fish finder combo units

Ok so hear it goes. I know there are other threads on here about fish finders/ GPS units. I'm new to kayak fishing and love it. I have the native redfish and have spent the last month getting it rigged up. Now its time for the fish finder. I have gone all over the Puget sound looking for options. I visited sportco, wholesale sports, sportsmans warehouse, west coast marine. By the way west coast marine I had to get on my phone and show them the elite-4xdsi, it was even their own online catalog.  basically what I'm trying to say is I can't find any real help out in the stores so I'm turning to you guys.
     here is the question: what kind of ff do you have and why do you like it? if you could would you change it? and which one is better standard sonar or dsi?
i appreciate your help in my search for a fish finder.


thanks

I have a HB 383... I haven't used another but I do know that it is really about how you are gonna fish...

i use a piranha 150 i got 8 springers this year all i needed was depth sooo anthing will work as long is depth is right

IMHO, on any vessel, the best feature about any FF, is that it  show you where the bottom is. I just bought a Mark 4 for my Outback.

What's your price range and requirements?  Color?  High resolution screen?  Large screen?  What kind of fishing are you going to do?  Not sure that DSI is as valuable in the salt as in the generally more shallow fresh water. 

Here are the two fish finders I'm leaning towards:  Lowrance elite-4dsi and the elite-4x gold. The 4x gold comes with a navonics coastal charts and has a depth of 1000'. As for the dsi the depth is 200'. Since there are depth regs I probably won't need 1000 foot view, but I'm guessing that the signal would be better on this one. I'm going to use it for everything; crabbing, salmon, bottom fish, lakes. Looking at the bottom I want to be able to tell if it is sandy or rocky or whatever. What are some other ff that are comparable to the Lowrance elite series, and if I'm making a good decision. I just can't afford to do this twice and I'm trying to make the best and a well informed  purchase.

If your gonna troll then get one with a gps so you can monitor your speed.

I've been happy with the elite so far. Color is definetley the way to go.

Sometimes I think id like a bigger screen.

A buddy just got a garmin unit and I like the screen and display on that one better than the lowrance. Seems to be more sharp.

The one thing I don't like about the lowrance is that you constantly have to set the depth range on the unit. It doesn't automatically adjust. If you don't it will lose bottom an then sometimes you have to turn it off to get it to re-find the bottom

Thanks that's some good info. I'm going to check into that lowrance issue to see what I can find out.

The Lowrance units now have auto-ranging. I had my Mark 4 DSI replaced under warranty (died after a capsize) and the replacement unit auto-ranges.

The Mark 4 is black & white only, but the picture is sharp and readable in full sunlight, and can be dimmed for night use - I am not wishing I had color.

The Lowrance units now have auto-ranging. I had my Mark 4 DSI replaced under warranty (died after a capsize) and the replacement unit auto-ranges.

The Mark 4 is black & white only, but the picture is sharp and readable in full sunlight, and can be dimmed for night use - I am not wishing I had color.

Same unit, same story . However I will get a color unit next time. When its wet out and there are water droplets on the screen I find it hard to see the contrast and I think it would make it easier to figure out if I'm markings fish or kelp. It could also just be my bad eyes too

A few things to consider.

Screen size.  If you're set on a GPS/FF combo and think you'll use it in split screen mode, a small screen gets even smaller when split between 2 apps.

DSI is nice, but for most of the saltwater fishing we do, it's not necessary.  You get most of the way there with depth, IDing that structure exists, or IDing that baitfish or schoolfish are present.  If you were deciding between color and DSI, I personally would lean towards color.

Keep in mind that the more features you add, the more drain it is on your battery.  A full FF, GPS, with DI on a larger color screens draws >600mA of current.  That would affect your batter selection.  You'll only get 1/2 a day on a AA battery pack.

-Allen