Fish and depth finder advise

[taterosu]

Hey guys I need some advise on what to buy. Im nearing completion on my first first boat mod. Its a 1232 delhi jon boat. I down to details like carpet and electronics but Im torn on what to buy. Thinking about buying something with down imaging but I really havent used fish finders much. Im mostly a catfisher with juggs but I like to chase crappie too. This little boat is gonna be great for the shallows and settin juggs out. Now I just need to know what fish finder to put in. Im limited to around the three hundred mark but if its worth the price jump I might go higher. I should have some pics posted on the build by next weekend. Cant wait to show off my handy work. Thank for the info guys.

 

[Brine]

Go buy an Eagle Cuda. Learn how to read it and adjust it.

Once you determine that you could catch more fish if you had a better finder, then look for something better.

 

[taterosu]

Thanks Brine. Ive got a cuda. its alright but I was wanting to upgrade into something a little bit better. Guess my question is what brand should i go with and is the price jump from the black and to the color screens worth money. Im looking at a hummingbird 570 DI and the Lowrance 5X DSI. They are both priced at 299 at cabelas and bass pro. To jump up to the color monitor is around 550. Is the color worth it? Im I better off with hummingbird or lowrance? Down imaging or the regular sonar type? Gps is a waste on the lake I fish because I know the lake even though it would be nice to plot where the juggs are at lol. Too many choices and and I want to try them all! Thought I could get some advice on it since all Ive ever used is the little eagle cuda 350. thanks for the help

 

[Bugpac]

Stick with lowrance or eagle. Stay away from the eagle 520c tho, they are know for circuit board failures.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Stick with lowrance or eagle. Stay away from the eagle 520c tho, they are know for circuit board failures.

If you're getting a dsi unit, get a humminbird. The lowrance dsi units don't come with regular sonar, but the HB units do.

As for color or not, I say stick with black and white. Price difference for color just ins't worth it.

 

[albright1695]

I just bought a Hbird 570 di and am very happy with it. Only used it for a couple of hours so far but its pretty good at showing structure. Still learning all the bells and whistles but for $300 its a great unit. Check gander mountain,they had it for $299.99 but i had a code for $50 off anything over $250 so I got it for less than $270. And they always have free shipping.

 

[taterosu]

Great info guys, thanks. Iwill have to check gander mountain, didnt even think about them. Thats good to know on the circuit board failure too. Thanks again!

 

[redbug]

Please do yourself a favor and check the prices via a google search
there are much better prices on most stuff if you look around
also look for the unit the has the highest vertical pixels you will get much better detail.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Universal mania usually has the lowest prices around, and thats before their sale prices. Make sure you check reviews on whoever you buy from if its a random website.

 

[taterosu]

Thanks again. I will have to check out that site never heard of them before. I also never thought of the pixel rate on the monitor, thats good advise. Thanks again guys, the info is greatly appreciated. This is hands down the best site on the web!

 

[dyeguy1212]

https://image.basspro.com/images/images2/free-offers/2011Humminbird570Rebate.pdf

 

[taterosu]

Thanks for the rebate on the hummingbird. Im kind of leaning in the direction.

 

[fender66]

Universal mania usually has the lowest prices around, and thats before their sale prices. Make sure you check reviews on whoever you buy from if its a random website.

+1. Bought 2 units from them earlier this year.

 

[J.P.]

get one with side scan, it's a great feature.
seeing the bottom is good, but also seeing horizontal is even better.

 

[taterosu]

Ok Thanks J.P. I will check out those also.

 

[shawnfish]

humminbird,humminbird,humminbird....so much easier to navigate the menu and adjust settings. ive owned them my whole fishing life and have no complaints, for model that depends on what you want it to do. i have a 798ci SI HD and love it!!!! but some guys dont wanna spend 1000+ on sonar but i fish a LOT!!!!

 

[taterosu]

humminbird,humminbird,humminbird....so much easier to navigate the menu and adjust settings. ive owned them my whole fishing life and have no complaints, for model that depends on what you want it to do. i have a 798ci SI HD and love it!!!! but some guys dont wanna spend 1000+ on sonar but i fish a LOT!!!!

Do you do any fishing where there is heavy silt deposits? The lake I fish is loaded with silt. It changes with every big rain. The little 100 dollar fish finder are really hard to get setup for a good read on the bottom in this bog. Hoped the DI units might be a little better for this.

 

[shawnfish]

95% of the lakes i fish are small flood control resivoirs that were built with water storage in mind and are all but a few silted in very badly, my unit reads bottom composition very well, i can tell if theres sand,gravel or whatever else is below it or mixed in with it. ii can even see old road beds that have 7 or 8 feet of silt on top of them using the rts window with 2D sonar and bottom structure setting....

 

[aclaimsman]

humminbird,humminbird,humminbird....so much easier to navigate the menu and adjust settings. ive owned them my whole fishing life and have no complaints, for model that depends on what you want it to do. i have a 798ci SI HD and love it!!!! but some guys dont wanna spend 1000+ on sonar but i fish a LOT!!!!

+1

I was a Lowrance guy for more years than I care to admit. Changed over to a Humminbird and was the best decision I ever made.

 

[taterosu]

Great info. Thanks guys