Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

I am looking for information on fish finders. I am in the market to buy a new fish finder for my rig. I have $500-$800 budgeted towards this purchase. I need a fish finder with GPS capability and one that has a loadable memory card to download maps from my computer. I would prefer a color presentation if possible with my budget. Is there a fish finder you know of that is somewhat easy to use and will increase my knowledge of underwater structure? Thanks ahead of time for your help.

Cheddarski

Eagle 480 not color but I think there not much higher. They come with pre loaded disk that are as easy as plug it in. I believe there is a version Map Create that will let you load from computer,Check This. This is the most reliable units out there. They last in all conditions, and I used mine this past weekend on Dale Hollow Fog bank as thick as pea soup. With the help of this unit I parked right on my hole no problem, then navigated about 7 miles back to dock without a hitch. I'm Sold. I'm told Garmin has a good unit also, but have heard they are not as hardened weather wise as the Eagle, And when I spend that type Money I like them to last. I have tried Hummingbird's and they don't hold up to the type fishing I do, IE rain, snow, etc. Also Lorwance has about the same unit but about $100 more and the sales person said it's all in the name.
I have been using Eagle Products for many years now and they seem to give the best bang for the buck.
But that's my rambelings after over 25 years
of 2 to 3 days a week on the water, summer, winter, springand fall.

Msivey,
I was wondering which Humminbird units you have had that did not hold up in rain and snow. Were they from one of our recent lines (FishFinder/Matrix)?


Cheddarski,
Currently, we do not make a chartplotting GPS unit that accepts computer downloadable maps. However we do manufacture the Matrix 67 which is at the lower end of your price range and will have a color version of it out soon (not usre of price). Information about these units can be found on our web site (www.humminbird.com).

Greg Walters at Humminbird

Go to page three of the posts, Eagle Mark 480. There's a good deal info, esp from a gentleman on Hummingbird's staff. I believe Johnie Crain and Dan G. are also on the staff. I have a 480, but it's black/white, and doesn't have GPS. Good luck, Carl

Msivey, Thanks for the tips. How did you do on Dale Hollow? Feel free to send a personal e-mail

Greg, Also Thanks to you and you can send me a personal e-mail as well. Thanks

Ski

Turn out the fish were in about 25' of water,and we caught fish, considering the high pressure we were under. I tried the jerk baits but the smallmouth were not bunched up with bait fish. I had 4 fish in the 3 1/2 pound range and 3 in the 4 to 4 1/2
pound range. trouble with this was there is a slot limit 12" to 16" fish can be weighed then anything over 21" can be weighed. my longest fish was 20 1/2". that put the 11 to 12 pound of fish I had could not be weighed, only four fish can be weighed. we caught most and the biggest fish on a 1/8 ounce smoke red flake Bitisy tube, and a couple fish on a 1/2 oz silver buddy. LOTS of fun but no points on the board. A couple nice size walleye were sure good on the grill the night after.thanks for asking.
msivey

Greg,
I started fishing Hummingbird when about all there was were flashers, maybe 25 years. PlatinumID, Wide Screen,and I'm not sure of all the names but you better believe I tried a slew of them. Another porblem, pet peave was just about every unit I bought they all had a special mounting base. When I contacted Hummingbird about my problems with their units ,the reaction was send them in and we will fix them, for about half the price of a new one. So after really researching and asking about everyone I know including sales personell at several stores including Bass Pro Nashville, Atlanta, and Memphis, the answers I recieved was, Garmin has a better GPS track but not user frendly.
Lowerance was hardened to weather and good GPS functions user frendly, with which I agree, and Eagle which was a lower priced Lowerance. I have also had a Eagle 320? on the bow of my boat trolling motor mount, for about 4 years now and i have never unpluged it since installed.
shall I go on?
rambelings of a old smallmouth fisherman.

From someone who installs, and diagnoses problems in the field. We are a Lowrance OEM dealer, (since we also build boats) I’ve been using sonar since the 60's myself.

Hummingbird makes a decent unit, but historically has had a problem with weather resistance and proprietary mounting/transducer/power cord connections for each unit. I did like some of their 3-D units, still have two of those, and use them when in pursuit of open water fish, such as Hybrids, Stripers and White Bass. But they are used in conjunction with an X-65 or old X-70 Lowrance.

I switched to Lowrance years ago when buying new, but have had many Hummingbirds on boats I got used. I’ve also owned Interphase Video, Sonic Wave Video, Garmen, Bottom Line and a number of others. Didn’t fall out of the boat yesterday. Even have a couple of Interphase units around, that work no less.

I do not wish any ill to the Bird fans, but I’ll stick with Lowrance for the time being. I do have to point out Garmin now owns Lowrance. If you’ve been watching closely the connectors and mounts have taken on the same look and type as Garmin.

One thing that irks me no end is the cost of a flasher these days. I like th LCD units just fine, but a lot of the time I'd much rather have a flasher for specific situations.

RNE,
I certanally agree about the flashers, I grew up using them and as you said they have their advantages. I have an old, not sure of model# lowarence that has traded boats with me for about 15 years. It recently gave up the ghost and I looked to replace it and to my suprise could not find a conventional old time flasher in any of my catalogs. Ended up buying the Eagle 480 instead.

I have been a big fan of Lowrances products since I bought my first boat. I own 2 X15's and an LMS 320. For the money you are talking about, you may also want to take a serious look at the LMS320. It offers both sonar and GPS and allows you to use both Map Create software and Navionics "Hot Maps". The "Hot Maps" are the way to go with this unit. Here is some general info:


http://www.zalmar.com/detail-Communicat ... MS_320.htm