FFinder ?'s

[Bmarsh]

So here's the deal, I've been tasked with finding a ff for my pops for fathers day and I know didly squat about fishfinders. So what should I ne looking for in a unit? It will see use on Henrys, blackfoot, n palies type lakes but it will also need to be mounted so its not an issue when the boat is ran on the river. I have a budget of around $500 for it , could I mount it?
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[flygoddess]

If you are talking Henry's Lake, look for one with a WIDE cone as that is such a shallow lake.
Just a thought, I just bought the Humminbird 570 becausae of the beam. $199.
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[iwantabuggy]

Like FG said, you'll want a wide beam for Henry's. I think I'd even go with some that will look to the side (a side finder). Don't know anything about Blackfoot, so I couldn't make any suggestions there, but for Palies, I think you'd want something with a more narrow beam. Adding that all up, and it seems you should be looking for a unit with a lot of versatility.........

At least a dual beam, and something that will see to the side as well.
Just my 2 cents worth.
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[Jimbojump]

Hahahaha...oi...this is right up my alley...I have been trying them out it seems for an eternity in that price point, and I think you dont have a chance in a side finder for 500 bucks...I went thru three Humminbird 597 HD CI Di units with nothing but problems...traded back for a 597 HD CI non-Down imaging model and it was flakey as hell as well...so I returned it too and got a Lowrance elite 5, which happens to be on sale right now at Cabelas for 549.99 with a 50 dollar rebate which puts it within your grasp...loving it so far but only been out for one trip with it...but based on what I'm seein its awesome. The Elite 5 is a dual beam highly adjustable sonar with a solid GPS as well...5" Color screen with amazing resolution....a little tricky to dial in if you wanna tweak settings but has a ton of stuff thats tweakable...I will figure it out. Good luck man
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[SmartWeed]

I have a pair of Lowrance Elite 5s on my boat - one on the trolling motor and one on my console. I find them to be very fine depth finders with a good GPS. I had a Humminbird on the bow, but found it did not record well in shallow water, and the map that came with the unit was not very detailed. The Elite 5 has a very good GPS map as standard equipment. My boat came with a Garman cheapie on the console, and it was terrible.
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