• Help Support TNDeer:

Looking for New Fish Finder... Help

B

BlountArrow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2012
Messages
3,161
Location
SouthEast Tenn
I've never in my life had a good fish finder. I'm not sure I'd say I've ever had a decent one actually; keep in mind the last fish finder I bought was in 2005. I'm not a tournament fisherman; not even that crazy about bass fishing on the lake in general. But, I'm really wanting to get serious about catching crappie, walley, and sauger. I've got a lot to learn there for sure. Regardless of that, I'm looking for suggestions for a good fish finder. Here's what I want: I want a fish finder that will clearly differentiate between the Lake/River bottom and structure, I also want a fish finder that actually indicates fish accurately (i assume that is possible), and I'd like to be able to upload maps to the finder so that I can clearly see tributaries, creek channels, and what-not that are feeding whatever large body of water I'm on.

Any thoughts/recommendations? Things to stay away from? Thanks!
 
Look for a 999CI or 1199CI Humminbird discontinued model, they are still out there and marked downed drastically. There are a lot of used ones out there for sale also as folks update to the new models. These have all the capabilities you want and a nice big screen you can see well.

I have an older Humminbird 998SI and love it. The older 97 and 98 units are good too.

I'm sure the Lowrance units are good too, but I don't know much about them.

Check out the classifieds in Bass Boat Central and Crappie.com
 
I have a Humminbird 899, 859, and Helix 9. The new Helix is so much better than the Core (899-1199) units. The processors are much faster, the screens are brighter with better resolution, and AutoChart will allow you to make your own map of where you like to fish. I bought my Helix 9 in the classifieds on bassboatcentral for $350. Definitely take a look at the Helix 9 and higher units. The 5 and 7 do not have the same features.
 
chunkandwind":35z1jgxy said:
What is your budget?
Click to expand...
I don't know honestly, because I'm just so unfamiliar with the quality and price ranges. Off the cuff, I'd like to keep it under $700.

Sent from my XT901 using Tapatalk
 
BlountArrow":3u1l7p88 said:
Is that the big difference between the humminbird 5, 7, & 9 screen size?

Sent from my XT901 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

No. The 5 and 7 cannot be linked with other units. They have slower processors and lower resolution screens. They also do not have Autochart. Not sure if the 5 and 7 are capable of 360 imaging. I do know that the 9 and higher units can be linked or networked together, 360 imaging capable, HD screens and can utilize the HD transducers. The 9 and higher units have Autochart. You can make your own maps and mark them for future reference. There are more bells and whistles to the 9 and higher units, but these are the ones I know of right off the top of my head.
 
To further confuse you, the 9 and 10 are both in the same size case but the 10 has a bigger screen. But what makes the 10 so much better is it comes with a high definition transducer. This HD transducer makes the images on the screen look like they were taken with a camera.
However, the 10 SI/ with GPS will set you back about 1,400-1,500.
Or you could buy the 9 then contact Humminbird and pay to have the transducer swapped out for the HD version that comes with the 10.
 
And don't think that you have to have the big units. You can go out and use the 5 and 7 to find fish but the bigger screens make it a lot easier to understand what you are seeing.especially when using side imaging. With that said I do think the larger units are worth saving up for.

Edit.... Amazon has the Helix 9 for under $1000.
 
chunkandwind":343l2wm6 said:
And don't think that you have to have the big units. You can go out and use the 5 and 7 to find fish but the bigger screens make it a lot easier to understand what you are seeing.especially when using side imaging. With that said I do think the larger units are worth saving up for.

Edit.... Amazon has the Helix 9 for under $1000.
Click to expand...

It appears there are some of these on eBay for $700... am I looking at the wrong thing here?

HUMMINBIRD Helix 9 Sonar GPS 409920-1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUMMINBIRD-Heli ... Swh-1W2Zvl
 

Latest posts

Back
Top