Thread: advice on buying fish finder

good morning to all yall. i am new to this site so please cut me some slack if i do something wrong. anyway, i am getting into crappie fishing and need some advice from you guys. i bought a boat and i need a fish finder. i have looked around but really dont know what the heck i should look for. i would like to find one that is easy to learn how to read, easy to use, detailed enough to be worth the money, all for around 500 or 700. what i am trying to do is learn more about the pattern of the fish and under water structure at lakes around my house. i have a seven year old boy who loves to fish but as you all know , now its my job to put him on some so he has some level of succes so he learns to love it. thanks

Welcome to CDC. Use the search feature a bit. There are alot of posts about reading the fish finder and such. Lots of times I'll ask a question only to find the answer using seach a little later.

gl on fishing .

crappie chatt on the kansas form is sponsored by lowrance I use a 520 c I can see my jig on the screen down to a 1/8 oz for the money I don't think you can beat them

Welcome to the forum, Opey. Its good your taking your son fishing. One of the best ways of father and son relationship they're is. Be patient with him and you'll have a fishing partner for life!

Hi Opey, welcome to the forum and share your fishing stories with us when you have em. Here's a picture of the fishfinder bird dog uses;




They're great little units and the price is within your range.

thanks everybody for the info. i will look around for the lowrance 520c. i also had a guestion about gps. do i really need it? i fish on smaller lakes normally because my boat is only 16ft. what advantages would gps have for 3000 to 5000 acre lakes? i am from lawton, ok but have moved to the city now. i fished lawton lakes my whole life but my crappie days consisted of waiting until the fish moved to the shallow cover and wading the stumps pulling 3 or 4 fish off each one.

GPS can come in handy when you are marking your favorite fishing spots due to finding structure or an active area such as an old creek or drop off. I don't have GPS on my unit, but often wish I did. Unless you mark the spot with a buoy, you cannot always find it later.

Some swear by it and others..........well, its not a must to have. I get by without it.

But if you're willing to invest the money you said when starting this post, there is no reason not to have GPS unless you just don't see the need.

There is currently 520C on Ebay that is around $300 at the moment. I am sure it will top over $400 when the bidding is finished in two days. But that is still cheaper than the average price of over $500.

thanks again stinkfinger, i will look into ebay. i found a hds-5x lowrance online at basspro but no 520c. still looking... the hds-5x has a ton of great features and seems perfect. it is a 500 series like the one you guys are talking about but maybe a newer model number??? i did some reading on what all the numbers mean, cone angle, high and low frequencys, pixels, and watts so i feel better about finding a good one. def appreciate all your help. going to watch football, have a great evening. go adrian peterson!!!!

I have a 520c as well. It is a discontinued model. I would strongly suggest you have some sort of GPS unit. Whether it be a handheld model, or one within your sonar unit.

Humminbird makes a great sonar unit as well.

Color is not all that important, but is very nice.

If you are buying used, look for something with a 5" or better screen and a high pixel count. 480 x 480 or better and you should have a decent unit, no matter what the brand.

thanks crappie reaper- yeah i was looking at humminbird 778c which has all of what you say is good for around 500.