Fishfinder or Depthsounder ?

Weston Dave · #1 07-31-2006, 06:00 PM

Hello All
What are the opinions of “Fishfinders?”
I have a second-hand basic Garmin 100 model. I find the instruction manual a bit vague. The last time I used it as a finder from my boat I was in 6ft of very clear water and could see the bottom. The Garmin was showing fish on the bottom but I couldn’t see any. Though it did seem to give a good indication of the sea bed shape but I’m not so sure about the type of ground.
Other times it has shown fish on or very near the top but fishing high in the water has blanked.
Are the latest so called all singing all dancing models better and if so what is the favoured one? Or are they all just depth and dubious feature finders? Or should they all be taken with a pinch of salt?
Regards, to
All
David

MRG2000 · #2 07-31-2006, 06:14 PM

The fishfinders only as good as the transducer you use,the more expensive stuff definatly does produce better results,we use Raymarine c series with seperate digital fishfinder module and dual frequency transducer.It picks out small fish and even weed shows on the screen,the clarity of wrecks is second to none.

Using a poor quality transducer is like using a knitting needle for an aerial on your new plasma tv........

John Marshall · #3 07-31-2006, 06:43 PM

we use Raymarine c series
as we do on Stingray, you can see the fish and bottom even the rigs going down.
Its an awsome bit of kit.

Portland Pirate · #4 07-31-2006, 07:09 PM

I don't no if you have turned the fish ID sysmbol off or not. A lot of the fishfinders wrongly identify air bubbles and sea wead as fish. Turn it off and learn to look for the tell tale shapes of the fish. Normally displayed as arches.

tommy a · #5 08-01-2006, 08:19 AM

Yep thats generally the case I reckon - the fish finders show fish sure but they also identify a hell of a lot of weed and air bubbles ! We have the navman series which is meant to be good and generally it certainly helps for looking at drop offs, rough ground and wrecks etc. Not so sure its really a fish finder though !

Mike - whats the price for the Raymarine gear then ? Is it a massive difference compared to the navman etc. that seems pretty standard in Arvor boats ?

Weston Dave · #6 08-01-2006, 10:31 AM

Hi Lads
Thanks to all replies.
Looked at Raymarine the net, seems an impressive bit of kit that is matched with its price. £850 for the C70 £1750 for the C120 ouch !
Think I will try Portland Pirates advice until I have saved enough.

Regards to all
David

MRG2000 · #7 08-01-2006, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy a

Mike - whats the price for the Raymarine gear then ? Is it a massive difference compared to the navman etc. that seems pretty standard in Arvor boats ?

its a fair bit more expensive,but you do get the results with it..it really does depend on the transducer you use.We use a 1000w dual frequency one which is close to £1000 on its own.The full C120 package is around £5000 plus depending on what you have....bearing in mind we use it a lot,there are smaller screens and cheaper transducers

nimue · #8 08-01-2006, 08:13 PM

Hi Dave,
Like everything in life you get what you pay for! I have a 2 year old Garmin 160 Bluewater. Very clear even in quite bright sunlight but I don't rely on the fish aspect of it. I simply cheated and bought an ultraviolet video camera with 300 feet of cable and drop that down....now I can just say to anyone I'm fishing with ' shift your bait 6 inches to the left...wait...strike!'
Best bit of kit I ever bought. Don't want to get it caught in a wreck though..
Cheers. Jules.

Weston Dave · #9 08-02-2006, 06:38 AM

Hi Jules
That sounds pretty cool must be the answer if you want a nice fish for the pot
but at what price for the gear? How do you control where it’s pointing? As for loses if it is insured I suppose you could say it slipped overboard.
Regards,
David

nimue · #10 08-03-2006, 07:05 PM

Hi David,
Got it second hand from a guy giving up fishing, he got it in the states for 2000 usd. I got it off him for 250!!!!
The camera part has adjustable weights so you can change the angle up and down, big fin on the back means it always points into the tide. You kinda get used to it. I always have it pointing down as then I can keep it 10 feet off the bottom and see more.....safer too. Often go fishing and don't fish as am glued to the screen and directing mates that I've taken out.
Jules

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