Fish Finder Options

[NADO]

Hey Everyone. I know this topic has been beaten to death but I couldn’t get a definite answer for myself after searching through the old threads. I am likely going to get a fish finder for my birthday in march so I am looking at what some members here is the best value for your money. I am interested in a unit that can be used with both a flasher and a transducer as I find the transducer easier to read but I can see myself wanting to switch to a flasher down the road. I have included pictures(some with pricing) from a local fish store. The only one they had with flasher and transducer capabilities was $350 which is more than I am looking to spend. I am hoping to spend between $150 and $250. I didn’t get a picture of the one with flasher and transducer but it was a portable Hummingbird 345 ci for $350.

Any input is appreciated!

Hummingbird Fishn Buddy 110 for I think $139
Hummingbird Piranha Max $249
Hummingbird Piranha Max 240 $140
Hummingbird 560 $170
Lowrance X4 $99
Lowrance Mark 5X $249 down from $300
Hummingbird 345 C either $249 or $349 I cant tell from the picture
Hummingbird Pirhana Max 160 $140

 

[Spinninreel]

Hey Nado, I have a Humingbird 787 for a few years and have been very happy with it. I would wait until the sportsman show is on and check out the good deals. Waiting will be well worth it. Most of the better units will have a screen that shows as a flasher model. Hummingbird has a new model out called the 570DI which has down imaging making structure much easier to read. Retail is about 420.00 but if you can get it an sale, it would be a good choice. Hope this helps.

 

[hightechdecks]

For where your at buddy i would go with humingbird 550 somewhere around 200 beans. Dont mess with rc 12v battery go lawnmower or snowmobile. Its a little heavier but will never leave you stuck. Put in150 hours use this winter and only charged it twice.

 

[NADO]

Hey Nado, I have a Humingbird 787 for a few years and have been very happy with it. I would wait until the sportsman show is on and check out the good deals. Waiting will be well worth it. Most of the better units will have a screen that shows as a flasher model. Hummingbird has a new model out called the 570DI which has down imaging making structure much easier to read. Retail is about 420.00 but if you can get it an sale, it would be a good choice. Hope this helps.

So many models, do any of the options below compare to the one you are suggesting? I guess I would just have to go to a high price if I want flasher and transducer.

For where your at buddy i would go with humingbird 550 somewhere around 200 beans. Dont mess with rc 12v battery go lawnmower or snowmobile. Its a little heavier but will never leave you stuck. Put in150 hours use this winter and only charged it twice.

Do any of the ones below compare to the hummingbird 550? Is it better than the 560 I have down there for $170?


Also the last one on the list the portable Hummingbird Pirhana Max 160 for only $140 comes with the cheap battery, would that unit accomplish a similar task to the 550 or the one you have?

 

[hightechdecks]

The 560 is probably very similar to mine which is 535x and about six yrs old. Pirahna max is junk. An rc battery will cost around 40 dollars where as a lawnmower\snowmobile battery is about 60 new but very easy to find at auto wreckers. If you go with a graph make sure it has RTS window which is basically a Showdown built into the graphs display

 

[NADO]

If you go with a graph make sure it has RTS window which is basically a Showdown built into the graphs display

This stuff is new to me. What does a graph entail, is it just the screen that constantly updates on the right side of the display? What is the non graph option? What is an RTS window and what is a showdown?lol :blink:

Also would the 560 you reccommended have features that the 560 doesnt have?

 

[Spinninreel]

For where your at buddy i would go with humingbird 550 somewhere around 200 beans. Dont mess with rc 12v battery go lawnmower or snowmobile. Its a little heavier but will never leave you stuck. Put in150 hours use this winter and only charged it twice.

Hey drifter, that is a great idea. Thanks. Some of the portable finders are limited in the space inside. Do you have any trouble getting these bigger batteries to fit?

 

[hightechdecks]

My unit is made for boat.....i have transducer mounted on some wood.....for applications on my 15 ft lund i clamp it to the transom...for ice fishing the wood sits on the ice like an L with transducer down the hole.i have 2 milk crates when i go out that hold1) fishfinder and battery as well as tools ie. ice picks multitool pliers ect. 2) minno cooler rods and all my tackle. Graph is past data graphed on left of screen RTS is real time data in the small window on right trouble is when you zoom the bottom you lose ur RTS.

 

[Spinninreel]

My unit is made for boat.....i have transducer mounted on some wood.....for applications on my 15 ft lund i clamp it to the transom...for ice fishing the wood sits on the ice like an L with transducer down the hole.i have 2 milk crates when i go out that hold1) fishfinder and battery as well as tools ie. ice picks multitool pliers ect. 2) minno cooler rods and all my tackle. Graph is past data graphed on left of screen RTS is real time data in the small window on right trouble is when you zoom the bottom you lose ur RTS.

Interesting. My unit is for a boat also but what I did is bought the portable kit with the suction cup to attach to the transom. The unit that has the portable mount with bag over it adapts to many of the Hummingbird models. Standard battery lasts for about eight hours. It sounds like you have a good set up. I do like the idea of the larger battery but am concerned about the weight. What kind do you use?

 

[hightechdecks]

Battery is from an old toro riding lawnmower..i used suction cup for awhile but only good for trolling speed. When cruising mainlake structutres looking for bait or eyes i usually run about 10km/h. Slow enough to get a decent reading but fast enough to cover water effeciently. I mark bait/fish/or unique features and a marker bouy is dropped. When you think you know whats up put on the yo-zuri deep runners.

 

[Spinninreel]

Thanks for the info. I have a Lund also. What I find is the suction cup stay on quite well, but the bubbles from the uderside of the boat interfere with the readings at higher speeds. Mine has GPS so I can mark the spot easily. An in hull transducer would fit the bill for those higher speeds.

 

[hightechdecks]

My friend has 718.....i think its predassor of 787. Did yours come with gps puck? He had to add on for 100$. When im in lund i still use my lawnmower battery b\c the trolling motor and radio cause interference. What type of lund are you running? 1985 14 w\c here with custom casting platforms 2010 15hp 4 stroke and 48lb bowmount electric.....a great little walleye boat.

 

[NADO]

So I think I have it down to either the Hummingbird 560 for $170 or the Pirhana Max 160 for $140. From what Gbay has said it sounds like the pirhanas are garbage but it does seem convenient that it is already a portable unit. If I go with the 560 I do have a case that was used for demo pieces for a product line that we no longer carry at my work so it probably wouldnt take too much for me to make the 560 portable.

Is the consensus that the 560 is a much better unit so it is better if I can just put the effort in to make it portable? I dont see a bar on the side of the screen of the Pirhana so I guess it must not have the RTS option. It is kind of looking like a sonar with a flasher built into it is something I should probably look into getting a couple of years down the road once I am deeper into the ice game and then I can just sell the unit I buy this year.

 

[NADO]

Hey Nado, I have a Humingbird 787 for a few years and have been very happy with it. I would wait until the sportsman show is on and check out the good deals. Waiting will be well worth it. Most of the better units will have a screen that shows as a flasher model. Hummingbird has a new model out called the 570DI which has down imaging making structure much easier to read. Retail is about 420.00 but if you can get it an sale, it would be a good choice. Hope this helps.

Where/when is this show?

 

[efka]

it may look very similar in simulator mode on the store shelf, but it's a different story when you're on the water. look for the fishfinder that has a bigger menu, with more options to configure; like noise, zoom, sensitivity, clarity, ping and so on.
i have piranhamax 220 and x67c and the difference is huge. piranhamax has not more options than a microwave. honesly i think it's a waste of money.
go with best lowrance fishfinder that you can afford.
within your budget i would go with lowrance
Elite 4x ($180) or Mark 4 ($212) options are same as elite 4x but it's gray scale and it has built in gps

 

[NADO]

hmmmm more options....The store I was at had tons of units but they didnt have the two you just mentioned. Would the mark 5x be better than the mark 4? I dont think the store has the Elite 4x. Maybe a trip to Sail is in order just to browse a bit more, im barely going to be using this season if I even use it as all. Next season should be better once im settled into the new place and have some time on my hands.

One thing is clear....dont get a Piranha!

 

[efka]

download emulator of the fishfinder you like from their website and play around with options on your computer.

the mark 5x model is weaker in terms of signal strength and it's cheaper price wise, so i believe mark 4 would be better option

lowrance emulators

 

[Spinninreel]

Where/when is this show?

The sportsman show is on march break so that would be in a couple of weeks. In the past they have had great deals on. The show is at the exhibition place. At the same time bass pro has their biggest sale of the year on, so I would wait and see what kind of deal you can get.

 

[Spinninreel]

My friend has 718.....i think its predassor of 787. Did yours come with gps puck? He had to add on for 100$. When im in lund i still use my lawnmower battery b\c the trolling motor and radio cause interference. What type of lund are you running? 1985 14 w\c here with custom casting platforms 2010 15hp 4 stroke and 48lb bowmount electric.....a great little walleye boat.

My lund is about the same size with a 20hp yamaha 2 stroke. I have a transom mount 45lb electric Minn Kota powered by a deep cycle battery. The 787 that I have is the CI model which has the antenna built in, so it was part of the package. I am very happy with the unit. and I appreciate the quality they put into the Lund.

 

[hightechdecks]

Happy with the Yamaha? Was gonna go for 2 stroke yamy but opted for 4 stroke merc gutless but great on fuel.