Advice on new unit - First Electronics
Hello all,
I grew up crappie fishing in South Louisiana (shallow water jig fishing), and recently moved to Oklahoma, where I've come to realize just how little I know about finding crappie other than during the spawn. I fish out of a Hobie Pro Angler 14, and I want to add a unit to it so that I don't feel like I'm wandering around with a blindfold on. Hate to beat a dead horse, but with this being the first electronics purchase I've ever made, I need some guidance on what unit would best fit my needs.
I'm wanting mapping, 2d sonar, side imaging, and down imaging. I'm wanting to keep the purchase below $1000. The two units that I've been looking at are the Garmin Echomap Plus 73sv ($750 on Garmin's website) and the Lowrance Elite-7 Ti ($800 with the TotalScan transducer on Lowrance's website).
I looked at some of the cheaper units from both Garmin and Lowrance, and it seems like if I'm going to purchase electronics then I need to "fry the whole squirrel" and get something that already has mapping (the Garmin Striker series doesn't come loaded with maps and you can't upload them yourself, need to construct the maps through use.) Also I think I would kick myself if I bought a 5" screen instead of the 7". While the Pro Angler is more of a boat than a kayak, a 9" screen would take up too much space.
I really like what I've read about the Garmin unit. I haven't dug up as much info on the Lowrance unit, and honestly the reason I began to consider the Lowrance unit was because the PA comes "Lowrance ready," where a recess is located in the bottom of the hull to place a traditional Lowrance transducer. After I learned that the transducer for side imaging needs to be below the bottom of the hull, the Lowrance ready capability doesn't really do anything for me.
Any advice on which unit would fit my needs? I strictly fish with one pole with jigs, no spider rigging.
One of my concerns with the side imaging is that the mount for SI transducers available (made by Berleypro) has an ABS plastic cover over the transducer to protect it from damage. Most of the reviews I have found state that the imaging quality is not affected by this cover. Does anybody have any experience with a plastic cover being placed over their transducer?
Thanks for any help!
