fish finders

[AJ's Dad]

Holy cow. I gotta say using a fish finder like that is almost like cheating. LOL It looks like a virtual reality video game. I better not spend that kind of money on a fish finder. It would just sit there and not get all the features used. I already have a Humminbird 899 HD CI SI that spends most of it's time on 2D sonar. Guys that fish with me give me a hard time because they ask questions about it and I say, "I don't know how that works, I spend all my time fishing and not playing with the fish finder". They especially love to give me a hard time about not eating during the day. I just tell them a guy only gets to fish so many times during his lifetime. He might as well make the most of it. Eating is something to do while you're moving from one spot to the next. Trollers get to eat and play with their fish finders while they're fishing. We casting guys don't have that luxury. I keep telling myself I'm going to spend a day learning to use my finder, but once I get to the lake, I just fish. I should have saved a few hundred and just bought a 2d sonar. LOL

[Larry3215]

LOL! You would get along great with my younger brother Mark!

When ever we get out on the water the first thing I want to do is cruise around and look for the fish, bait and structure using the electronics. My thought is why spend time casting into empty water when you could be casting towards known fish?

That drives him absolutely nuts to "waste time" just cruising around when we could be catching fish instead! We usually compromise and cruise around slow enough for him to cast while I look at the screens. I generally get blamed when he doesnt catch anything though! It always seems to be my fault we didnt find the fish!!! :D

[Larry3215]

By the way, we are spending the money on the new gear precisely because it will be cheating! We need all the help we can get. Reading your reports its obvious you are an excellent angler and know your stuff - especially as far as Pike.

We on the other hand are long time fishermen who still rank as armatures who rely mainly on luck. We are hoping that throwing dollars at the fish will help us catch them :D

[high country]

I have spent my life as a very successful fly fisherman, but with 5 kids now it's best we fish from a boat and we better be in fish. I was not doing very well at learning lake roosevelt, but adding the 7610 changed that. My better half forced me into the tr1 gold because I was crabby trying to run the troller and fish and get kids rigged up, unhooked and all that. It freed me up. Having the opportunity to watch the navigation and fish finder from the stern is a blessing.

I would have never dropped the $$ on it if it wasn't for her, but since then my collection of classic shotguns hasn't seen much field buy my boat has been in the water at 13* and in all facets of weather.

Oh, and we catch fish now.

[Larry3215]

I went through the kids on the boat thing a few years back with three girls. Now its the grand kids on the boat for me. My 5 year old grand daughter is the most enthusiastic fisher woman of the bunch. Thats her in my bio pic with her first ever trout

Back to the subject - I just saw some new videos comparing the two main forward scan Panoptix choices using the PS31. This almost makes me wish I had order the 31 instead of the PS21.

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=674153" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sickbayer]

I ended up buying a Garmin echoMAP™ CHIRP 93sv. at 800 bucks I thought it was best bang for buck.

[Larry3215]

Wow! Thats a very good price too! Which transducer did you get? I'm thinking it comes with the new GT52HW? If so, I almost went with that one instead of the GT51. Its supposed to be awesome in shallow water.

Dont know if you fish the salt or not, but I saw on ebay that you can get the deluxe saltwater map chips for around $100 if you're willing to get an older chip that cant be updated. Some people have said they might be clones but who knows.

Good luck with it when you get it. Ive heard they will be shipping around the end of the month - hopefully along with my Panoptix transducer.

[sickbayer]

Garmin's echoMap 93SV Combo with LakeVuHD comes with DownVü and SideVü scanning sonar, which produce the clearest picture for identifying fish and structure below your boat. The 9” color display sports intuitive controls for customizing your setup. 5hz internal GPS updates your position and heading five times per second to make marking and returning to waypoints effortless. Also features built-in 500-watt HD-ID sonar with 4,000-watt peak-to-peak power. Includes all-in-one 77/200kHz HD-ID sonar and DownVü/SideVü transducer which transmits depth, imagery and water temperature almost instantly. Preloaded with LakeVü HD maps covering over 17,000 lakes, of which over 5,700 have 1-ft. contours shoreline to shoreline. MicroSD™ slot for additional mapping. Includes transom mounts

From the cabelas webstie so I don't really know which transducer comes with it.

[Larry3215]

Here you go. All the specs and you can download the owners manual from that link as well. It does come with the new GT52 transducer so it should do really well.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 29893.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sickbayer]

Cheers mate

[Larry3215]

Oops. I said you could download the manual but its not available yet. You could get the non-chirp version I guess if you want to get a head start.

[Larry3215]

I got to test out the new Garmin in the water today in Gig Harbor for a short time. Its awesome! Unfortunately, I was so distracted playing with buttons I forgot to record any sonar or get any screen captures! So I guess this is just another fish story

[sickbayer]

Lol

[sickbayer]

well larry looks like I will be returning it. the unit does not support N2K nema 2000 the newer version does. but at the boat show todd from Portland marine (really passionate guy) showed/pointed me in the direction I should go. for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks its chump change in the big picture.

[sickbayer]

and they had the fish finder you got and boy I was impressed but the thought of paying that much puts a gulp in my throat. For me personally is Engine management, FF, gps and screen size. although I want as big as I can get. after a few hours online i thought screw it and I bought a tr1 auto pilot while i figure out the best FF for the tub I'm going to buy. I am still hoping i can swing a Garmin.

[Larry3215]

Oh no! I thought you were getting the new CHIRP version? I was sure the new ones had N2K?

It is a very big jump from the echomaps to the GPSMaps for sure. We struggled with that but the larger touch screen and extra features finally won us over.

What engine do you want to display data for? Is it N2K ready?

[sickbayer]

Im getting the evinrude 105 Jet

[sickbayer]

oh and ya the new chirp versions do have N2K in and out. I'm convinced these manufactures do this crap on purpose.

[Larry3215]

If its a newer version it should have NMEA 2000 output built it. Yamaha started adding it in 2004/2005. Not sure about Evinrude.

[sickbayer]

the evinrudes have the best engine management system there is period there is no need for anything else except the cable from the engine. The new 93sv has the ability to have input and out n2k the last years model did not. Basically I have spend 400 more, plus it does give me the option of upgrading the transducer. So technically I should have just took your advice and skipped the offer I posted way back in this thread.