Fish Finder

Birdman2

Birdman2

Well-known member
Ok guys, I need to buy the best fish finder, GPS under 500.00. I know I won't have a great one, but that is my budget. What do you have? Garmin or Hummingbird? Which is the easiest, fastest to use?
 
I'd go with Humminbird myself. I have a Helix 9 and Helix 7 on my walleye boat and like them. My dad compares them to his old paper graph he had in the 80s that was supposedly really accurate. I've graphed fish and then caught those same fish, so I have full trust in it. Humminbird is also compatible with MinnKota bow mounts (if you have one/get one, I don't).

You usually can get a good sale price if you look around at certain times of the year. Usually end of the season. My personal recommendation is get the biggest screen you can afford as when you're running a split screen it gets cramped. I have my 9 at the steering wheel and the 7 at the kicker handle and wish they both were 12s. The 9 is the biggest I can fit on the dash with the windshield. I'd also get one that has the option of networking. If you ever add a second graph, it's nice to have 1 transducer.

 
I am a charter captain on Lake Erie. I have tried them all & Garmin is the most user friendly. 9” starts at about $600. Since prime day is over with, I would wait til black friday unless you need it now.
 
If you don't have any experience with a specific brand, I agree with Captainshotgun that Garmin is going to be the easiest for you to learn on. I've used Lowrance for 22 years now and I'm very proficient with their operating system so that is what I continue to use. At this point it would be foolish for me to try and switch. Plus I have 20+ years of waypoints in my current units that I have transferred every time I upgrade.

If you can wait until Black Friday there are usually some really good deals on marine electronics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top