Which fishfinder to buy?

[whateverisbiting]

Looking to replace my old Lowrance LCX-27C.  I have never been very happy with it...loses position a lot and has trouble finding the bottom in weeds so the digital readout would just blink though I could clearly see the bottom from the graph.  Marked fish OK.  Here is what I am looking for:

 

- not on a budget but don't want to pay for what I don't need

- not looking for a unit to network

- touch screen is not important

- looking for accurate, quick map position including making my own high res maps

- very interested in the technology of down / side imaging to look at bottom structure though I have not had any open water experience with these technologies

- looking for a good display easy to see in sunlight

- fish fresh water typically less than 40'

 

Looking for people with actual experience with modern depth finders...what do you have, how do you like it, and how is it with mapping / imaging?

 

Thanks for your help!

Mike

 

[John Mickish]

With what you said I can say this.

Humminbird Helix has all that you want, plus some are networkable.

Lowrance Elite TI has what you want but is a touch screen

Lowrance Hook has most of what you want minus side imaging

Garmin Echomap has what you want, and like the Humminbird they are networkable.

All of the units today are going to be good in the sunlight, but you get more when you pay more, so don't expect a 5" $300 unit to be as visible and user friendly at a top end 12" unit.

 

What size unit are you looking for? 4,5,7,9,10,12 or 16 inch screen?

I run Humminbird Helix 10" screens on my boat and am more than happy with them.

[chickeywing]

Picked up a Helix 9 last spring with a Lakemaster Plus chip.  Absolutely love it!  Never thought I'd give up my Vex but I'm glad I did.  I mostly fish a small river, usually less than 10' and love being able to see shore to shore with the SI.  Have fished this river for 25+ years and found some new spots with this unit.  I usually run 3 windows on it (SI both sides and flasher mode on one side and the GPS on the other).  Speed, depth, and water temp as an overlay.  Plenty of room on the 9" screen for everything although the 9 and 10 are the same physical size.  Whitefish last spring was running high but was able to tune the depths a couple feet and it read very accurate to the Lakemaster chip.   Very easy to see in the sunlight.  Decent light to see in the dark along with different color settings.  Haven't needed to use the high res mapping since most of the lakes I fished were on the chip and were very accurate.  Flasher and DI mode work great up to my boats 30MPH max.  SI reads but is a bit choppy over 20.  Very easy to use and set up.  Nothing is a magic bullet through.  Marks fish on the DI great but only use the SI for contour or bottom changes.  Only draw back I've found is the size.  Mounted mine on my Vex gimbal mount and it's too heavy for that.  Will be screwing it down solid next spring.  Just remember Lowrance vs Humminbird is like Ford vs Chevy.  Really like my Helix but haven't seen the Lowrance in action.

[whateverisbiting]

Thanks for the replies that's one for the helix.  I would like several views at once on the screen so I would tend toward the larger screens though I have not been out shopping yet to look at them...was hoping to get some insight first.

[John Mickish]

One more thing the Helix gives you (9,10 and 12" in the Gen1, 7" and up on the gen 2" is the ability to make maps on the fly (no uploading/downloading), plus the gen 2 versions give you the ability to map bottom hardness and vegetation. With an Ipilot Link optioned trolling motor you can follow depth contours, bottom hardness transitions and vegetation edges.