selecting a fish finder

Brothers I have been doing a lot of research to select a ff or ff/gps combo unit for my yak.To be honest I have never owned one or operated one and do not know the about hertz ,gray scale ect. So i thought I would try this. I am looking to spent about 150 give or take a few bucks and need some recommendations from the experts. thanks for your time

It's gonna be tough to find a combo unit for 150 new. It seems like most of the entry-level combos are $250+ but you can get a decent FF unit for 150. I have been using Humminbirds for the last few yrs and they seem to work fine. The main reason I went w/Humm was because Ocean Kayak started making yaks w/the transducer-compatible scupper hole. And I really liked the idea of placing my transducer directly in the water to get accurate readings plus temp. Although, I think you can jerry-rig a Lowrance transducer to fit in the scupper hole too. My Humminbird Matrix 27 lasted about 3yrs and I bought it used on eBay for like 80 bucks (and I never took care of it except wiping the screen w/a dirty rag every now & then). I'm currently using a Hummingbird 535 that I got for $120 a few yrs ago. It still works great and I take better care of it--using dielectric grease as a sealant and cleaning it after each trip. 

Not sure if that helps you or not... I don't know a lot about FFs but I would never put a fancy (over 400) on my kayak. Because I fish in the saltwater a lot. And saltwater kills everything, especially electronics. So it would be a waste IMO. Maybe if I fished mainly freshwater. But then I'd have to re-install my transducer because it's currently gooped inside the hull of my T140...and those fancy FFs are dependent on the transducer (DI, DualBeam Plus, etc). So if you get a fancy FF, you better have a way to mount the transducer in direct contact w/the water. Otherwise, it'd be like buying a Lexus LFA then putting 4 spare tires on it. 

good point bro, I think I will stick to 150 tops for now and look a little better at the transducer mounts , thanks brother

Lowrance Mark 4 is about the best deal currently, dual frequency fishfinder/GPS combo, $199.

thanks bro,  I think I will get that one

I've never had the pleasure of using a fish finder. Does it work well with fishing on the delta or lakes?

O yea from what I have seen.I was at Monterey kayaks today and some guys had a mess of lings and others rocks and they said they on found on the ff.I have friends with them and we used on rivers and lakes and they are valuable as well for depth and suspended fish

Nice, definitely a future purchase for me

A little late to the party; but should others inquire.  Regarding the Lowrance FF/Chartplotter combos; the Mark 4 is black and white; the Elite 4 is color.  I'm a color guy - so I thought - had the pleasure of seeing the Mark 4 and Elite 4 side by side at SportsChalet and decided to save myself a $100 by going with a Mark 4.  The screen imagery is very crisp and clean.  For me it really came down to - do I want a black and white screen, or a blue and green screen.  Used the $100 savings and invested in the Tallon mount so I could easily dismount/stow the FF during surf launch/entry.

Well I finely decided,I went with a 5 inch display due to eye site issues. So I went with Hummingbird     581i DI Fishfinder/GPS Combo with Down ImagingPart #: 408470-1The 581i Combo features an ultra-high resolution 16 level grayscale 640V x 320H 5" display DualBeam sonar with 2000 Watts PTP power output and GPS Chartplotting with built-in UniMap. Features: Dualbeam plus sonar delivers wide coverage and better bottom definition Ability to freeze frame allows user to mark exact structure location Real Time Sonar window (RTS) Selective fish ID Split screen zoom Quick disconnect mounting system Water temperature and GPS speed included Sonar echo enhancement Front mounted internal GPS allows in-dash mounting Single Front Side SD card slot 5" mono FSTN LCD 640V x 320H 16 Level Grayscale GPS Speed Included 83 kHz/60 degrees & 200 kHz/20 degrees Down Imaging 455 kHz/86 degrees 800 kHz/55 degrees 250 Watts RMS 2000 Watts PTP 50 Channel GPS UniMap Built-in Navionics Compatible Product : HUMMINBIRD 581I DI FISHFINDER GPS COMBO DOWN IMAGING Manufacturer : HUMMINBIRD Manufacturer Part No : 408470-1 UPC : 082324036446                 any opinions  thanks

 

  When you get comfortable using your FF, Try operating it with the fish ID off to see the raw sonar returns.  Arches of fish displayed instead of little fish symbols.  I like the raw data over the fish ID.  When you see arches you can reasonably think it's a fish.  Blotches could be a thick alge blob,  peice of suspenede trash, (Plastic grocery bag?) something other than a fish.  With fish ID on pretty much anything under water thats off the bottom that returns a signal to the transducer will be painted a fish.
  Congradts on your new FF. 

Thanks Bro I will.