I was wanting to get the opinions of some tin boat guys on what they feel is a good option for a decent gps/fish finder unit for a 16 ft Jon boat. I use it for a lot of stuff from river to marsh to costal gulf to big lakes. I am interested in decent graphic of the bottom and gps is my big want. I am using a cheap Hummingbird pmax 143 for depth and water temp at the moment and using my galaxy note 3 for marking navigation and fish. Really tired of killing my battery on my phone using it for navigation. What are some of the options you guys are using???
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ISO a decent yet affordable gps/fish finder#
- Thread starter crazyd
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You don't mention a budget so....
I've got a Lowrance Elite 4 gps/2d for the yak and a small FG boat I've got, works good, but the screen is small at 4", can't see it from a distance but in these two it's not much of an issue for me.
I've used the Lowrance Mark 5 pro on the yak but did not have gps so I got the elite 4 for the gps. the Mark 5 is a good basic FF imo, the one I had did not have gps but would assume the gps function works good.
I've currently got a Lowrance HDS 8 with SS/DS on my tracker PT175, like it a lot, but it is a bit complex to use, but it is a hi-tech FF. I've also got a HB 788 HDci (?) on the bow of the 175, the 2d FF function works good, the gps is extremely slow to boot up in the mornings, takes a long time to lock on the satelites and then when trolling at slow speed from .6 up to 1.2, the speed jumps all over the place. the only reason I have the HB on the bow or on the boat is because the transducer cable will fit on the Terrova shaft like I wanted while Lowrance tranducer cables will not fit as they are just a hair thicker.
There are +/-'s to each model or brand, go to BPS or Cabelas and punch some buttons, ask a lot of questions and read up on the one(s) you like and then go punch some more buttons and google the ones you like the best. It is a personal preference, there are two camps, Lowrance and HB,
I've got a Lowrance Elite 4 gps/2d for the yak and a small FG boat I've got, works good, but the screen is small at 4", can't see it from a distance but in these two it's not much of an issue for me.
I've used the Lowrance Mark 5 pro on the yak but did not have gps so I got the elite 4 for the gps. the Mark 5 is a good basic FF imo, the one I had did not have gps but would assume the gps function works good.
I've currently got a Lowrance HDS 8 with SS/DS on my tracker PT175, like it a lot, but it is a bit complex to use, but it is a hi-tech FF. I've also got a HB 788 HDci (?) on the bow of the 175, the 2d FF function works good, the gps is extremely slow to boot up in the mornings, takes a long time to lock on the satelites and then when trolling at slow speed from .6 up to 1.2, the speed jumps all over the place. the only reason I have the HB on the bow or on the boat is because the transducer cable will fit on the Terrova shaft like I wanted while Lowrance tranducer cables will not fit as they are just a hair thicker.
There are +/-'s to each model or brand, go to BPS or Cabelas and punch some buttons, ask a lot of questions and read up on the one(s) you like and then go punch some more buttons and google the ones you like the best. It is a personal preference, there are two camps, Lowrance and HB,
You are right I didn't post a budget BC I don't want to rule out a good opinion on a good unit. I really want to hear what you guys are running and think about the units y'all use one your boats. I can look all day at gps/ff and not know what the user report on them is and now a days company's hire people to spend all day putting bogus reviews on their items on all of the vendors sites so I have lost faith in online site based reviews. I have looked but wanted to know what is in action on tin boats and small boats and used by the fishermen and captains that use them.
I have seen the ridiculous 12 inch screen monster GPS/FF units and have a reasonable FF Hummingbird Piranha max 143 but there are real fishermen with real knowledge out there and I value their opinion and wisdom on all fishing and boating matters.
I have seen the ridiculous 12 inch screen monster GPS/FF units and have a reasonable FF Hummingbird Piranha max 143 but there are real fishermen with real knowledge out there and I value their opinion and wisdom on all fishing and boating matters.
2sac
Well-known member
Best bang for your buck in a Humminbird unit is the new 859 It's under $600, gives you a 7" screen and internal GPS, so no extra holes in the boat for the puck. It's Ethernet capable so if you ever wanted to link it to another unit you could. If you ever purchased a Ipilot Link it would work with that as well. Rumor has it, it is not compatible with all the Navionics cards, so you would need to check on that. It is compatible with all the Lakemaster cards. Humminbird has some smaller less expensive graphs that will do the same thing. If gps wasn't a factor, I'd say a smaller unit is fine. The bigger screen is nice to see the maps. Previously I had a 798 and the jump from a 5" screen to a 7" screen is well worth the extra coin. I don't have the 859, but do have its predecessor, the 858 along with a 998 and 1198, and would never go back to a small screen.
The larger the screen you get the more detail you will be able to see via the zoom feature most, if not all have now, especially in the higher $$ range. If you go with Side scan, down scan, from either Low or HB, get the largest screen you cannot afford as the detail will be much better and you will be happier with your purchase. DI on a 5" screen is almost a waste of $$ IMO, and consider where you will mount the new unit, and will you be using from the console/drivers seat the majority of the time or from where you fish, the bow or stern area. A larger screen is easier to see from a distance, a 4 or 5" screen gets pretty darn small from 6-8' away.
