Lowrance LMS 332C Sonar/GPS

Lowrance LMS 332C Sonar/GPS

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I was one of a group of guys who took a fishing trip recently up to the French River. We were interested in fishing Crombie Bay approximately 8 miles from Georgian Bay. I was told it was an absolute must to have a fish finder. So on the Saturday before
the trip I headed out to one of my favourite fishing stores and purchased a Lowrance LMS 332C fish finder.

Now why did I choose the Lowrance LMS 332C fish finder ?

I had been thinking about purchasing one for some time but after the 10 minute, step-by-step instructions from a very
professional sales clerk I was absolutely convinced that this was the fish finder of choice for my application.

I was a little concerned about the cost because it seemed like a lot of money but after just one use, the Lowrance LMS-332C has proven itself on its own merit.

• What features did I want in the Lowrance LMS 332c fish finder?
• How will a fish finder benefit me?
• Do I want the fish finder to be portable?
• How much money do I want to part with to purchase my fish finder?
• What kind of warranty do I get?
• If the fish finder breaks where do I take it and how long before I get it back?

Okay so let's take a look at what we've got!

Lowrance LMS 332c Specifications: General Features

• Super-high-res 5" diagonal 256-color
• SVGA technology, liquid crystal TFT
• display with programmable color palette
• Advanced cold cathode screen and keypad backlighting
• Multiple full- and split-screen sonar / GPS options
• Resizeable windows and overlay data with choice of 4 data display sizes
• NMEA 2000^® compatible for networking
• Back-up memory saves customized settings
• Sealed and waterproof with a High-impact screen cover

Lowrance LMS 332C Sonar / Sounder

• 200 kHz Skimmer^® transducer with built-in temp sensor.
• 2,400 W peak-to-peak (1,000 W RMS) power
• Deep depth range to 900 ft.
• High-performance transom-mount 200 kHz Skimmer^® transducer
• with up to 60º of fish detection coverage and a built-in temp sensor
• FlashGraf^™ LCD flasher+sonar graph mode
• Fishreveal™ and HyperScroll^™ for locating fish targets at higher boat speeds

Standard sonar features:

• Advanced Signal Processing (ASP™)
• Advanced Fish Symbol I.D.^™
• FishTrack^™ multi-zoom options, sonar alarms, and backup memory
• You get 3 different sonar alarms Fish Alarm, Zone Alarm and Depth Alarm

Lowrance LMS 332c GPS

• Precision 12 Parallel-Channel GPS+WAAS receiver
• 1,000 waypoints / 1,000 event markers / 100 routes / 100 waypoints per route
• 40 map zoom ranges, 0.05-4,000 miles
• Two waterproof MMC /SD memory card slots for mapping, recording, and upgrading

The MMC captures your information and can be used in any device that supports SD cards. The SD Card allows you to connect with TV's, Digital Cameras, PDA, Digital Video Cameras, etc.

• Built-in enhanced background map of the continental U.S, and Hawaii
• Compatible with optional MapCreate^™ USA Topo custom mapping software
• Compatible with optional plug-&-play Lowrance FreedomMaps^™, Fishing Hot Spots^® Elite, LakeMaster^® Pro Maps, NauticPath^™ USA and Navionics^® electronic charts.

Lowrance LMS 332C Setup and Installation

The Lowrance 332c comes out of the box and it's not all Plug N Play. I recommend you read the instructions.

This is not a inexpensive fish finder and I would hate to see your precious investment literally go up in smoke.
Note: The following setup is to make the unit a portable fish finder.

You'll need a soldering iron, solder (use the electonic stuff with the flux core), shrink wrap, electrical tape, cable clips, 3/4" screws, a piece of 1 x 2, a couple of 14 gauge black wires about 2' long and "C" style solderable ends. The soldering thing is simple, just remember to avoid a cold solder joint.

N.B. Also (and this is important), for the GPS unit to work, it must have it's own power supply, switch and ground.

Now, there are several reasons I made my system portable. First, the most obvious reason of course is that you can take it anywhere and use it anytime. Let's say one weekend we use Roger's boat and he doesn't have a fish finder, now we do.

Second, I just can't see having a fish finder sitting on the boat thru the cold winter doing nothing, what a waste of money. I know with a little bit of ingenuity you can find a power supply and use it for ice fishing.

Third, I don't know about you but things have a way of disappearing and my pockets aren't deep enough to replace my fish finder on a ongoing basis. Fourth, the thought of drilling holes in a perfectly good boat really gets me thinking.

Finally, you don't have to ask directions because you can use the GPS to get you there. I am sure if you took the time you could probably easily come up with a half dozen reasons on your own to purchase a fish finder.

If it is your preference to "hard wire" it to your boat, not a problem the manual gives complete, easy to do instructions. I know that after you have installed it and used it a couple of times it will literally be the most perfect piece of equipment on your boat and you will wonder how you ever fished without it.

Service

Lowrance guarantees quick, expert service using genuine Lowrance parts. Contact the customer Service Department first. The toll free number in the U.S.A. is 800-324-1356 and in Canada the toll free number is 800-661-3983.

Anyways, back to the trip. Plans changed and we didn't get to leave until 11 Sunday morning. So that allowed
me to tinker with the unit on Saturday. I managed to get both the GPS and the sonar powered up. The real test would come in the French River. I'm going to jump ahead to Hartley Bay.

The trip was uneventful except for gas and food. Your entrance to Hartley Bay is an interesting one. Your greeted with and unmarked Railway crossing that invites you to cross at your own risk. My understanding was the camping was free and all you had to pay for was the launching and parking. Wrong, the provincial government got involved a couple of years ago.

One nice thing though was the launching is done valet style.
I wouldn't have it any other way because at this time of year, its a fourteen foot drop on a 45 degree angle.

The weather was getting rough and we weren't going for a 3 hour tour, so we headed out. My personal recommendation thru this experience would be for a 16' boat with a minimum 40 hp. motor. This being said I emphasize, YOU MUST HAVE A GPS/SONAR.

At first its easy enough just to get lost, but the water depth varies so greatly and the rocks barely reach the surface or just protrude. A simple error in judgement and YOU WILL LOSE YOUR PROP OR POP A HOLE IN YOUR FISHING BOAT.

The trip takes about an hour and we set up camp. We still have a couple of hours of daylight, so we take a little trip upriver and test our luck.

Now this is where thereal advantage comes in having a fish finder. Your not wasting your time in one area, trolling back and forth or casting or jigging. If your not marking fish there is little hope in landing them.

So I can safely say we eliminated a lot of wasted fishing time. The Lowrance 332C indicated fish at about the 20' mark so I did a little bottom bouncing for walleye. My buddy decided to go the spinner route up top. Well you can guess who landed the first couple of 'eyes. I regret to say they were small and wouldn't feed seven hungry campers back at base so I did the catch and release thing.

Although the fishing wasn't spectacular the experience was. After all we did have good weather,
the food was awesome, the landscape was picturesque, I did get to use my Lowrance 332c fish finder, the lodging wasn't the Ritz but we were camping after all.

I would certainly do it again but I would recommend early May or late September, early October if your looking for big fish. BRRRRRRRR!

NOTE: All in all, the Lowrance 332c fish finder is a worthy investment. I recommend any fisherperson out on the water or ice fishing to use one. If your not convinced yet think about all the benefits.