How to chose a fish finder?

[sheppp1987]

Hi everyone

New here and new to having my own gear for fishing. I've been researching fish finders and I'm getting pretty close to making a decision. Before I pull the trigger though I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on what to look for or what to avoid?

I found this infographic that was helpful for a newb like myself (parents owned the gear I've fished with for most of my life) but do you have any tips? I think I'm interested in the garmin striker 4 since it's a chirp and has gps at my price point (less then $200). Is there anything that I'm missing? I do mostly small lakes and river fishing all fresh water. Does anyone have this model? Do you have another preferred rig in this price range that I'm missing?

Appreciate the advice! Can't wait to get going for the season!

Shep

 

[TheTallFisherman]

Welcome to the forums Shep!

I have quite the range of fish finders, will you be using this only for soft water? (boat) or would ice fishing be of interest to you?

Some fish finders can be used as flashers (such as the lowrances) for Ice fishing purposes!

Not too familiar with your unit but might be worth looking into!

 

[salmotrutta]

Spam bot, first post, posting links to product.

They are sophisticated and will pose as real members! Watch he will come back now and deny it

 

[TheTallFisherman]

And here I was trying to be helpful :wacko:

 

[sheppp1987]

Welcome to the forums Shep!

I have quite the range of fish finders, will you be using this only for soft water? (boat) or would ice fishing be of interest to you?

Some fish finders can be used as flashers (such as the lowrances) for Ice fishing purposes!

Not too familiar with your unit but might be worth looking into!

Thanks Tall

Was only planning on using it for summer fishing, had no idea there were fishfinders for ice fishing?!? So you went with Lowrance? Which model? I wasn't sure about Lowrance. So far in my research they seem to be on the lower price end so I wasn't sure how they compared. If you have a chance let me know which one you have, I'll look into the "flasher" functionality. Not sure I would use it but might be nice to have.

 

[sheppp1987]

And here I was trying to be helpful :wacko:

I think he was talking about me? Are you not allowed to post links? Just sharing my research source bc it seemed like a good site. Sorry to the admins if I shouldn't do that ? Are there other places you use to research, I don't like going to the company websites (Lowrance, Garmin etc) because I feel like the advice is too biased.

 

[salmotrutta]

Just sharing my research source bc it seemed like a good site.

Right, and the moon is made of cheese

1000% sure you're a spambot.

 

[TheTallFisherman]

Thanks Tall

Was only planning on using it for summer fishing, had no idea there were fishfinders for ice fishing?!? So you went with Lowrance? Which model? I wasn't sure about Lowrance. So far in my research they seem to be on the lower price end so I wasn't sure how they compared. If you have a chance let me know which one you have, I'll look into the "flasher" functionality. Not sure I would use it but might be nice to have.

I went with the Elite-4X Ice package* - Its a portable unit with an ice fishing transducer.
At the time of my purchase, there was a rebate at the time where you can get $50, or an additional transducer for a boat.

Overall its a great unit to use, I plan to put it on my kayak this year.

This unit comes with Chirp functionality, Navionics + GPS, and a decent flasher mode so it is very versatile and can be used all year. Lowrance reintroduced this unit as "Hook-4" or whatever model (3,4, 5 etc) this past year. These are the same unit, just with a new name..

 

[sheppp1987]

I went with the Elite-4X Ice package* - Its a portable unit with an ice fishing transducer.
At the time of my purchase, there was a rebate at the time where you can get $50, or an additional transducer for a boat.

Overall its a great unit to use, I plan to put it on my kayak this year.

This unit comes with Chirp functionality, Navionics + GPS, and a decent flasher mode so it is very versatile and can be used all year. Lowrance reintroduced this unit as "Hook-4" or whatever model (3,4, 5 etc) this past year. These are the same unit, just with a new name..

Great thanks! Found it, the Hook4x "ice machine"! Sounds more like a zamboni name than a fishfinder lol Cabella's has it for 419$ so that's probably not bad given it comes with the two transducers. :idea: Will have to give some though to how much I would use it for icefishing... extra $ may get more features somewhere else

Thanks again.

 

[TheTallFisherman]

Just saying its a good value!

There is an icefishing (portable) version but its also sold as a boat mount if you want it!

I would make sure about the second transducer, I had it as a rebate, usually its about $100!

All comes down to what your using it for and how often!

Regards,

 

[Legend Boats]

Hi everyone

New here and new to having my own gear for fishing. I've been researching fish finders and I'm getting pretty close to making a decision. Before I pull the trigger though I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on what to look for or what to avoid?

I found this infographic that was helpful for a newb like myself (parents owned the gear I've fished with for most of my life) but do you have any tips? I think I'm interested in the garmin striker 4 since it's a chirp and has gps at my price point (less then $200). Is there anything that I'm missing? I do mostly small lakes and river fishing all fresh water. Does anyone have this model? Do you have another preferred rig in this price range that I'm missing?

Appreciate the advice! Can't wait to get going for the season!

Shep

"For the price it's a great little unit! If you can save up a little more the Humminbird Helix 5 is a fantastic unit. I own a Lowrance Hook 4 and it is also a great model. Check pricing at your current dealership or retail store. Also don't forget to take a look at any "radio" stores or gps stores that specialize in these devices."