Fishfinder / GPS: which features would you pay for?

[JKay]

Dude, Where is the excitement, the adventure, the challenge, when your buddy is yelling out depths to you?

 

I did that with a buddy of mine for several years. That gets old. He finally bought a fishfinder last season.

[Onelastcast]

IMO, the type of fisherman you are should determine the type of fish finder you should consider.

 

Recreational fisherman: gps for speed/location, fish finder for depth and markings, BW/color personal preference.

 

Bells and whistles cost more, in the long run you most likely won't use them. Spend that money elsewhere.

 

OLC

 

I did that with a buddy of mine for several years. That gets old. He finally bought a fishfinder last season.

 

Does his initials start with J.

[mike3dr]

Want the CHIRP to determine structure in my back bays.

[JKay]

IMO, the type of fisherman you are should determine the type of fish finder you should consider.

 

Recreational fisherman: gps for speed/location, fish finder for depth and markings, BW/color personal preference.

 

Bells and whistles cost more, in the long run you most likely won't use them. Spend that money elsewhere.

 

OLC

Does his initials start with J.

 

Ding, ding, ding...we've got a winner. Also rhymes with Poe.

[Onelastcast]

Ding, ding, ding...we've got a winner. Also rhymes with Poe.

 

Rhymes with Hoe toooooooooo. lol

[JTSurf]

Ever see anyon out on the yak with there sextant? Not that'd be a sight to see:)

 

What ever happened to having a few waterproof charts on board? I generally won't even turn on the GPS when fluke fishing from the boat as long as I have a few charts around. If we're setting anchors, I wouldn't be caught dead without the chartplotter in this day an age.

 

You don't turn on the gps when fluking from a boat? How do you read a waterproof chart while on the water, like getting an exact location? I read paper charts all the time. I think they are great to have too. I also use a program called OPEN CPN. It is a free chart viewer found online. You can download free charts off of NOAA. You can download either the raster or the much better vector charts. The vector charts need to be set up in the options to view contours and such. You can map out locations, find distances, print charts for use. They give a great broad picture, but when arriving to the spot on the chart, it is about finding exact locations and repeating drifts. Fluke are pretty predictable. The big ones sit in the same prime spots. They push out the smaller fish. When a large fish is harvested, another large fish moves to that spot.

 

Here is a pic of Open cpn. Sandy hook area Depth are in feet if anyone was wondering. Small numbers are decimal value. ex) 21.9

[JTSurf]

Want the CHIRP to determine structure in my back bays.

 

If you want to use the tech for what it is designed to do, more power to you and less to others. The tech is not just some magic beans in a can, it works.

[JKay]

Rhymes with Hoe toooooooooo. lol

 

Oh boy, it's going to be a fun time at J-Bay!

[BillZ]

You don't turn on the gps when fluking from a boat? How do you read a waterproof chart while on the water, like getting an exact location? I read paper charts all the time. I think they are great to have too.

 

Agreed. You'll never know your at the location your targeting without a gps reading.

 

The other thing with chart data is that soft structure (especially near shore soft structure) is changing all the time due to storms, natural shift, etc, so those exact depth numbers on the chart could be totally inaccurate so in the essence (IMO) chart data is just for target points of investigation...

[Slacker]

Agreed. You'll never know your at the location your targeting without a gps reading.

 

The other thing with chart data is that soft structure (especially near shore soft structure) is changing all the time due to storms, natural shift, etc, so those exact depth numbers on the chart could be totally inaccurate so in the essence (IMO) chart data is just for target points of investigation...

 

That's fact. Most chart data for the Sandy Hook area does not reflect reality other than the location of the channel. That's one reason so many boats beach up by the False Hook... when they hit the beach at 30 kts, the chart plotter is showing that they are in 30' of water and 250 yards off the beach.

[kinghong1970]

Ok, firstly, thank you all who contributed to this thread... it has made this decision easier.

features i would like to pay for are, Sonar, GPS, Down View and most likely opting out of CHIRP due to their price.

options:

Lowrance Elite 4 HDI (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV, 4.3" screen) @ $299

Garmin Echomap 50s (FF, Sonar, GPS, 5" screen) @ $499

Garmin Echomap 50dv (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV 5" screen) @ $600

Raymarine Dragonfly (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV, CHIRP, 5.7" screen) @ $600 appx

for some reason, humminbird units don't appeal to me at the moment...

honestly, i can cough up $600 for a FF/GPS and in that category, i would go Raymarine... only thing is that the damn transducer is so long and i don't want it hanging out the side...

nor do i like the install inside the hull...

garmin is nice, felt nice, good reviews but damn soooo expensive for existing tech... and i don't like their proprietary maps... not that i would get it but still, don't like the limiting factor.

Lowrance is coming out with the CHIRP units but it seems it'll be a while... price is north of what raymarine is aksing.

maybe i'll flip a coin between going with the Elite 4 HDI and save 300 or splurge with the dragonfly.

cheers

Al

[kinghong1970]

*sigh* my mouse clicking finger has a mind of it's own...

dragonfly inbound... lol

i guess i will have to test out the tap plastics casting silicone...

[mike3dr]

Please let me know how you like the Dragonfly.  I'm seriously considering it.  thanks

[Konrad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinghong1970 

 

Ok, firstly, thank you all who contributed to this thread... it has made this decision easier.

features i would like to pay for are, Sonar, GPS, Down View and most likely opting out of CHIRP due to their price.

options:

Lowrance Elite 4 HDI (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV, 4.3" screen) @ $299

Garmin Echomap 50s (FF, Sonar, GPS, 5" screen) @ $499

Garmin Echomap 50dv (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV 5" screen) @ $600

Raymarine Dragonfly (FF, Sonar, GPS, DV, CHIRP, 5.7" screen) @ $600 appx

for some reason, humminbird units don't appeal to me at the moment...

honestly, i can cough up $600 for a FF/GPS and in that category, i would go Raymarine... only thing is that the damn transducer is so long and i don't want it hanging out the side...

nor do i like the install inside the hull...

garmin is nice, felt nice, good reviews but damn soooo expensive for existing tech... and i don't like their proprietary maps... not that i would get it but still, don't like the limiting factor.

Lowrance is coming out with the CHIRP units but it seems it'll be a while... price is north of what raymarine is aksing.

maybe i'll flip a coin between going with the Elite 4 HDI and save 300 or splurge with the dragonfly.

cheers

Al

Just curious, why you don't like Humminbird?

It has all the features that you mentioned, good customer service and good price range.

And so far it seems to be pretty reliable for me, especially in terms of being waterproof.

[mike3dr]

I have no Hummingbird dealers near me on LI.  I cant even check them out.