Thinking about upgrading my gps/fishfinder and trying to decide between a Garmin and a Lowrance. I know comparisons between the two have been discussed before, but what do people think of Lowrance’s sidescan technology? From my understandings, it will scan the bottom, save the depth information, then display it on the map whenever you return to the area. Does it work well? If so, I’m sure it would be great for finding structure, but what about finding channels? I’m imagining heading up a creek with a shoaled mouth. When I return, will I be able to see the deepest part of the mouth on the map? Not sure if the sidescan can read over a shoal to an adjacent channel.
thanks!
I think the only use for side scan in saltwater would be finding schools of trout.
The image scan map overlay works well in open water, but probably doesn’t do well on creeks. We use it on Lake Murray with limited success.
In my opinion it takes someone with a pretty technical mind to use a lot of the features on Lowrance, and their GPS functions aren’t very user friendly. But they do have the best sonar.
Garmin has the best GPS interface IMO. but the sonars are lacking. Still really good for salt. For freshwater, I would have a lowrance with all the goodies. For Salt a good Garmin with the Nautic download works great. Just make sure whatever you get, don’t buy anything less than a 5" screen.
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Thanks for the thoughts, Geronimo. Really appreciate it.
Lots of prior discussion on this topic. Search function should provide you with all the intel you need. Good luck!
have a HDS 7 Gen2 used mostly inshore/harbor/ nearshore reefs. Sidescan helpful in multiple scenarios but I don’t worry about using with chart function since I’m generally fishing areas I know how to navigate. Nice to see more than just below the stern. Saves time looking for structure and bottom features. Like the touch screen too.
Haven’t uploaded last spring’s software update as I’ve heard some complaints.