Fish finder recommendation

[elkantlers]

I just bought a 14' crestliner boat with a 25hp outboard. It has an Eagle fishmark 320 fish finder. I added two big Jon downriggers and have been targeting Kokes on Electric lake.
I have been fishing several times and have yet to see a fish on the fish finder. Basically it is only showing depth. I have tinkered with the settings and still nothing.
I am seriously considering a new fish finder and would like some suggestions.
I would like one with color screen and possibly boat speed. but most important is one that will pick up fish.
Thanks.
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[KJB]

I recently bought a finder for my super fat cat I bought a helix 5 gps si and returned it for a helix 5 di, I used these for deep water jigging for lake trout the helix had interface anytime a boat was near (with in 200 yards) I returned the helix and got a lowrance hook 5, the quality of the cables and unit seemed far better. I think lowrance is a better unit than humming bird. I recommend any lowrance for your boat.
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[RockyRaab]

Regardless of make or model, remember that your finder will only show fish that are right below you inside its search "cone" (this refers to the original look-down models, of course.) Any fish not within that narrow cone won't be seen, and lots of fish move aside when your boat passes over them - right out of detection range. The louder your boat, the more likely you scare fish away as you pass over them.

The cone is narrow, especially on dual-beam models when you have the narrow beam selected. Roughly, consider that the area you're looking at is about one third the depth. In 30 feet of water, your cone is only 10 feet wide at the bottom, even less between boat and bottom.
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[BURLEY]

I got a "Lowrance elite 7 ti" for xmas and it has been great. Comes with color touch screen operation, chirp, chart, down scan, side scan, networking capable, shows water temp. and boat speed. GPS and WiFi built in. Ipilot capable with the right trolling motor. I have used it to mark wipers at Willard and sturgeon on the Snake. Runs about $800. I love it, but the elite 9 would give a larger screen.
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[Tin-Can]

I had an Eagle Fish Elite (made by Lowrance) for 10 years. It was quite accurate at marking fish, depth, water temp, and had an internal GPS that indicated speed. I just replaced it with a Lowrance Hook 7 with color screen, down scan, internal GPS, split screen, CHIRP, selectable ping rate, hi-def display, and pre-loaded with lots of basic maps. Lots of other options. So far it has been very good choice for my 14' Lund.

If you haven't bought a new sonar yet, I would suggest you check the settings on the one you have. My old Eagle had the option to turn off the Fish ID, and a few other settings that affected the display of fish.

First 2 photos - my old Eagle late last year on Willard

Second 2 photos - new Hook 7 on Willard earlier this year
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[liketrolling]

what ever kind you buy, if you fish for kokeanee you need
DualBeam I will post attachments of DualBeam
google Dual Beam Sonar

plus you need GPS and a map some times when I know how deep the fish are I just use the map

I have Side Imaging but dont use it alot because you are seeing what is behind you
I have Down Imaging and use it some times but they cost more money
DualBeam, (the way I fish) is a lot better than SI and DI.
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[Anglinarcher]

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At the risk of getting scolded here.........well I guess that sometimes frank answers are better than walking on egg shells and never getting the truth out.
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I have fished with fish finders and heard the sales pitches since the late 70's. My first "fish finder" was the Hummingbird little green box. It had a suction cup for the transducer, had a round flasher screen and made a hummingbird whirr as the flashing indicator raced around the screen telling you what the bottom depth was, and yes, it showed fish, by flashing a light at a specific depth. Did it show fish? YES, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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I went to an Eagle depth finder much later, made by Hummingbird, and it had lousy resolution, but it gave a pixel picture of the bottom, and pixel picture of fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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My brother got a used Bass Boat used by a Pro and it had one of those newfangled Lawrence charting fishing finders. It went through bunches of paper, but it gave a great view of the bottom, and it gave great lines or arches showing fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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Since then I have used BOTTOM LINE finders, Eagle, Hummingbird, and ......... by now you get the point. They all show the bottom and they show fish, if you knew the limitations and how to use it.
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I would suggest that you would save lots and lots of money by learning your current unit first, learning the limitations and how to use the unit. You will see bottom and will see fish, if you KNOW THE LIMITATIONS AND HOW TO USE IT.
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Single beam, dual beam, CHIRP, down imaging, side imaging, Structure Scan, 3D, Generation 2, Generation 3, 360 degree imaging, and a bunch of things I have failed to mention, are all great things to have, but if you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
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There are great videos for "how to" on YouTube, and on most of the manufacture web sites. Lawrence actually has training courses they put on at a lot of fishing shows. Use them, and read the instruction manual.
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Last, have an expert, someone that knows what they are doing, install the unit. Transducer placement and angle can and does make "all the difference". If it is not pointing where you are, you won't know where the fish are even if it does show them.
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Now, to summarize some great information from other posters.
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Dual Beam is not necessary, but it is one of the options I use to use. Actually, it is old technology, but it works, once you know how to use it. Side scan, if set up correctly, does what it says it does, it show a current scan of what is to the side. Down imaging is more modern technology and can give far more information, but, yes, it is more money. It is easier to read as well.
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If you have interference from other boats nearby, you should get with an expert and have your boat grounding checked, and then get with the maker of your unit. I have not heard of this problem in 20 years.
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Lawrence verses hummingbird verses Garmin verses Simrad, verses……. They are all great units, it is a matter of specific features, mostly programing and setup.
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RockyRaab is dead on with his assessment. As far as he goes, I find no issues with what he says. Like he said, “this refers to the original look-down models, of course.” With the 360 degree options and the one that looks forward and tracks fish hitting your lure, even this is changing, but they are hard for even experts to read. I would wait for the next generation of the one that tracks the fish hitting the lure if I were so inclined.
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Burley has given an excellent option. It is not the only one, but an excellent one.
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Tin-Can also gave an excellent option.
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My last serious unit was a Hummingbird 787, many years ago, and it was as good, or better, than the Lawrence units at the time. My son is now using it and he loves it. It is a dual beam, split screen, and one screen shows a composite of the two beams and the other gives the focused beam for better bottom separation when fishing for Walleye.
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My advice, as I mentioned, first learn you own unit. Eagle fishmark 320 fish finder will find fish just fine. You can get better units that show better separation of targets, especially near the bottom, and there are units that are easier to use, but most people, myself included, seldom use even half of the features available to us.
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Next, if you get a new one, get one with the ability to load maps, with on board GPS, one that you can see the screen well with Polarized glasses, and the rest is personal preference. Have an expert install it for you.
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Now, I think I have made it as plain as possible. They will all work, if you know the limitations and how to use it. If you don't know the limitations and how to use them, they are nothing more than paper weights hung on a boat.
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[rncheni2w]

I would strongly recommend what ever finder you get make sure it has GPS and marking feature available. Once I have the fish marked on my GPS I mostly just navigate off of the map and not so much the fish finder to catch my fish.
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[Tin-Can]

WOW..... you hit ALL the nails right square on the head. Are you sure you don't work one of those companies............? []

I've never really cared for the misnomer "Fish Finder" I don't think mine have ever FOUND fish. But they do let me know when I have found them.
Reason for that dislike: I have pulled several boats off of sand bars and rock ledges at various places over the years when the water was much lower than it is now. One eventful 4th of July a couple years ago, I pulled 2 boaters off of shallow spots at the north marina of WB within 2 hours of each other. I asked the first one had she been watching her depth, and I got the answer "Oh, I'm not fishing, I don't need a fish finder". I laughed so hard she must have thought me a bit crazy. (Crazy...? wasn't me that got stuck on the rock ledge just outside the north channel) And then I was heading in and saw 3 guys in a big old tri-hull stuck on the hump just off the north boat ramp. I helped pull them off to a bit deeper water, and knowing that no-way would I get the same answer, I asked the man at the boat helm, "were you watching your depth?" And I'll be darned if he didn't say EXACTLY the same thing. Decided right then and there, no more Willard Bay trips for me on 4th of July. Too many ignorant boat operators. [mad]
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[Anglinarcher]

Of course the next problem is that it tells you what is under you right now, not in 5 seconds when the submerged island, cliff edge, huge rocks pokes its ugly snout up and grabs the boat.

Use to have a lake like that in Washington State and I would rescue 2 or 3 boats every year. LOL Of course, not so funny when the boat is overturned, water is 35 degrees, and people are dying from hypothermia. Sometimes life jackets are useful only to find the dead bodies. I won't even put one on once the water drops below 40 degrees, don't want the false sense of security.

I did not get to one kayak in time, no one did. He was NOT FISHING either. His vest did him no good.

Even the best "bottom finder" is still no better then the limitations of the technology and the knowledge of the user. That is one reason to have the map ability with it.

PS, I wish I worked for one of those companies. LOL
At least they could send me a new one to test once in a while. ROFLOL

[elkantlers]

Thanks for all the replies.
I did learn how to use my Eagle and finally the last few days I did see some fish on it. I even caught my first Koke at Electric Lake. Not very big, but a Koke none the less. lol

The biggest reason I wanted a new unit was that the Eagle was not working correctly. It would freeze up several times a trip and I would have to disconnect the power to reset it.

I researched a bunch of "fish finders" and decided to buy a Lowrance Hook 7. I got it shipped for $390. It should be here by Monday so I will let you know how it works.
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[Therapist]

The "little green box" was the first Lowrance unit. My recommendation for sonar units is to buy the best one you can afford and then learn to USE it. Rocky's statement about finding fish on the unit is correct, only if they are in the cone and off the bottom. Most units today will allow you to see targets that are 6" or more apart, which means if they are sitting right on the bottom ( bellies in the mud) you may only see an increase in the bottom signal. Also, a color unit will help to separate fish from the bottom better than a black/white unit. Make sure you read your user's manual to learn how to operate your unit. If you have lost it, go to the company's website and you should be able to download the manual. Then read it, study it, and learn it. You can also email the company if you have questions about the operation of the unit. HAVE FUN !!!

[Troll]

I am surprised that you have not encountered the "interference" problem before. It happened to me way back in the 80's, when that paper graph would interfere with the flasher mounted on the back of the boat. Both transducers would send the same frequency signal and both would pick up each other's "ping" so the screens were a mess. Later as dual frequency transducers came about we could run two different frequencies and have no interference.

With the power of modern sounders and them sending pings straight out to the sides of the boat (side finder) I am not surprised that a sounder with the same frequency would pick up pings from another unit of the same frequency.
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[idahomike]

Opinions, Like navels, we all have one, me too. I have a lowrance hook 5 and its a great unit. I really like it. But I also have a small Garmin Striker 4cv. hands down I love that unit. I have it mounted on the trolling motor up front. I only wish I had bought the bigger screen. Shows everything and doesn't lie, has GPS, down view, clear as a bell.. Had the opportunity to deal with the service department. Outside of the telephone wait they were great had a problem with the original unit old style Striker 4dv. No long explanations just explained the problem they gave me a thing to try didn't work then they told me to send the unit back and they would just send me a new one. Too bad they didn't have any of the old ones in stock so they just sent me the latest version. I paid shipping to them they paid it back. Austin was great can't say enough about the unit and him.
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