Fish finder!

[Duckaholic87]

So I have had 200$ junk fish finders on my boat all my life and am thinking of buying a good one I don't want to spend thousands but would like a good one with down imaging and such what ones should I look at? Thanks!
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[Springbuck]

Well, I'll buy yer old one!

JK, never owned one.
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[kokonee]

Raymarine dragonfly, is on my wish list.
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[mtncat1]

I haven't gotten a lot of benefit from the down imaging on my expensive ones . so I wouldn't make that a necessity on my want list. lowrance has treated me well
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[ekimjack]

Lowrance for sure.
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[Duckaholic87]

What about side imaging?
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[mtncat1]

the same as down imaging it mostly shows how much mud is on the bottom of lakes in ut. maybe I don't have it tuned right but there is very little bennifit for me so far . I don't know where they get the sample screens from. but it didn't look right on my units.
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[Wood_Shampoo]

I love my Raymarine Dragonfly. I've used it at Powell, Willard and Pineview and love it. The details that are shown with this unit are amazing! I sold my high end Lowrance unit and picked up the Raymarine and have never looked back!
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[Blackellunge]

u can get into a very solid humminbird with down and side imagining for pretty reasonable costs these days , i wouldnt trade mine for anything - i got a 898 - once you learn how to read it , its a game changer .
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[Outfishing13]

Well.. here is my two cents.. I recently purchased a Garmin echo 550c Fishfinder and I couldn't be happier. It does a great job. I have used it at Willard Bay with a lot of success as well as on Deer Creek.

I have used a variety of makes over the years and this appears to be a solid unit. I did buy the optional speed sensor and it works well too.

My model has been been updated, but you can still get them for $280 on Amazon. For around $330 you can get the cover and speed sensor.

It comes with a quick disconnect and so I take mine off each time I come home. I am sure I will have it for years to come.
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[Tin-Can]

Forrest,
I've used my Eagle 502Ci for 7 years. It doesn't have down or side imaging, but it has been quite accurate when it comes to indicating depth (which around here can be critical at times) and I think the Ground Speed GPS indication is pretty darn close too. It has a removable MMC card that can be updated from the Lowrance / Eagle web site with new software version updates for free, or you can purchase one of the higher end Navigation preloaded cards from Navtronics or other brands. The backlit screen shows up well in low light, and it has all the bells and whistles as far as saving and naming way points, tracks, and lots of other stuff I never have the need to use locally.
Eagle used to be made by Lowrance. Haven't seen them around in the stores the last couple years. But I would say you could find a good solid Lowrance unit in a price range you want to pay . In fact I was in Sportsman's earlier this week and there were a couple nice units between 399.00 and 599.00.
Whatever you settle on for the Sonar portion, I recommend it also has the internal GPS. That saves you from having to mount the GPS receiver separately.
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[steeltalon]

I use a Lowrance elite-4x dsi color downscan imaging fishfinder.
Positives:
Pretty effective at giving you a 3D picture underneath the boat. I can see individual fish, structure, and the bottom at Willard.
Negatives:
1. The picture you receive is essentially what is almost directly under the boat. It is NOT a sonar with a 360 Circle image. The sonar image is oblong.
2. You need to learn how to use it. It is not an easy process for anyone not computer literate.

NOTE:
1. Get the GPS version. I didn't.
2. Watch a few YouTube videos on how to use it. Hummingbird and Garmin have a similiar product.
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[Duckaholic87]

Thanks guys for all ur intell ill have to make a decision now!
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[liketrolling]

[quote Duckaholic87]So I have had 200$ junk fish finders on my boat all my life and am thinking of buying a good one I don't want to spend thousands but would like a good one with down imaging and such what ones should I look at? Thanks![/quote]

Three Things You Should Know Before Buying Your Next Fish Finder
[url "http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishfinder-buying.html"]http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishfinder-buying.html[/url]
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