Thread: Fish finder what's good ?

Looking to buy a fish finder . What do I need to know . Dont want chart plotter ( iPad or iPhone does that ) . Don't want useless piece of shit that shows phantom fish shapes swimming . Want something that actually shows real fish and features to around 80 mts . Am realistic will spend what needs to be spent $

A mate has just re-fitted his main boat, plus two ali boats he is having built, with all Simrad electronics. He researched everything thoroughly first, and they came out tops in his opinion (and he knows a thing or three )

ooh, ooh ask me, (and why didnt you say so when you where here, I have stuff like that in my shed waiting for a bigger boat)
Modern small Simrad is distributed by the same people who sell Lowrance and Navman (Navico) and while its good gear its NOT acutally anything to do with the SIMRAD who manufactures and sells the commercial gear.

Look for a sounder whch has knobs for gain and range, Pressing 3-4 buttons to access those controls is a pain
Simrads good but Furuno's better in my somewhat biased opinion.

Munsey whats your budget?? I know someone who can get Furuno stuff at a good price

Mikee my budget may have to stretch too what is required to give me something worth using . Like I say don't want gps or plotter . Am I going to get one under a thousand ?

Originally Posted by Munsey

Mikee my budget may have to stretch too what is required to give me something worth using . Like I say don't want gps or plotter . Am I going to get one under a thousand ?

Yes thats an OK budget for what you want. you have a PM

Are you really sure you dont want a combo? I would sooner rely on a dedicated chart plotter over a phone or tablet.....your life is on the line remember.
Just my 2 cents and +1 on the Furuno

Originally Posted by Gibo

Are you really sure you dont want a combo? I would sooner rely on a dedicated chart plotter over a phone or tablet.....your life is on the line remember.
Just my 2 cents and +1 on the Furuno

+1 but depends on how much you are gonna use it and how much boating you like to do in the dark or fog. i personally would not like to be traveling at 25knts in the dark.fog using only a Phone or Ipad for primary navigation. I usually like to leave well before the sparrow is even contemplating farting. They do make great backups and very good in smaller boats though in one of those waterproof thingies. I have 2 plotters + one phone app as plan C

Munsey is on to it for a boat his size you need a plotter (anything) to get you roughly into the area and then a good Fish Finder to find them. I would rather use an Iphone/Android have a good fish finder and save the rest for a PLB

My dad uses a point on one cliff 3kms north and another point on another cliff about 17kms east, rough chart plotter eh? worked though

Originally Posted by mikee

+1 but depends on how much you are gonna use it and how much boating you like to do in the dark or fog. i personally would not like to be traveling at 25knts in the dark.fog using only a Phone or Ipad for primary navigation. I usually like to leave well before the sparrow is even contemplating farting. They do make great backups and very good in smaller boats though in one of those waterproof thingies. I have 2 plotters + one phone app as plan C

Munsey is on to it for a boat his size you need a plotter (anything) to get you roughly into the area and then a good Fish Finder to find them. I would rather use an Iphone/Android have a good fish finder and save the rest for a PLB

Yip totally agree. Weigh up needs vs cost. Plotter finder will not be under 1K for anything decent.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Yip totally agree. Weigh up needs vs cost. Plotter finder will not be under 1K for anything decent.

I will get a plotter but will be separate as I don't have enough money's available . Have got hand held gps and iPhone app for the moment . To be fair my boat is hardly offshore capable so kind of like putting a radar detector on a Larda .

you could just wire up the one you have so it actually goes!

Originally Posted by Toby

My dad uses a point on one cliff 3kms north and another point on another cliff about 17kms east, rough chart plotter eh? worked though

Toby, get him to mark an X on the side of the boat for when he can't see the cliff.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Toby, get him to mark an X on the side of the boat for when he can't see the cliff.

I'll take the 60s next time and show him modern tech

from my experience - anything that has a marine map that you can overlay with two frequency ie 50khz and 200khz is worth its weight in gold.

IE

Originally Posted by Timmay

from my experience - anything that has a marine map that you can overlay with two frequency ie 50khz and 200khz is worth its weight in gold.

IE


Attachment 20747

Nice Furuno