Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I want to replace the fish finder/depth unit i have. these are what i am looking for in a new finder

1. i want to have a depth reading for the front and back of boat

2. the finder i have now shows the fish as little fish symbols...i really dont want an arch..i dont know what that means

3. is there a meter which shows the direction the fish is going instead of all to the left?

what else do you suggest i have in a meter and what finder would you suggest

what finder do you have? and are you selling it? I'm also in the market for a finder

the boat came with a Eagle Magna II plus if i remember correctly....works just fine...i just want something more current.

this looks like the one i have http://cgi.ebay.com/EAGLE-MAGNA-TWO-II- ... 230821711e

never heard of showing fish direction.
that'd be tough if the boat is moving, even just in the wind.

they make underwater camera systems.

The fish arches and or the fish symbols are the currently used system for most fish finders. There are side view fish finders that give you a almost camera like view of whats down there. They are expensive, and I have not personally used one. You can go to most manufacturers web sites and see views of what they will show you. To see real time swimming fish and direction would take a camera and not sonar. Sonar on fish finders are a point in time and not repeating fast enough to show motion. Good hunting, let us know what you find and buy!

well one of the shops down at the lake have a lowrance x-50ds for $75. it is currently on lowrance's website and it seems to be decent. It is used but looks in great shape. for that price it is worth playing around with it

http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine ... rs/X50-DS/

1. Front n back? 2 depth readings from one unit? Nope. not that i know of. Plus youd need 2 transducers.
2. The 'little fishies' is a feature of the finder. Instead of showing you an arch, it shows you a fish. Its not as accurate as showing arches though as the finder may decide its not a big enough arch and therefore not show you the fish pic. Either way, many do this now.
3. Never heard of one that tells you the direction of a fish.

As mentioned here, the latest n greatest side view finders are so fricken awesome, its like looking at a picture!
That with a plotter laid on top, along with GPS, u are good to rock!

Course dont forget the $3000 price tag...

That said, i have a $100 Eagle 300 model.

I really want one of those side imaging units. Here's the prices boatsnmore quoted.

Boatsnmore wrote:Toondog....

There are now several different models by both Humminbird & Lowrance....

Internet prices seem to start around $850, this one with the larger screen was $1499.00 retail and bought for around $1275.00. He liked the Humminbird because he has previously owned several and was comfortable with the ease of operation. It took about 10 mins of playing with it before I got proficient enough to understand it. For diving, it would ne a godsend.... for fishing.... it ought to be outlawed!

And they are sweet.

The finder will never be able to show you the direction of the fish. They are sonar units that use reflective sensors. The sonar isn't acutally seeing the fish itself. it picks up the fish's swim bladder. The air pocket inside the fish bounces the sound back better than the dense tissue. The size of the mark on the screen isnt really indicitive of the size of the fish, but the size of the swim bladder. You may have a large catfish show up as a smaller mark than an average bass due to the difference in the size of the swim bladder. because the fish show up in the sonar column as a blip, the unit cannot differentiate direction. I prefer the arch display as well. You can interpret it yourself versus letting the unit do it for you.

On a side note: My brother in law and I are convinced that it really doesn't show fish. It's just a randomly generated pattern made to make you feel bad because you can't catch them.

My brother in law and I are convinced that it really doesn't show fish. It's just a randomly generated pattern made to make you feel bad because you can't catch them.

THAT i believe!

Here is a picture of my fishfinder.

smltooner wrote:Here is a picture of my fishfinder.

Who needs a stink'n hummingbird fish finder?

Spend enough time reading those arch displays you can learn to read them like what your wanting. Except for the fish direction. You can fine tune them to see a jig in 30' of water,and a fish closing in. When dragging live shad below the boat I can see the baits on the screen. Sometimes I've seen a big stripers come up from the deep to inhale one. You won't see jigs,bait,or fish on the screen like you want,but rather arches,blobs,and jagged lines. Study them,over time they'll tell the story.

I purchased one of the side viewer lowrance models this year,but haven't had the time to try it out yet. My biggest reason for buying one is for finding those large pods of bait in open water. You don't always have to see fish on the screen if you know where they're going to be next.