new fish finder, advise needed

[Pat Smith]

With my new Predator Minn Kota I am considering purchasing a new FF. With my eyes really sucking my old Lowrance 4 is simply not big enough to see very well and squinting and leaning forward to see it means I am not paying attention to my fishing. I am considering a 5 or a 7, leaning towards a 7.

Feature wise.. I want the below
GPS with maps .. I am not sure but the Garmin have GPS but don't display a map on it.. weird. Navionics would be ok but not necesasary, I just want bottom contours to find structure.

Traditional Sonar. This is pretty standard these days... multi frequency would be nice.

Down scan - Not 100% sure I need this but if I buy a new FF I figure I should probably get it.

Side Scan - I dont really want this. it adds cost and is confusing, probably overkill if you already have DS.


have looked at the Garmin, Lowrance, and Hummingbird... Not sure which one to get.. any experiences?

[sb220]

Down scan isn't worth any added cost. Its showing exactly what you are seeing in traditional sonar. Sidescan expands your range when charting. When you can troll over some uneventful terrain and spot a bush/tree/wreck etc 50 yards away from you....mark it and your gps then takes you right on top of it. Sidescan is a crazy advantage. That advantage has to be worth the cost though, because its not going to redfine how you fish. Its still so much greater than DS. DS is really a marketing tool

Granted When I speak of charting with Sidescan its breaking down a lake, trolling with a motor. Sidescan needs a certain low speed to work..probably not an issue with a pedal yak, but paddling its a workout

[Pat Smith]

It is interesting you say that about DI. I feel I would not really use SI as much as it would deserve, maybe I am wrong. SO if DI is not important, one option I have is that I could use my Lowrance ELite 4 for the Map data and get one of these Vexilar sonarphones devices (https://shop.vexilar.com/en/sonarpho...ncluded--sp200). My wife has given up her old Ipad2 (wifi only version) and I could use that with the Sonarphone to get a 10" traditional sonar. Now THAT I could see in my yak.

[sb220]

The pics you see in ads for DI are "very" pretty. Ive never gotten my sonar looking that good. I get a lot more info with traditional. For example you aren't going to watch your jig going up and down, and a fish moving to it in DI.
Watch fishing shows. Saltwater/freshwater....freshwater guys are using sidescan to break down water looking for structure before tourneys. When its time to fish (fresh/salt) you never see them looking at DI.

[sb220]

yeah screen size, color,gps and some kind of topo map (navionics etc) would be my main priorities.

And honestly DI in real life is switching the color of your screen from red/yellow/blue to brown. That's basically what DI is for real

[Pat Smith]

My goal with this new kayak is to spend less time leaning forward squinting at the FF trying to discern something and more time kicking back and enjoying my time on the water. So... simple and easy to see is tops. I need to see a map with contour, and sonar.. I think I am leaning towards a 7 inch unit that has good Navionics and add the Vexilar unit for traditional sonar on a 10 inch ipad... maybe with only needing normal sonar (not trying to split screen) I could get a 7" unit with navionics and set it for full screen maps.

I always thought that DI was covering the same features as traditional Sonar.. just a bit prettier.

Can you run a sonar/gps unit without it's transducer if all you want is the GPS? I would think you could.

Do you guys think that 7inch FF is overkill?

[sb220]

Can you run a sonar/gps unit without it's transducer if all you want is the GPS? I would think you could.

Do you guys think that 7inch FF is overkill?

If all you want is gps... navionics has an app for your phone/tablet if I remember correctly (gps\topo)

As far as screen size, bigger the better imo. Put it on a hd ram arm and ya cant go wrong

[Pat Smith]

I knew they had an app but hand't considered it. My Ipad is only a wifi unit so it does not have the GPS chip.. but perhaps I could use my Galaxy Note for maps (around 5 inch display) and then use the ipad for sonar.. that would not cost much either. I already have the waterproof case for my Note. I would need to buy the Vexilar unit ($150) an ipad waterproof case with secure mount (about $80 for both) and some Ram mounts (another $50 or so). that is a lot less than a decent 7 inch unit.

If I don't love it I am not out a bunch of money and could add a FF unit later on.

[sb220]

Haha the death of humminbird/lowrance