Fishfinder questions

[love2fish]

I have a bay boat that I use equally in fresh and saltwater. I have never been deeper than 80' in the salt, but the freshwater lake I live on is 180' in spots with most of my fishing being in water 60' or shallower.

I have always been puzzled by the difference in thoughts between fresh and salt fisherman. Freshwater guys love Lowrance and Garmin while saltwater guys love Furuno, Raytheon and Garmin. From what I have found, though, is the Lowrance units have more pixels than most others so why not stick with what the freshwater guys say? What am I missing?

I am pleased with the Pinpoint 7420 that I have, but it's not what I want. I want something in color that is viewable in direct sunlight.

Any recommendations, suggestions or comments are appreciated.

[KevinM]

Furuno has the best rated low cost color machine on the market. See the thread on the 600L

[sean9k]

More pixles doesn't translate to better performance.

The furuno has much better RMS power, that combined with a larger trnasducer makes for better performance.

[Thom]

Awwww shit. I had about three pages of immaculately reasoned discussion on the history, current state, and future of marine electronics in general and fish finders in particular. I just exited without posting it.

Just buy the Furuno!

Thom

A Wise Man Once Said: "That's EXACTLY why I try NOT to read manuals, I start trying all sorts of stupid things and wasting all sorts of time when I read manuals. Half the time I try doing things just because I read some retarded blurb about it in the manual fully realizing I would NEVER use such a thing, but because the manual stated it could do it, I have to try it!!!"

[Prop Blast]

Two things drive the performance of a depthfinder: the frequency of the unit (200khz or 50khz) and the positioning of the transducer.

Since you're more concerned with "shallow" water, get a 200khz unit. 50khz machines are better suited for deep water, i.e. over 300'.

When positioning your transducer, follow the directions that came with the unit and locate it where clean water passes the transom. Try to keep it at least a foot from your lower unit.

Good Luck,

Prop Blast

[Prop Blast]

Ignore above...should have gone on different posting...

fat fingers...

[rogerstg]

quote:Originally posted by love2fish:
I have a bay boat ...with most of my fishing being in water 60' or shallower.
... I want something in color that is viewable in direct sunlight.


Based on your use, the mag article and thread mentioned and my personal observations, I think you'll be very happy with the Garmin 320C. It came in a very close second in the review and the reviewer mentioned that the screen was easier to read in direct sunlight.

[love2fish]

Thanks for all of the help!