fish finder suggestions?
 

i was going to get the mark4 sonar/GPS but the guy who was supposed to by my fish tank bailed on me so i dont have the funds right now...

anyways. what are the better units for kayaks out there? i want something with clear imaging to 300ft (would be cool to have something that reads to 600 or more) and has GPS that i can save points on.

also going to run two batteries. one for the FF and one for the bait tank. figure this will give me more life on both for multiple day trips and allow me to run a color unit with GPS assuming it takes more juice.

Just keep saving, dont settle for something less then what you want besides the 1st and 15th are gonna come every month, and food and electricity are over rated any way! :D

all that un necessary BS is automatically taken out of my check... its the gas to get to work that kills me. :D

thats why i asked though, i was going to be perfectly content with a Mark4 but since now im waiting again, i might as well save up a few more dollars and get something a little better.

Keep in mind BPS offers 6 month pay options. It makes getting the system you want easier. No interest is charged. I love this deal for items like this.

I'm just curious why you think you need something that reads to 600 feet?
Even 300 is just on the excessive side.
:confused:

i have a cuda 350 with gps for $100 it does what your asking.... im getting a new yak and want new electronics....

While you'll most likely only need a maximum of 300' saltwater depth for 99% of everything you fish for, you WILL need a FF capable of 600'. Why?

Because all specs are based upon Freshwater. So, with a 300' max depth FF, you'll be lucky if you are getting bottom readings at half that depth. Now, I will agree with Drake, you will for the most part hardly ever be fishing in that kinda depth.

Look, just save up your $$$ and get the $300 Elite 4. Problem solved. FF, GPS, deep enough, reliable, and cheap for what you get.

Alaska. ;)



thanks for the advice. and i totally forgot about the bps payment plan.

things are looking up.

i got a hummingbird piranhamax170. With 12v battery, whole unit was about 140 bucks. Works pretty awesomely. reads to 800ft. Super accurate from what I can tell. though, I havent taken it int the ocean yet

Already...man you are worse than me....maybe I will do it sooner now...
or maybe just buy yours it doesn't have that many miles on it, does it? What year is yours a 2010 or 11?

Can i get this deal all the time or is it a special sale

There is an expiration date for the payment plan. And I'm not sure how often they offer this plan. You may have to call and see or sign up and get email alerts.

For example:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...-1&pageID=4332

You can use 6 pay at any time, you just have to call and place your order over the phone.

I think all you have to do is call them and place the order over the phone.

You can buy my Hummingbird if you want, its still in the box. :p

Does someone tell u when to eat or go to the bathroom ? Really if u need help with buying a fish finder u should just buy a paddle board, fishing isn't for u

really dude? What a helpful post. Lots of people are new to using FF. Me for example. I have been fishing my whole life and JUST started using them and am really unfamiliar with good brands, reliable units, which do better in saltwater, etc.


seriously, when did fisherman become such tools? or is it just here in CA? go back to bloody decks, mang

nevermind.................

Well now you have me intrigued.....

sorry im no expert when it comes to electronics. i've only had one fish finder, an eagle cuda 168, and it came with my kayak. i've always fished "blind" using land marks, and paddies and following birds. most of my fishing is done from the surf where you cant use a fish finder and have to know how to read the waves and see the current break to find holes and troughs that hold fish.

so yes.. i do need help deciding which fish finder to get.

Dude some people just aren't willing to help or nice at all. This site has plenty that will give you helpful information.

Iceman said it best.



its getting harder and harder to be nice thats all. I just PM now.

ya i know. sorry, i get a little worked up when i see people acting like punks to other people for no apparent reason. And it seems to be a lot lately on every single fishing forum for some reason

everyone has a little fish stick in them.

The reason is, fishing is slow....

Don't worry 1/2 of us don't like you either. :D

baawhhhaaaaa

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/8163/fjaayimgur.gif

get that DSI that :the_finger: is awesome. but yeah I like the Mark 4. Your in Oceanside right. You can come check it out on base if you want to.

or you can go with me thursday evening and i can check it out then. ;) :D

went to BPS today. they had no clue what i was talking about when i said "6 payments plan... or 6 month payment plan?" but they told me all about the bass pro credit card... :redface:

looked at all the units, got the hand out books for hummingbird and lowrance.. still not sure what i want. lol.

thinking the elit 5 fishfinder/chartplotter or the the Elit 5 DSI... but not sure how i would mount the transducer for the DSI since it needs to be in the water.

Phone or online orders only. The store won't have a clue about the plan, however, you can do a store pick up.

The 6 pay plan at bps is tempting but bps wont price match websites like west marine will and bps extended warrenty sucks in my opinion. Had to return a $99 fish finder a couple times and $20 for insurance each time i returned it on a $99 item is high considering the charged tax on the money they returned to me when i turned in my finder and when i bought the replacemnt so not only i got charged $20 for the insurance but got taxed 3 times on a item exchange... dont get me wrong i love bps but that was a conplete rip off when the finder cost $99 but all said and done it cost $56 to replace with there "warrenty"
But real moral of the story dont buy $99 fish finders they dont work. Lol

I have the mark 4 installed on my outback. I was looking at the hds5, and was saving for it. I have never owned a FF before and didnt know if the hds was too much unit to start with. I really like the mark 4 it gives (I think) accurate readings I can see bait with no problem and track my rig to the bottom most of the time. GPS works real well and pinning way points is easy. If you are looking for a good solid entry level unit the mark 4 is a good choice. Having said that I can see upgrading in the next couple of years after I have a better understanding of how to use all of the features. I have the xducer installed using a modified wet mount system and it has worked great.

you could mount it like mine:

thinking the elit 5 fishfinder/chartplotter or the the Elit 5 DSI... but not sure how i would mount the transducer for the DSI since it needs to be in the water.[/QUOTE]


very easy just buy a pa12 :doh: