# Looking at new fish finders



## scottyhoover (Dec 24, 2002)

could be your chartspeed darrin.


----------



## POLARBEAR (May 13, 2002)

scottyhoover said:


> could be your chartspeed darrin.


to fast or to slow?

thanks


----------



## bolodunn (Jan 30, 2004)

uping the ping rate seems to help. now that the weeds are bad your really can't jack up the sensativity as it will leave you with a black screen


----------



## DynoMoHum (Jun 26, 2005)

What kind of depth finder do you have PolarBear? 

I think increaseing the ping speed would be better then slowing it down. However speeding the scroll speed of the screen itself might help too.

Cranking the sensitivity helps as well... but as others have said, this is not always desireable. Cranking the sensitivity adds clutter on the screen even if your not in weeds, however if you can get used to looking at a screen like that sometimes your better off, since you usualy then can see archs as well. Just how cluttered things get will depend on the water condtions and other things...

Remember that the arches come as a result of the fish passing through the cone of the transducer. When the fish is in the outer frindges of the cone the signal is week and mayb take slightly longer to return to the transducer, as the fish goes through the middle of the cone the return gets stronger and comes back faster, etc... this is what creates that arch. 

Apparently if your transducer isn't horizontal you can get half arches, if you could figure out which way you have to move it by which side of the arch is missing, but I haven't given it alot of though as to which way that is... If your not getting any arch at all on either side, then it's probably not your transponder angle.

On my x70a I could barely see a arch unless I turned up the sensitivity so far that the screen was gray with noise, even then I'd get about 1/4 of a arch most of the time. The reason I kept my paper graphs for so long is cause I could ALWAYS see a arch on them. The only way I ever learned to see a arch on a LCD screen was by playing with them side by side with a paper graph. My paper graph sounders have a 50khz transducer, I'm not exactly sure if that was a big factor or not, I think it probably was, but more related to cone angle then actual frequency.

Anyway... seeing arches on a LCD generaly takes some practice. Once you figure it out... then you ignore anything but a arch...


----------



## POLARBEAR (May 13, 2002)

gramin 240's. one with speed and temp and one with temp. there is a water line on the hull, i am going to look at that closely and see if the transducer's are at a correct angle, and i am going to adjust the speed the next time i am out. garmin offers a video to run these f/f. i have considered buying it. $15. i have taken the manuel out in the boat way to many times. i have had them adjusted correctly, but i cant always remember the exact adjustment. :lol:


----------



## brdhntr (Oct 1, 2003)

severus said:


> That makes two of us then. I bought a Hummingbird Legend 3000 DF fishfinder three years ago and regretted it - it went with the boat I recently sold, in fact. IMO, my Eagle 128 basic model I've had for years performed just as well.
> 
> Welcome aboard the site, DynoMoHum.


The Humminbird Matrix has been great for me. My only regret is that I didn't wait for the 27 to come out, and ended up with the 10. When it can mark a 3/8 oz jig on in 20+ FOW on the Detroit River, and watch a fish come up and hit the lure, I don't need any more power. Plus is upgradable with a plug into my computer, uses my handheld GPS for a reciever and shows the plot and waypoints on the FF. Stores my fishing waypoints on the FF. Never had a problem reading the readout, either. Will buy another in a heartbeat.


----------



## DynoMoHum (Jun 26, 2005)

Arches...

http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/Sonar/sonar_tutorial_10.asp

it's worth reading the whole tutorial that starts here...

http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/Sonar/sonar_tutorial_1.asp

and ends with 

http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/Sonar/sonar_tutorial_11.asp


If you haven't already, turn off all gizmos like fish ID... I think even turning off things like 'grayline' and other glitzy features sometimes helps too, but somtimes you just have to play. Also, it would seem that the fish finder 'simulations' are either in ideal circumstances or overly exagurated, since I personaly rarely find conditions that show as many clear arches as you tend to see on a depth finders 'simulation'. For the most part all you need is good chart speed, good power, and reasnably good resolution and some decent firmiularity with your finder.


----------



## Sixshooter (Mar 16, 2003)

I've been VERY pleased with my Garmin Fish Finder 250 I put on the big boat this spring. You can read it from the back of the boat in the sunlight. Very good definitions. 

I'm not positive if it will mark the ThermoCline yet because we havn't had one really set up yet. But i'm sure it will. I bought the dual frequency model from Fishdog Company and they did me right. Had my unit in a couple days.

On another note I have a Lowrance X-65 that has been very durable on the little boat. However, the Garmin has a great definition and a better picture than the Lowrance. But they are about 7 years difference in age too...


----------



## tubejig (Jan 21, 2002)

Dyno, thanks for the links. They will help me make my next purchase, unfortunately its going to be next year.


----------



## POLARBEAR (May 13, 2002)

thanks for the help dyno.  

i fished with a friend in a new stratos. he had the lcx17c's in the front and on the consel. both color units. he returned them and got the standard. the color units were harder to see. so i fished with him saturday morning and i watched the f/f. really nice units, they marked bait well and hooks. so on sunday i fished the same area and once i got on the fish i knew i was marking bait and fish, just not hooks. 

thanks for the help guys. i am gaining confidence in my electronics as i go.


----------



## DynoMoHum (Jun 26, 2005)

Mostly for kicks, but also to make sure I wasn't missing out on some good deal... I called Lowrance today to find out about what they offer as a consolation for not being able to do a repair on my X70a 3D unit. Apparently they offer some rebate on the purchase of a new Lowrance product... They offered $100 off of a X-125 or X-126DF unit (these are 480x480 monochrome screen finders with good 2400+ pp power) They typicaly sell for $300-350. When I asked about rebates on a low end color unit I was told that they would give $50 on the purchase of a 102C... basicly he told me the more popular the unit, the lower the rebate, hence the mesely $50 on the 102C. Bottom line is that for me, this rebate doesn't help much... I think I'm much better off just going with the 320DF at the excelent price of $169, perticularly since I don't really care for the 480x480 monocrome display...

As far as my bad feelings about humminbird finders... My first depth finder was a Humminbird, I forget the model number, but it was a big old LCD screen with like 120x320 pixels and was like 5x8". I really like this finder, that's why when the first Humminbird eight color depthfinder came out I bought it. That color finder was impossible to see in anything resembling sunlight, I was extremely dispapointed but it was basicly a close out purchase so i couldn't return it. That color unit was only sold for less then one full season to my knowlege. (I still have it and I think it still works, maybe I should sell it on ebay). 

My next purchase were my Ray Jeff paper graphs, i paid $50 for one, and $25 for the second one because they were sitting in a local sporting goods store for who knows how many years, etc... Those paper graphs really taught me about what a depth finder really could do, I still have these as well and at least one still works, the other is for parts. 

But back to Humminbird... They came out with some sort of a 3D finder and I felt I had a perfect use for it and purchsed it... The darn thing never worked right, I sent it back and was sent a second one, the same thing was wrong with the second one but I was days away from a trip to Canada... after a one week trip to canada with the second one instaled on my boat, I got back and returned it promptly for a full refund. Every time I'd turn the gain up all the way on these units they would shut down... I don't know if Cabelas had a whole batch of bad units, or if Humminbird really blew it on the design of this perticular fish finder...

Meanwhile I then bought my Lowrance X70a 3D, and had probably 6 good years of service from it before the 3D transducer failed... I couldn't get it serviced at that time however, and I'm kinda mad about this thing too... but I did get a half way decent life span out of it.

My general feeling is that Humminbird has placed too much emphisis on gimicks and didn't perticularly care about useablity. Remember fish ID that showed 'fish' with a red dot? Not really your hard core fisherman's function in my opinon, preticularly after youve seen a paper graph in action.

In all honesty, Lowrance is really on the border line of marketing flashy gadgets that don't have that much value to a fisherman... but I'm still giving them the bennifit of the doubt at this point. However this is also why I'm buying the low end of Lowrance's (LEI/Eagle's) product line too.I think many of their more expensive products are largely just over hyped over glitzed and over priced. I don't think their going public with there stock is likely to help Lowrance's product line much either... but anyway I think if you choose wisely there are some worth products still there.


Oh, and as for my use of 3D... In Northern Ontario I fish on some small lakes with greatly varying bottom depth(mosty very rocky too), and often fish for lake trout in these lakes. There are some places where you have to kind of thread the needle of some under water valleys, etc... The lakers ussualy sitting right on the edge of the rocky slopes. Often you can't really tell which side of the boat is going to be deeper and/or which way to turn to make it though some really narrow strech of water that's just barely deep enough to troll though. I have had some sucsess using 3D depth finders to know which way to turn while trolling through these trecherous waters. Not enough sucsess howerver to make me want to invest in another 3D unit, cause it seems they have a very short lifespan and are really mostly a glitzy unnessasary gadget that doesn't seem to get supported very well by the companys that make them. 

but enough of my rants about fish finder storys of my past.


----------



## Jason Adam (Jun 27, 2001)

Hard to beat a Furuno, hands down...


----------



## greg123 (Oct 6, 2004)

Lance Valentine works at Freeway Sports in Fenton, and is always willing to answer questions on electronics, when he's not chartering. His seminars at Gander Mountain in Swartz Creek got moved to Freeways 2 yrs. ago after some problems with GM. He uses and recommends LEI products and has a book available, he wrote, on how to get the best performance from your units (both f/f and gps). His seminars usually start in early March and are FREE! They are pretty intensive but don't be intimidated because he starts at the beginning. I've attended the last 5-6 yrs. and learned something new every year. Highly recommend them to anyone that wants to learn how to interpret what that crazy screen is showing. He has even given out his cell phone # for people to get in touch with him.

Greg


----------



## Jason Adam (Jun 27, 2001)

We had Lance do a presentation on using your fishfinder at a Detroit Area Steelheaders Meeting last year. It was quite possibly the most informative and informational seminar I've ever sat through(on any topic, work or play). We have been trying to get him back, but apparently he must be busy doing other things. Never the less, if you have a chance to sit in on his seminar, do yourself the favor. I personally think LEI equipment is garbage, but thats who sponsors him, so I understand he needs to promote it, but his seminars are not brand biased.


----------



## catchnrelease (Nov 1, 2002)

Yesterday I tried out my Furuno 582 that I had upgraded for sunlight visibility. Now I can see the display from the back of the boat -- what a difference !! And does it mark the fish in clear bold colors -- when you hit a big one you know it from the colors -- yellow, red, brown.

Anyone needing an upgrade like I did contact:

Lenny Merryman
Man & Machine, Inc.
[email protected]
301-341-4900 ext. 44
301-341-4078 fax


----------



## DSsam (Jun 24, 2005)

I just bought my first F/F a Hummingbird 565 its a dual beam 360x640 pix. For $199 at G/M I thoght it was a good price for the pixs. http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=362

I dont have any thing to compare to since this is my first F/F and first boat. I fish out of Lexignton area. seem to have a lot of options,settings ect. for dialing in for what your looking for. I went in to it totaly blind taking the salesmans advice. If any one has feed back on this F/F please let me know.
Sam


----------



## Jason Adam (Jun 27, 2001)

catchnrelease said:


> Yesterday I tried out my Furuno 582 that I had upgraded for sunlight visibility. Now I can see the display from the back of the boat -- what a difference !! And does it mark the fish in clear bold colors -- when you hit a big one you know it from the colors -- yellow, red, brown.
> 
> Anyone needing an upgrade like I did contact:
> 
> ...


What was the upgrade? A software flash??? What was the cost? I have no problem viewing mine, but just curious..


----------



## catchnrelease (Nov 1, 2002)

Jason;

Here's how they discribed it on the packing list "APPLIED BRIGHTNESS AND A/R ENHANCEMENT FILM TO LCD AND A/R FILM TO FRONT OF PROTECTIVE PANEL". Sounds pretty simple, but it REALLY did do the job (but it was expensive !!). Without it though I honestly couldn't have used it.

Ned


----------



## chamookman (Sep 1, 2003)

If You don't mind the input from an "old Fart"  , check out the Bottomline - Tournament 480 Max. Bigger screen - 480vert. x 320 horz. pixels - 2,000 watts peak to peak power. GREAT unit for the price ! Have owned many differant units over the years, and seen many on other boats, Bottomlines resolution and target seperation is second to none. My .02 worth - Bob


----------



## garyrodbender (Feb 2, 2001)

Try putting your unit in MANUAL MODE for arches,take it out of auto.mode My .02.


----------



## DynoMoHum (Jun 26, 2005)

I thought I'd check back in and report of my use of the Eagle Seafinder 320DF depth finder I bought awhile back...

I took my semi anual fishing trip to a few inland lakes in norther Ontario....

My 320DF worked great. I'm 100% satisfied. I'm also pretty convinced that at $169 this was proably the best buy I could have possibly made on a depth finder for my needs. Cabelas now reports it as 'sold out' 'can not back order'... which is pretty much as I expected... that it was a end of life product line, and that's why the price was as good as it was... There may be some still available at other retailers however, but probably not for long...

Either way... for my needs it was/is nearly perfect considering the price... I mean sure I'd like a screen that was twice as big... but you know you can't have everything... But seriously the screen size of the 320DF is NOT a problem really... I found it very easy to read. 

As with any new depthfinder, there is some learning curve. However by the end of my 7 day trip to Canada, I was 100% confident that I could identify fish with it, and well... what more can you ask for.

I guess only time will tell as to the reliablity and/or the ablity to get a repair on my 320DF... but I really have no reason to expect that it won't last me for at least 5 years or more... If it doesn't... well I only paid $170 for it... it's got speed/temp, and the DF transducer is the same one that Eagle/Lowrance uses on all their DF depth finders, so if that should ever fail, I don't think it will be hard to buy anohter, etc...

I'd deffintely recomend the 320DF to anyone who might be in the market for a low cost, high proformance depth finder right now... but hury if you want one, because they probably won't be making any more from what I can tell...

The 420DF appears to be your next best buy in the Eagle/Lowrance lineup... but I honestly don't like the 420x420 pixel screen as much as I like the 320x320 pixel screen... outside of the scrren the 320DF and 420DF are identical.


----------



## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

I agree 100% with your review of the 320DF. I have used it to fish the full gamut of Michigan species - from bluegill to walleye, muskie and salmon. From 3FOW to 125FOW. No complaints whatsoever. You can track your cannonballs easily with the dual frequency feature. The speed and temp feature are perfect. The speed agrees with my GPS within 0.3mph most of the time. I've had mine for almost 3 years with no trouble.


----------



## greg123 (Oct 6, 2004)

ScottyHoover, did you get a new fishfinder yet? If so what did you go with? Last time I was at BassPro I think they had the Eagle 320 for about $150.00. Bought one last year to use on the bow, and only complaint I have is the depth ranges are not adjustable like my X-85 on the console. The ranges are 0-10, 0-20, 0-30 etc. If your in 22 fow and use the 30ft. range you lose some of the screen. X-85 you can manually adjust any depth, other than that the 320 works great for the money.

Greg


----------



## Splitshot (Nov 30, 2000)

Scotty,

I purchased a vexilar CLC-200 5 color Liquid Crystal Depth Finder about 18 months ago. It is a great unit and works great once you affix the transducer up properly. lol
Here's a link. http://www.reedssports.com/Product.taf?_function=detail&_ID=4828

I also have the Boundry Waters accessories to make the unit portable. 

I used it with a Garmin I-Que GPS unit until I hit a wave and the I-Que got wet. It was then that I realized that Garmin will not warrant water damage. My I-Que was okay, but I decided to pruchase a combination GPS and depth finder.

I bought the portable unit so I could use it ice fishing, but I also have a Vexilar FL-8 so now that I'm not using it in summer I really don't need it.

I have been planning on putting it on e-bay, but never get around to it. Anyway I have over $500.00 in it and I'll sell it to you for $295.00. I have the original box and all the manuals, even an extra manual I printed out in bigger type so I could read it easier.

Send me a PM if your interested.


----------



## ozzgood2001 (Feb 15, 2003)

scotty has been thru like 4 fishfinders since this thread originated in 2003...now he is saving change for a gps combo for da' new boat eh!!!


----------



## scottyhoover (Dec 24, 2002)

can i get extra credit for threads with longevity.


----------



## Splitshot (Nov 30, 2000)

Scotty,

I purchased a vexilar CLC-200 5 color Liquid Crystal Depth Finder about 18 months ago. It is a great unit and works great once you affix the transducer up properly. lol
Here's a link. http://www.reedssports.com/Product.taf?_function=detail&_ID=4828

I also have the Boundry Waters accessories to make the unit portable. 

I used it with a Garmin I-Que GPS unit until I hit a wave and the I-Que got wet. It was then that I realized that Garmin will not warrant water damage. My I-Que was okay, but I decided to pruchase a combination GPS and depth finder.

I bought the portable unit so I could use it ice fishing, but I also have a Vexilar FL-8 so now that I'm not using it in summer I really don't need it.

I have been planning on putting it on e-bay, but never get around to it. Anyway I have over $500.00 in it and I'll sell it to you for $295.00. I have the original box and all the manuals, even an extra manual I printed out in bigger type so I could read it easier.

Send me a PM if your interested.


----------

