Fishing Articles and Information

Question: What is the best fish finder for the price?

I have a 19 ft. boat on Lake Ontario. Depending on price, I'm looking for a fishfinder/gps combo or just a depth/fishfinder w/o the gps. I need the best bang for a fairly reasonable buck on both types so I can make a final determination. With so many models on the market (and most of the pretty expensive) I just can't make up my mind without help. I don't need anything too extravagant, just effective.
John

Answer:

Hi John, If you're looking for a excellent fish finder with all the bells and whistles check out
Humminbird 797C2 SI Combo
A little pricey but it will probably be the only one you're ever going to need.

I like Humminbird and Lowrance not only for quality but also for warranty and service. Some other things you might want to think about with GPS and Lowrance you will need a separate power supply for the GPS and you will have to hide the wires.

There are portable fish finders that can be used both on the boat and on the ice.
Humminbird 383C Portable Fishfinder

Humminbird likes to sell their transducers separately, so watch out for the cost and check out the angle, 200 khz and 60 degrees is what you want.

Anyways, getting back to your question. When it comes to choosing a fish finder, your price range can be pretty well dictated by the environment in which you are going to use it. A good example, would be using a Bottom Line Fishing Buddy being used on a 24 foot fibreglass boat with a fly bridge.

In your case its a 19 foot boat on Lake Ontario which can be unpredictable at times, so you're definitely looking to have a fish finder with a GPS. The fishing conditions would recommend a fishfinder with 300 Watts RMS minimum since I'm going to assume you're doing some Salmon fishing and down rigging.

Now, trying to get the best bang for your buck, your definitely looking at the Humminbird 300 Series of fish finders.

A few other considerations would be if you want the fish finder to be in black and white or in color and if you want to permanently mount it but have a quick disconnect head. Also, you may want to consider, if you want a transom mount or shoot thru the hull mount.

Iain Loveman