Your Opinons on Fish Finders

It would be great for Fish Finders to be one of the topics for a Thirsty Thursday or kayak fishing seminar (if anyone like Rawkfish or Spot might be reading this thread). 
...

...I think my eminent purchase will be a nice accessory.

I surely hope it's an eminent purchase, since I intend to be out in the sea with you guys the next time the mid-Valley crew is down here.

I've snarfed some owner's manuals but they're not online for every model.

I'm liking the Dragonfly 5, too.  On paper they look very good.

Sportsman's Shows: another reason to envy you Valley folk.

It would be nice if there were a primer on fish finders, wouldn't it?  I know I don't know enough to even be called dumb about them, and I wish there were a slightly shorter path to being not quite so dumb.

Merry Christmas to you.

Ping Chris, Ling, Ling, Herro, he's got the dragonfly 5 I believe.

I think once you get a taste of some salt you'll be hooked.

I think once you get a taste of some salt you'll be hooked.

Just like french fries the more salt the more addictive it is. I have an elite 4x I use basic functionality as I have no freakin clue how most of the other stuff works , keeps me on the reefs at PC as well as shows the black rock schools and gps if I need it and can figure out how it works for more then direction. Maybe one of the old salts that knows how they all work could do a field demo seminar for the less tech savvy?

I just looked at cabelas website and there are a ton of quality units in the 200-400 range.

So previously most fish finders were dual beam. 80/200 kHz range for non dsi and 455/800 kHz for the dsi models. Now it looks like most of them are quad beam and include both the non dsi and dsi ranges. Which If that's the case it's perfectly fine to buy a unit that has dsi. So just look for one that has at least 3 ranges. The 688 hummingbird looks to be about the same unit as a 597. The helix I think is the most up to date unit. That elite 5 for 279 looks like a pretty good deal.

I have an elite 4x I use basic functionality as I have no freakin clue how most of the other stuff works...

Merry Christmas!

I feel better about myself knowing that not everyone who owns one uses every feature built into it.  When bb2fish mentioned reading the manuals, I started reading the manuals I've downloaded and Good Lord!  If I tried to use half of their functions, I'd spend the entire day flipping from menu to menu and forget to fish.

I just looked at Amazon, and there must be a dozen or more versions of the Elite 5 series alone: with and without CHIRP, with and without transducers, with and without maps...

And that's just Lowrance and just the Elite 5.

It's enough to make me ready to surrender to my sad lack of understanding and just carry a lead weight and mason's twine marked at every fathom.

what do you guys think about these new smartphone fish-finders at Dick's or Cabelas etc;

After fishing PC 'blind' this year, a ff is in my future too. West Marine has a couple of versions of the Lowrance Elite 4 on sale now, a 'demo' unit with 83/200 kHz transducer for $129, and another unit with 83/200 455/800kHz on sale for $199 (from $299).

I'm running the older version of what now looks like the Dragonfly 6.  I see the 6 at GPS store with Navionics Gold for under $500 (http://www.thegpsstore.com/Raymarine-Dragonfly-gold.aspx).

I'm paddling so the unit is mounted center of the boat at my knees.  The unit is bright and easy to read and reasonably simple to use.

So far, I fish mostly inland and use the map to find the water depth and structure I want, then go to sonar and/or CHIRP when fishing.

No matter what you choose, learn how to perform updates to the firmware and maps.  Navionics updates often, especially if you want to see community markers.

Lowrance is very popular here.  I picked Raymarine for the cost and the technology, which was ahead of the Elite at the time.  Either will be a good choice.

The Raymarine CPT-60 transducer is large.  But the folks at ACK say it'll fit in the Hobie transducer pocket FWIW.

How important is CHIRP? Nice to have, or big advantage?

After fishing PC 'blind' this year, a ff is in my future too. West Marine has a couple of versions of the Lowrance Elite 4 on sale now, a 'demo' unit with 83/200 kHz transducer for $129, and another unit with 83/200 455/800kHz on sale for $199 (from $299).

Thank you, but why are you choosing it?  For performance/specs or for price?  I really need to learn about features and use so I can decide what features would be valuable to me.

Good find.  Hope it works out well or you because I can't imagine being out there without one.

I'm running the older version of what now looks like the Dragonfly 6.  I see the 6 at GPS store with Navionics Gold for under $500 (http://www.thegpsstore.com/Raymarine-Dragonfly-gold.aspx).

I'm paddling so the unit is mounted center of the boat at my knees.  The unit is bright and easy to read and reasonably simple to use.

So far, I fish mostly inland and use the map to find the water depth and structure I want, then go to sonar and/or CHIRP when fishing.

No matter what you choose, learn how to perform updates to the firmware and maps.  Navionics updates often, especially if you want to see community markers.

Lowrance is very popular here.  I picked Raymarine for the cost and the technology, which was ahead of the Elite at the time.  Either will be a good choice.

The Raymarine CPT-60 transducer is large.  But the folks at ACK say it'll fit in the Hobie transducer pocket FWIW.

That helps because the Dragonfly 5 is on my short list - for the reasons you mentioned - pending whether or not the transducer will fit the Hobie pocket. It appears it will, and I appreciate finding that out.

Thanks.

How important is CHIRP? Nice to have, or big advantage?

I only know what I've read about CHIRP and if I understand it correctly, it penetrates to depth better with reduced signal noise, and should provide a clearer image on the display.  Maybe in the "Nice to have" column.

Anyone who really knows can jump in a correct me... it's okay, I won't bite.

 

Tinker,  I have and still use the much out dated Eagle Cuda 250 which is NOT color, does NOT have DSI, does NOT have CHIRP, Tweet, Squeak, Cluck or other bird noises but does find fish. 

Actually, it does not find fish very well, however it does find structure really really well, and that normally holds fish.  I don't have to dink with it while on the water other than to turn on split screen with GPS, so I can consistently get back to successful producing structure over and over. 

Simple can sometime make your fishing experience a good experience by not adding additional complication. 

Now that that was said, the Eagle Cuda 250 is so out dated that I cannot even find one on Ebay to add to my Hobie AI that I am rigging up for 2016 fishing season.  I have been eyeballing the Dragonfly 5Pro with Nav+ at this point, as I am not skeered of features.  I can always turn them on and off, depending on what I want to see on the screen, right?   

I've got the Dragonfly 6. Honestly, I liked my Elite 4 HDI a lot more.
Ive  had some issues with the Dragonfly(sticky power button has caused factory resets which erase my way points). I do like that one plug design though . I hate the plugs that Lowrance uses. They're awful.

The built in maps sucked, installing navionics helped. The built in maps on the elite 4 were better straight out of the box.

The elite 4 is half the price of the Dragonfly 6 and I feel like it's a better unit.

I hope that helps.

Yes, one surely can turn features on or off.  I looked for the Cuda 250 and 350 way back when you recommended it to someone else and they were in scant supply then and nowhere to be found now.

I'm thinking the Lowrance Elite 5ti might be a great toy... TOOL just to have another freaking touchscreen on which my fumble fingers can swipe-away the useful information.

I started this thinking, "If a feature is of little practical value and no one really uses it, I should save my nickels and find a unit without that feature."  I was young and stupid yesterday.  It's apparent that it will be hard to find a unit without all the gongs and horns.

Now I'm just trying to find out who implements the basic features the best and which one will best survive a yard sale, since I expect to hold a few of those next year.

Thank you.