Best Sonar/Fish Finder for shallow water?

[dsiekman]

As I'm getting things rigged up I'm wondering what everyone is using. I'm usually in 20' depth or less. I've been looking at the Lowrance Elite 4 DSI - looks pretty cool but not sure it is worth the money. Also, I've been reading about building "wet wells". Is that better than hanging a skimmer off the back? Also, I'm looking to do this on the affordable side. I would prefer to keep the whole thing under $300. Under $200 would be even better. Under $100 and I might not have to sleep in my truck...

Good luck and tight lines to everyone this weekend! I'll be thinking about you guys while I'm stuck at a baby shower...

[ictalurus]

It depends on what you want to do with your fish finder. If you just want to know the depth and find contours, you can get by with a cheap one. I've used mine to find fish I would've otherwise missed on a regular basis. I have an old Humminbird 565, and it "sees" a circle on the bottom with the same diameter as the water depth, i.e. in 20ft of water, it'll see a 20ft wide circle. At the time I bought it, that was a pretty good coverage. That's something to keep in mind.

Additionally, I would recommend getting a color display because it'll make it easier to distinguish soft bottom from hard bottom. The contrast on my black and white Humminbird stinks. I would also recommend getting one with GPS. I have a separate hand held GPS, and it would be much easier seeing the map on the same screen as the sonar display. All of that is just my $0.02, though.

[DanMarino]

Great advice from Bill.

I totally went the cheap route. I was worried about ruining an expensive unit, plus I'm totally cheap. So I found a Humminbird PMax 215 on Craigslist for $20. It has a black and white display that uses hardly any current. I'm on the same set of AA batteries that I've been using since April. I like being able to see the depth, bottom contour, and any fish that might be below or to the side. It is a dual cone sonar unit show it shows nice bottom detail and shows fish below as all black and fish to the side as white. It has certainly helped me locate fish in the reservoirs near my home.

Color sonar units with GPS are totally sweet! The type I'd like to get is probably upwards of $500. So I think I'll be using my cheap-o unit for quite a while.

I could see how if you are fishing in the Bay or in a lot of lakes, a good sonar unit is way more important. 75-80% of my trips are in the shallow upper Potomac or Tidal Potomac and I don't really need the sonar unit for fishing those areas.

[daddyg]

I use the Elite 4 no DSI and love it I leave it set on the shallow water setting its just knowing what your looking at.

[Pinch]

Costa's or Maui Jims with amber or green lenses.

[dsiekman]

Thanks, guys. I had not thought about gps since I usually don't go that far in the yak, but being able to see contours would be a big help.

I found an Elite 4 for $266 on line last night. Is dsi worth the extra $50? Most of my fishing has been casting to shore or jigging, but I'd like to do a little trolling this fall. I have a garmin 4208 and black box on the big boat, but there's no place for it on the yak. I've heard garmin makes better gps but their sonar is not as good. Thoughts or opinions?

Also, thoughts on transducer installs?

[dsiekman]

Costa's or Maui Jims with amber or green lenses.

Unfortunately I wear glasses so I'm going to have to get some prescription lenses if I go that route...I think electronics would be cheaper!

[dsiekman]

I use the Elite 4 no DSI and love it I leave it set on the shallow water setting its just knowing what your looking at.

If I end up with the Elite 4 I may be coming to you for help getting it tuned!

[daddyg]

If I end up with the Elite 4 I may be coming to you for help getting it tuned!

Sure no problem Im charging mine now for the weekend. Dont buy a battery I have 6 I will probably give them away this weekend but I can get all I need..

[DOGFISH]

I must agree with the statements of Southerly. I use a Humminbird 597HD DI combo. I have also added an additional chip to that for additional depth contours. After purchasing that unit and chip, I wondered what took me so long to make the change.

If budget is a consideration, buy the least expensive unit you can find, to get started fishing, that may be B&W, and then continue to save for a better unit. With a future better unit, you will eventually be able to view a chartplotter portion as if you have NOAA charts with you. As far as the Down Imaging in the Chesapeake Bay, I could do without it. I go back to the traditional view, most of the time. There seems to be more contrast of fish and arches, just my opinion. If you want to view bottom structure then DI is the way to go. The problem is that there is not much structure on the bottom of the bay, generally speaking. It is nice to be able to run the split screen and view the GPS map and the sounder at the sametime.

Good luck with you selection.

[Yak Fish]

I got the same one as Southerly, with only the down imaging not the side imagine. Echoing the statements of dogfish, you won't see me going back. I dont know that you'd need to spend the extra for the imaging but it is cool and I do use it. The most important feature of these is the chart plotter in my opinion, but it depends on the kind of fishing you're doing. If you are on the open water and find a productive spot or trolling, you will never ever find that spot again without the plotter and map. I've marked so many waypoints that if you look at my FF, you'll know the money spots :-) If you only fish the shorelines, you can visually identify your favorite spots. I would say that if I for some reason the map on my FF didn't work, I wouldn't go out that day because I would feel like I was fishing blind.

This unit is a big colorful unit and it draws some current so you'll need a larger battery than the black and white versions.

[dsiekman]

Ok, you've convinced me to go color and gps.

All of my kayak fishing to date has been in the Severn but I hope to venture out soon. My neighbor just bought a yak and we're planning to check out some other spots and hopefully fish the tournament next year. I'd like to be able to see if the fish are hanging out near a couple of the channel markers I like to fish and I'd like to be able to find the rock piles that used to be part of the rail bridge. I'm planning to start doing some trolling, too, so staying on contours would be great.

[MDFishin]

I just got a Lowrance DSI 4X without the GPS. I wanted to get the GPS but couldnt bring myself to pay the extra money. I have been fishing with the DSI unit for a good bit and really like it. I still cant determine if I like 455 khz or 800 yet but, it is really detailed. I took a picture of a tripod channel marker that I have fished all summer in the Choptank. I never fished directly under the marker, but this changed my mind....

[ronaultmtd]

Depends on what you want it for- I have a Hummingbird 570DI on my Prowler and a Cuda 350 Combo on my Outback- the GPS feature on the 350 is nice and the FF is pretty basic sonar with temp display and id's fish...happy with both units although they are very different- neither catches fish-
The mono color doesn't use much power like a color unit does so batteries last a long time under continued use.

[BassMoore]

if you cant afford the gps, and want to stay in a more reasonable price range smart phones are just as good in my opinion.

i am using the gps feature on my iphone, and using those running or kayaking apps that tracks where you have gone, JUST like the gps on your fish finder, gives you the map and shows all the areas you have peddled or paddled. Gives you points you can plot, say you run over fish and want to venture back. and came zoom in on your track just like you can on your fish finder.

I know all apple and driod products have these features