01-12-2005, 12:42 AM
I researched this quite a bit before buying mine. A lot of finders have a lot of 'bells and whistles' that aren't necessary.
As has been stated, the 3 most important things are power, cone, and pixels.
Power combined with pixels can really help define what you are seeing down there. This is especially helpful ice fishing when you want to see your jig and any little thing going on down there.
Without adequate resolution (pixels) the extra power doesn't do you a lot of good.
If you are primarily ice fishing I would go with the 20 degree cone. 9 degree might be good in deeper lakes, but I want to know when a fish is coming into the area of my bait. I have had countless times where I have seen a fish show up on the finder at a different depth than my bait. I reel up or down to that depth and get a bit instantly.
Ignore the little things like adding a little fish symbol when the finder thinks there is a fish down there. Though it might make a slow day seem more exciting, I get a LOT of false readings on that.
The side finder idea might be a good thing with ice fishing. Most people say to fish right off the bottom, but I have had a number of times where I have caught a stray fish right near the top when I'm not getting a bite down low. I've never used a side finder, though.
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As has been stated, the 3 most important things are power, cone, and pixels.
Power combined with pixels can really help define what you are seeing down there. This is especially helpful ice fishing when you want to see your jig and any little thing going on down there.
Without adequate resolution (pixels) the extra power doesn't do you a lot of good.
If you are primarily ice fishing I would go with the 20 degree cone. 9 degree might be good in deeper lakes, but I want to know when a fish is coming into the area of my bait. I have had countless times where I have seen a fish show up on the finder at a different depth than my bait. I reel up or down to that depth and get a bit instantly.
Ignore the little things like adding a little fish symbol when the finder thinks there is a fish down there. Though it might make a slow day seem more exciting, I get a LOT of false readings on that.
The side finder idea might be a good thing with ice fishing. Most people say to fish right off the bottom, but I have had a number of times where I have caught a stray fish right near the top when I'm not getting a bite down low. I've never used a side finder, though.
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