01-07-2015, 02:29 PM
The old saying 90% of the fish live in 10% of the water holds sooooo true on Lake Mead and actually I think it is even way worse than that. So much water and so few places fish are found. A fish finder of somesorts is almost more valuable than owning a rod IMO...
I haven't been looking into the current technology too much since I can't afford anything new and what I have works perfectly.
Just a "quick" glance at Bass Pro and this one pops to me as getting as much as one can get without breaking any bank.
2D Sonar only. (Bogus picture of it on BPS and Humminbirds website... Both places show a view with Lat/Long and speed. This unit is not GPS capable...)
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-Helix-5-Fishfinder-and-Sonar/product/1408100812178/"]http://www.basspro.com/...oduct/1408100812178/[/url]
No maps, memory cards, etc. Plane jane for sure. Would let one know if something is down there or not. Personally I couldn't imagine spending the $$ for one w/o GPS and mapping but if one was on a tight budget this would do it. A slight upgrade from that one and one could get a unit with GPS/mapping. At least with GPS you can drop waypoints, etc. Every single fish Madi and I have caught since I bought this boat 3+ years ago is marked/saved in my dash unit.
A few bucks more and add in Down Imaging. (Bogus picture of it on BPS and Humminbirds website... Both places show a view with Lat/Long and speed. This unit is not GPS capable...)
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-Helix-5-DI-Fishfinder/product/1409251011/"]http://www.basspro.com/.../product/1409251011/[/url]
If one was willing to spend more for mapping then I'd jump to this one with 2D/DI and chartplotting.
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Hummingbird-Helix-5-DI-Fishfinder/Chartplotter/product/1409251013/"]http://www.basspro.com/.../product/1409251013/[/url]
Again I have no hands on with these, didn't look at reviews, etc. Just looking at descriptions.
I have the Humminbird 898 (called a 899 now) on the dash and a Humminbird 798 (called a 698 now) up front. Both have GPS, Down Imagining, Side Imaging, Switchfire 2D sonar, dual SD card slots, etc also both are linked together so I can see the waypoints stored on the dash unit up front, etc. Plus I can use the rear transducer on the front unit or the front transducer on the trolling motor on the dash unit. Very versatile configuration to me being ethernet connected together. The front is a 5" screen and that is dam small at any distance to look at. Works but it sure would be nice to have something bigger.
I don't know much about Lowrance. There isn't anything from them under $399 worth looking at that I can tell. My brother in law in California has the Elite 7 and loves it. About all I know about them.
[signature]
I haven't been looking into the current technology too much since I can't afford anything new and what I have works perfectly.
Just a "quick" glance at Bass Pro and this one pops to me as getting as much as one can get without breaking any bank.
2D Sonar only. (Bogus picture of it on BPS and Humminbirds website... Both places show a view with Lat/Long and speed. This unit is not GPS capable...)
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-Helix-5-Fishfinder-and-Sonar/product/1408100812178/"]http://www.basspro.com/...oduct/1408100812178/[/url]
No maps, memory cards, etc. Plane jane for sure. Would let one know if something is down there or not. Personally I couldn't imagine spending the $$ for one w/o GPS and mapping but if one was on a tight budget this would do it. A slight upgrade from that one and one could get a unit with GPS/mapping. At least with GPS you can drop waypoints, etc. Every single fish Madi and I have caught since I bought this boat 3+ years ago is marked/saved in my dash unit.
A few bucks more and add in Down Imaging. (Bogus picture of it on BPS and Humminbirds website... Both places show a view with Lat/Long and speed. This unit is not GPS capable...)
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-Helix-5-DI-Fishfinder/product/1409251011/"]http://www.basspro.com/.../product/1409251011/[/url]
If one was willing to spend more for mapping then I'd jump to this one with 2D/DI and chartplotting.
[url "http://www.basspro.com/Hummingbird-Helix-5-DI-Fishfinder/Chartplotter/product/1409251013/"]http://www.basspro.com/.../product/1409251013/[/url]
Again I have no hands on with these, didn't look at reviews, etc. Just looking at descriptions.
I have the Humminbird 898 (called a 899 now) on the dash and a Humminbird 798 (called a 698 now) up front. Both have GPS, Down Imagining, Side Imaging, Switchfire 2D sonar, dual SD card slots, etc also both are linked together so I can see the waypoints stored on the dash unit up front, etc. Plus I can use the rear transducer on the front unit or the front transducer on the trolling motor on the dash unit. Very versatile configuration to me being ethernet connected together. The front is a 5" screen and that is dam small at any distance to look at. Works but it sure would be nice to have something bigger.
I don't know much about Lowrance. There isn't anything from them under $399 worth looking at that I can tell. My brother in law in California has the Elite 7 and loves it. About all I know about them.
[signature]