Fish finder help

I use the Mark 4 DS, and I love it.  The only problem is that it is difficult to mount the DS transducer compared to the sonar transducers.  If you are going to do a through hull mount, then don't bother spending the extra cash on the downscan. 

+1 on the 7ah battery.  I am on my 4th trip with the Mark 4 and a 7ah battery without needing to recharge.
+1 on the electric grease. I didn't use it on my first ff ( a cheapo Humminbird), and the pins corroded within a year.

just put it in a water sealed tupaware container drill a hole for the wires run em through the lid an goop the hole water tight then u can build something outta styrofoam or somethin to put the container in to keep it from moving, or buy a ocean kayak trident battery dry bag an mount it in the bow of the boat.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/2619/Ocean-Kayak-Battery-Bag-Kit.html

+1 on the OK battery bag.
I did that on my Cuda, its perfect.

I'm in the same boat as you, but i have a little more $$$ to play with so I'm going with a HB 346ci.  Has both sonar and DI for around $230-$250.

What do you mean by DI?

DI=down imaging, SI=sideimaging

So down imaging is only a display function?

DI is a completely different signal frequency transducer which produces drastically different screen images... It look more like a photograph of what is below you.  It is really pretty awesome.  The drawbacks are that thru hull mounting can be VERY hit and miss, and they aren't very effective in depths greater than 100ft.  Give or take 50ft. depending on water quality.

In this picture that i borrowed from google images the top view is sonar and the bottom in DI.  DI gives a lot better view of structure and fish.

Wow, that is pretty amazing

I don't know about fish but structure images are exactly like that.humminbird 597 ci di hd

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Alright, haven't pulled the trigger on the fish finder. I've been going through the whole set up I want before purchasing. I want to get the ram transducer arm, the 12v 7 amp battery, lowrance ram mount, and maybe a lowrance elite 5x or a hb 571 hd DI... It's so tough trying to decide which ff to buy

up'd your budget a bit since this thread started didn't cha?  niiiice.  I just started a thread last night about finally pulling the trigger on my elite 4x.  Looking forward to a visit from the UPS guy.  I ordered the ram attachment as well.  This is an upgrade for me so I have all the other stuff. 

What ever unit you decide on, make sure you get GPS. Sorry to say but i think you might end up regretting not having it, especially on the salt.

What ever unit you decide on, make sure you get GPS. Sorry to say but i think you might end up regretting not having it, especially on the salt.

Yeah, the gps is awesome for all sorts of reasons.  Even in freshwater when trolling being able to mark spots in open water that are otherwise difficult to pinpoint.  Or spots where you mark fish so you can pass over it again.  Marking bait, etc.

Your right about the GPS. I mostly fish the delta and sloughs. Every once in awhile I fish the lakes. I looked at the elite 4x at bass pro but the guy there said that the elite 4x doesn't have GPS. The DI is pretty sweet though

the elite 4 is available as a combo... the bass pro guy doesnt know what hes talking about.  As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure the "x" in the 4x means combo.

www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Boating-Electronics/Sonar-and-SonarGPS-Combos/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104588280/Lowrance-Elite-4-Color-SonarGPS-Combo/1298546.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-boating-electronics-sonar-and-sonar-gps-combos%2Flowrance%2F_%2FN-1100517%2B1000003916%2FNe-1000003916%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104588280%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104794380%253Bcat104707080%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104794380%3Bcat104707080%3Bcat104588280