Hello everyone. I’ve been reading these forums since I moved to Charleston, but this is my first time posting. I bought a 17’ Scout this week, and I wanted to get some recommendations on the “lower end/cheaper” fish finder/gps combos. (removable) What do you like? What features do you find helpful or are there any that you never find yourself using? What are your must haves? I can go read the feature list on the box, but I’m fairly new to inshore fishing, so I don’t have a good idea of what features I will need/want. From what I understand most people don’t use them for marking fish inshore, only for looking at the bottom/depth.
I could also be interested in used units. Anyone looking for an excuse to upgrade?
I have had a Garmin & now have a Lowrance. Personally I feel the Garmin has a lot more detailed maps & was easier to use. Money wise you can get a little more bang for the buck on the Lowrance. I guess it mostly depends on how much $$ you have to spend on one.
I have a Lowrance Elite 4 with the navionics gold map… $200+/-. Perfect for a small boat inshore and off. And, if you have a smart phone, you can download the navionics app for $15 and have a matching backup GPS.
Important = color, split screen, temperature, tracking and some memory.
Not so important for inshore = touch screen, chirp, high powered fish finder.
I have a Lowrance Elite 7 unit with side scan and GPS. In my opinion, you are correct in saying that you don’t use the sonar (either HD or standard) for much more than marking depth - at least for inshore. I use the GPS function in split screen with the standard sonar and it is more than adequate. Good GPS functionality. IMO, if you are staying inshore, you don’t need to spend this much on a unit. Get regular sonar and a GPS
why not a lowrance elite 7 with a navionics map… they can be had cheap and do downscan+gps+traditional sounder…
i have one cant say i love it now but it does the job.
i personally just want more expansion…
sonic hub intigration
down and side scan
ability to get radar later down the road…
i can say my elite 7 has done everything i need of it to date tho. the issues i have had were/are on navionics atrocious mapping of georgetown/charleston… cant point blame at lowrance for it.
its easy to use… and for inshore/nearshore is well about the best dollar for dollar unit… it comes with a lss2 transducer that is built in dual band… no 2nd modular for downscan. its all built in.
i plan on putting mine up for sale with the navionics card once a few things change in my life… i really want a simrad nss 8-12 the inital purchase isnt so bad itsthe add ons and such that kill you…
but really the lowrance elite 7 is a very good unit… they now offer a chirp one as well… and the price is still under 1k for the total package.
Yeah I’m only fishing inshore and I was thinking between 100-300
a used elite7 non chirp could be had for around that.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lowrance-Elite-7-HDI-Fishfinder-83-200-455-800-KHz-TM-Transducer-10966-001-/181428714711?pt=GPS_Devices&hash=item2a3dfe7cd7
^^500 for new^^ well factory referbished
the screen size does make a difference… i couldn’t use a 4-5 personally… not for gps and the down scan
gps shots
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hear is a side by side of regular sonar and the downscan… sorry nothing fun to look at… iwas dialing in my setting for both… its kindaeasy onceyou know the controls… the out of the box setting did not work for me.
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Thanks for the opinions. I’ve been back home (Georgia) for opening day of dove season this weekend, but made it back in time to take the boat out this afternoon. Really looking forward to exploring these waters. I will probably pick something up this week. I’m leaning towards lowrance to get me started, mainly because of price. I don’t like not knowing how deep I am! I’ve got to bite the bullet and pick one this week. Ready to start learning these fish.
most desirable features (for me) for inshore fishing:
Depth / must hold depth while on plane.
Contour lines on the charts so you can keep in the channel (they arent always marked).
Memory card slot to load charts and manage waypoints/tracks.
Easy user interface (most arent bad, I prefer Humminbird but thats just because it’s what I’m used to).
