And yet another fishfinder question

[fowlmood77]

I am really interested in the Humminbird ffs for the fact that some of them you can watch the placement of your bait. My question is- Are there any other new ffs on the market that also do this? I am looking for a new one and am looking at Humminbird, Garmin, and Eagle. So what else is everyone running on a preferably "low budget" setup?

[1weezer]

Just remember. When it comes to sonar units, you get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap unit, that's exactly what you get. A cheap one.

[fingerlicken]

I just bought the eagle 320c. I can't wait to try it out. I was told it was a good unit, I guess I will find out, but the lakes around here are'nt real deep.

[Treefish]

I highly recommend the Humminbird 525 Series for on the front of the boat. For about $130.00 I watch the bait fall on the screen. The 525 only has a 20 degree cone but it has outstanding bottom detail. Personally I don't call them fish finders I call them bottom finders because I look at the bottom NOT the supposed fish that show on the screen. Another factor is temp. the 525 has it as well and is speed capable.
After 25 years aof bass and crappie tournaments I won't spend the high dollars unless I need a GPS. Let's recap..... 1. Look at bottom NOT fish on screen. 2. Look at Temp. all of the time!!! 3. Cheap is ok unless buying GPS.

[Jerry Blake]

I highly recommend the Humminbird 525 Series for on the front of the boat. For about $130.00 I watch the bait fall on the screen. The 525 only has a 20 degree cone but it has outstanding bottom detail. Personally I don't call them fish finders I call them bottom finders because I look at the bottom NOT the supposed fish that show on the screen. Another factor is temp. the 525 has it as well and is speed capable.
After 25 years aof bass and crappie tournaments I won't spend the high dollars unless I need a GPS. Let's recap..... 1. Look at bottom NOT fish on screen. 2. Look at Temp. all of the time!!! 3. Cheap is ok unless buying GPS.

Properly adjusted, a 525 will show actual sonar returns of fish and cover, which can be very helpful for crappie fishing. Knowing how deep fish are holding and what part of the cover they are holding on can save a lot of time trying different depths and different areas of a condo. You can even get an idea of what kind of fish you are seeing on the graph by the way they school and/or relate to the cover. You don't need to spend a lot of money on a graph but you may need to spend some time learning to use it and getting it properly adjusted so you can interpret what you are seeing on the screen.

[grubby]

i've got the 525 and really like it it shows cover and the fish and so far it aint lied to me. BPS had them for 119.00 in okc around christmas time. wife got me one shes a real sweet heart.

[robertwherron]

Hi, this is my first post and I read this thread and I too am looking to purchase a fishfinder and I am wondering if anyone has used any of the other models of the humminbird 500 series such as the 565,575, or the 585c. Also any information on lowrance and eagle would be greatly appreciated!!!

[mperry]

I have Lowrance X-135's on my boat and I am told these units will also display your jig. I have seen pictures but I am not sure how to fine tune it. I might be wrong but I think most of the higher end units are capable of doing this. Just have to know how to set it.

[Team9nine]

Hi, this is my first post and I read this thread and I too am looking to purchase a fishfinder and I am wondering if anyone has used any of the other models of the humminbird 500 series such as the 565,575, or the 585c. Also any information on lowrance and eagle would be greatly appreciated!!!

I can't speak for the 'birds, but on the Lowrance/Eagle units, anything with 320 vertical pixels and 1500 watts of power will have no problem showing jigs and such on the screen. Anything like an X-125, X-135, FishMark 320/480, most any color unit or LMS unit also.

You can actually set it up and read tiny jigs with lots of the older and less powerful units too like the old X-70's, X-65, X-96, etc. but it is a little more touchy of an operation due to the difference in power and resolution.

Bottom line is you should be able to pick up a unit for around $150 or so that will easily do what you want. You might check out either E-Bay for a good deal on a used unit or Cabela's for a new unit that is currently on sale.

-T9

[edwalden444]

Hello All,

I just got a new Humminbird 525 off of Ebay for 88.55. I have not had a chance to test it out yet, but hoping to next week. I would check out ebay for one.

my 2 cents

Ed