Show is also a great opportunity to play with a lot of different units all in one location.

Transducer placement is critical. Most of the problems people experience with their units is due to improperly mounted transducers. I would check the experience of any reputable jet sled dealer who mounts them. Three Rivers in Woodinville is a good place, if it is convenient for you.

As to what brand, do your research and play with them all, understand the various conditions you will be fishing under. I am a Lowrance guy through and through. I saw the LMS 337 recommended. That is a great unit.

Get the most Pixels and Power you can afford. If you are going to be using downriggers you might want to consider getting the 200/50 KHZ transducer. That 50 split on the screen with the 200 will under most conditions allow you to track your downrigger balls.

Myself, I own the Lowrance 111 HD. You couldn't pry that baby out of my cold dead fingers, but it is about $2000 out of your price range.

If you go Lowrance, Fishonjohn is an excellent resource for mounting help.

Good luck

Hey V,

Just a few thoughts, as i recently outfitted my 17' sled for rivers/sound/inshore fishing and will pass along some advice from friends.

If you're even thinking of having this boat in open water (sound, Seiku, Neah Bay) get the GPS. Best insurance you can get if the fog rolls in unexpectedly.

Color is great, and you'll probably kick yourself if you don't get it, but as others have said it adds serious $$$ to the price

Having sonar that works well @ speed is really valuable as you can use it in cloudy water conditions to determine when to come off plane safely, etc. When you decide on a model check with users who have it to make sure this feature works well.

I'm really happy with my Eagle 550c. Sonar/GPS with color for around $550. There are more expensive units, but this one has performed well for me.

tight lines,

Brian

I second the grayscale, easier to see in the glare of the sun, and would add that if you are thinking color take a close look at the difference in cost to add gps. I fish the lakes and fish and cruise the sound/SanJuans, I would not go anywhere without gps anymore. For the money you are looking at you may be able to get a plotter/fishfinder combo in grayscale...