Sounders / fish finders - worth the money ?

Simon Reading	Hello everyone, Am just starting to get into this fishing business - and am quite enjoying catching a few as well.... 1 of my local guides has told me that a fish finder is essential these days to locate and catch structure / fish - I have never used one, needed one. However, they are starting to appeal since he regularly catches more than I... What does everyone think ? are they really worth the money ? Also, what would everyone suggest as a good starting sounder ? Some seem to be more expensive than my boat and car - do I really need all of these "" features ? or is a basic sounder better than the one that I currently don't own ? Any advice and assistance greatly appreciated. Thanks Si,	2003-01-11
J.B. Cornwell	G'Day, Si. Once you learn how to use them, which is really quite easy, they are worth their weight in diamonds. Good luck.	2003-01-11
NOSLEEP	Fishing with out sonar is like fishing with a bag on your head.	2003-01-12
Simon Reading	I mainly fish in dams and estuaries, occasionally out at sea, Depth is rarely more than 30 meters so what are the best features to look for in a sounder ? I mean from what I've researched all sounders will work up to 75 meters, so the added features like color, 3d etc are these really warranted ? And PS - My wife quite often puts a bag over my head - so stop teasing !! Cheers Si. PS - Are Humminbird and Piranha the same company ? The piranha's seem to be a quite bit cheaper then the Humminbird with similar features ? Thanks again for any advice.	2003-01-12
BILL HOLSONBACK	Squid I have had good luck with the Eagle brand. They are made by Lowrance one of the best out there. Its a good idea to get one with the temp. sensor feature. I have a humminbird platinum ID that has failed me and now sits on the shelf in the garage. There is no doubt you will increase your catch with the fish finder.	2003-01-12
crab bait	fish finders/depth finder, are a tool.. that's it, a tool.. they show the bottom an can show structure & depth.. would you find that appealing..?? an some also show water surface temp & speed & shallow water alarm but in shallow waters,, it's giving you the area of a dinner plate if that..... helpful..?? they also show fish ... little fishy symbols.. which imho,, are useless false alarms.. some say there not an swear by them... the better models have not fishy symbol but show arches & half arches & lines.. any things in a 'arch shape' are supposed to be fish.. people swear that this is better... I have one that only shows 'arch patterns' an in three years,, I only seen 3 arches.. but people swear by them... just like anything ,, spend what you can afford... just stay away from Humminbird	2003-01-12
J.B. Cornwell	The "fish ID" symbols can be turned off. Like I said, "Learning to use it". Maybe I should have said "correctly".	2003-01-12
BILL HOLSONBACK	Crab- where you fishing , the dead sea.	2003-01-12
bubbaboater	Stay away from Humminbird. I like the Eagles the best. Good Value for the money. I Used an Eagle on my last boat and loved it. I have a Humminbird on my boat now and hate it. I am buying a NEW Eagle in the next month and putting on the boat.	2003-01-12
BILL HOLSONBACK	Bubba, I am with you on that. I just picked up the new eagle tri finder. Cant wait to use it. It has been to cold lately to install it. If you can post some more info on Black lake that would be great. I am going up this spring. I have no idea where to stay, where to fish, etc. I have heard the places to stay book up early so I want to get with the program as soon as possible.	2003-01-12
ob1jeeper	I have a Humminbird 200DX, that is not only easier to use, and has a screen which is VERY good, especially in bright sunlight. AND unlike the previous posts, my experience is that it runs circles around two of my buddies mega-buck Lowrance Eagles". Both of them got the Eagles with their new bass boats, but my Humminbird is so much superior to their units, that they've both fitted a 200DX to their boats as well. When we use their boats, the Eagle never even gets turned on anymore. Bottom line? See if you can't get some demo's from some of the locals, then buy the one which seems to best fit your circumstances... AND it does NOT have to be the high-dollar unit, to fit the needs. Good Luck...	2003-01-12
Skinnywater	When the Salmon are running upriver to spawn, my Pinpoint shows me lots of big fish. It shows smaller fish as well. When the river is in between runs and devoid of Salmon my Pinpoint shows me the smaller fish, with the enormous amounts of big fish absent. Some times it'll show a REALLY big fish and I'll always trust it to be a Sturgeon. Over time and experience you'll be able to give names to the fish you see.	2003-01-13
Simon Reading	Thanks everyone for your replies and insight - can you really nominate fish off a sounder to correct species ? or is this getting into a really expensive league of sounders ? - The ones I have seen have three sizes of fish / pictures but when these symbols are turned off they just look like small arcs...which could be anything floating in the water ? Then again could be a whopper !! - I guess knowledge is power in this fishing world, so I best count out the money box and start shopping....Thanks again everyone.	2003-01-13
Boatist	Si the Squid For the water depths you are talking about you will want a 200khz unit with a 20 degree transducer. I like the Lowrance X91 or X97. To get started check out this tutorial for sonar and follow the next links to the end. It is pretty good for basic understanding. If you are only going to buy one unit then you may want to consider a unit that also has a GPS as it is cheaper than two units. I prefer two separate units but cost is more. http://www.Lowrance.com/Tutorials/sonar/sonar_tutorial_01.asp	2003-01-13
Dman	I would check out the new Eagle 320. It's priced at $199.99. It's seems as if it is a pretty good deal with a very high resolution. It's brand new this year. I believe it has the same features as the X-91, but with lower power. I'm thinking about taking a look at one once some stores start to carry them. D	2003-01-13
crab bait	GEE, SKINNY... when those salmon run in those rivers,,, they're so thick,, you could detect them with a 'stud-finder'..!!	2003-01-13
Boatist	Dman Eagle Fish Mark 320 actually has a higher resolution 320x320 than the X91 240x240. The X97 also has 320x320 and has replaced the X91. For Shallow Saltwater 50 meters 162 feet may be enough power. For 350 feet I doubt you will see bottom fish. Looks like a good deal. Have not seen unit yet but from what I have read so far do not think it has Shallow or deep water alarms or any alarms at all. Also see no mention of ASP advanced signal Processing. I not sure you can set up windows for voltage or a water speed sensor. Still for a basic high resolution low power shallow water unit looks Like a great price. Does have Gray line.	2003-01-14
Skinnywater	Yeah, I don't use it to detect fish. When 5-6 are jumping at the same time you know they are there. I use it mainly to locate submerged trees. It cuts down on the senseless loss of a freshly sardine wrapped Kwikfish.	2003-01-14
ndominy	I have a humminbird 200DX portable. I needed something rather inexpensive and portable so I move it from boat to boat. I use it to find structure and depth. It has helped me find suspended fish. I have not used any other and could fish without it, but it definitely helps me. I also can leave it on the boat on the small lake I am fishing on without worrying that I would be out much money if someone walked off with it.	2003-01-20
ChugBug	I have two EAGLE fish finders. Like the VISA commercial says: " I Don't leave home with out them"	2003-01-21
go-fishing	Si Squid, I haven’t been able to figure out whether you are trolling, drifting, anchored, or poking around and casting. Each would have somewhat different needs. I would think that chatting up local guides could effectively give you the information that you want on features and brands. Of course, you need to take it all with a grain of salt, and separate the bluster from the fact. And admit that you won’t have the perfect instrument on your first try. If for no other reason than that the instruments keep getting better. Start small. Unless you troll a Fishing Buddy is not a bad place to start – very versatile. If you troll, you’ll need something permanently mounted. I have used a number of different fish finders over the years, ranging from the old “flashers” to a Koden color video. My general impression is that most of the “name” manufacturers build good units, and that prices and quality are competitive. You get what you pay for. The more features, the more expensive, so only buy the features that you will use. For example, when I’m fishing the Columbia River (big river) for salmon, the water is relatively shallow (typically less than 50 feet) and often very turbulent and full of bubbles and sediment, which block sonar. Mostly, I want to know whether there are fish present, and how deep. When I’m trolling, I may want to follow a 24’ depth contour at 2 mph. For this use, I have a relatively inexpensive Tri-finder Eagle, which also displays surface water temperature and speed. In the shallow water the Tri-finder gives nice wide coverage. I don’t need fine detail, or lots of pixels. If I were to upgrade, I would go with one of the “3-D” units to display the shape of the channel (bottom). When I’m drift fishing for steelhead (small, fast, rivers) from a Fish Cat or a drift boat, I use a Fishing Buddy. It lets me look out to the side, all the way around, to check for under-cut banks, or to inspect holding areas without floating over the top and putting the fish down. It runs on c-cells, so I don’t need a heavy battery. When I move on, the whole unit comes out of the water, so that when I drag bottom or bounce off the boulders in white water there’s no outside transducer to hang up or be destroyed. I really like my Fishing Buddy; it’s relatively cheap, durable and very functional. When I’m fishing the Finger Lakes in New York (large deep lakes,) I’m trolling deep (100’) for Lake Trout. There, I use a much more expensive Koden Color Video. The much narrower beam angle is fine for this depth, and allows me to fine tune the transducer so that the beam just misses my downrigger weight. (Otherwise the constant return from the downrigger weight masks every thing else at that depth.) The fine detail, and tremendous dynamic range of the color video actually allow me to spot the thermocline(s), which are crucial to catching fish. If I were fishing for Rainbows, Browns, or Land-locks which are progressively higher in the water column, I would still need to find the thermoclines, but I would also need to see out to the sides, because these fish move out and away from the boat as you troll by, and we fish for them from long lines or side planers. When fishing for bass in shallow, slack, water, I would want to know not only the depth but the character of bottom – hard, sandy, muddy, weedy, brushy, etc. Elaborate "Gray-line" or "White-line" systems are available for this. I would also mount a side looking sonar on my bow mount trolling motor. I usually re-read the instruction book on each of my fish finders every year, but my fishing mate likes the instructional videos which are now widely available. With practice and knowledge you can become increasingly expert. In general, identifying a particular species of fish by sonar comes from knowing where and when that species hangs out, and not from any peculiarities of the symbol on the screen, no matter how expensive the instrument. In my humble opinion …	2003-01-22
Simon Reading	Thanks for the solid advice.	2003-01-23

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