My gps/sonar unit is almost 10 years old. I am thinking about getting a new unit. Which manufacturer is the preferred choice today among striper fishermen? Does one manufacture have better side scanning technology? Is one better with reliability? Which one has a better map of Lake Murray (and the other SC lakes?) Thanks for any suggestions and advice.
I think most in the club use & recommend Lowrance over Humminbird. I install electronics (at the coast) and would recommend you look over both for features & price, then make a decision. I will give Lowrance a definite edge on drawing striper arches (“hooks”) over any other brand right out of the box…and their broadband sonar that’s built in all their units is about as good as the newer (and much more expensive) “Chirp” technology in almost all uses.
Good luck…
Lowrance all the way
Team Overtime
Pioneer 197 yamaha 150 fourstroke
Daniel Powell -Tight LinesI own both. I prefer my Lowrance but you get what you pay for. I have humminbird 798si and a Lowrance HDS12touch with 4g radar. The HDS12 was awesome without even making any adjustments. I fish Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia and I took some really nice soundings of the bridge under the water that are crystal clear. The 798 on down imagining does not show squat (it was a software update addon). The side imagining works on the humminbird but I will honestly tell you it being a smaller unit as far as power just does not hold a candle to my hds12.
The Hds12 was also alot easier to learn and auto adjust itself on the water which makes for really consistant imaging.
I did have a lot of trouble with my Humminbird with viewing SI with the trolling motor running. I discovered that I had to modify the ground on my minnkotta ipilot st to resolve the concern.
I do know several people with the higher end Humminbird units that are happy with them.