First Fish Finder

Hi,
I am new to this all. I have fished in the ocean several times now and want to be able to locate rocks, reefs, bait fish and krill if possible instead of just randomly dropping a line, though I have caught some fish and crabs.
Am broke after buying good Yak, PFD, cart, paddle, VHF, and gear.
I have a hand held GPS with charts, so for now I just want an entry level Fish Finder which is good enough to move me along with rockfish and salmon for not too much $s.
Any suggestions?

most fishfinder will work fine for you. SInce ocean fishing is mostly looking for structure not fish , most inexpensive finders will handle this just fine. Getting one the has GPS on it will help in keeping those spots of structure much easier to locate again and again. Having used a hand held GPS with a fish finder, it can be a little too much to do. Having an all in one unit makes the use much easier.

You can get into a descent B&W or Color Lowrance unit for well under $200 new; depending on screen size 3.5"-5".  Don't forget that you will need the rest of the "stuff" to install such as a battery, charger, mount, fittings, wire, etc...  those parts can add up to a little bit of money if you haven't already thought about them.

If you plan on fishing quite a bit, you might want to consider spending a fraction more & go color; Lowrance Elite 4x (3.5" color) or Lowrance Mark 5x PRO (5" b&w).

~Bill

isnt there certain fishfinders that can go through the hull so that you dont have to mount on the outside? shoot though capable...? i dont know the terminology if that is even it.

get the Cheapest one,,, they are the best ones....dont get a color, they drain the batt faster.

this one cost me under $100 w/batt and charger over 6 yrs ago.....it still gets the job done.

isnt there certain fishfinders that can go through the hull so that you dont have to mount on the outside? shoot though capable...? i dont know the terminology if that is even it.

yeah, most non DSI finders can shoot thru the hull.
I recently upgraded to a Humminbird unit with GPS, and all I had to do was squish the new transducer down into some duct seal to anchor it inside the hull. You may lose some of the temp accuracy but the sonar works just fine.

I just posted a 5" Eagle (Lowrance) color unit WITH built in GPS.  Transducer will shoot thru the hull.  Open to offers....  Also includes the upgrade chart chips for lakes & ocean.

~Bill

get the Cheapest one,,, they are the best ones....dont get a color, they drain the batt faster.

this one cost me under $100 w/batt and charger over 6 yrs ago.....it still gets the job done.

That is exactly what I want simple black and white and sites south. That's all. I dint need an hd tv 1080p blu-ray player yadda yadda, just basic black n white...
What is the model number of that?

isnt there certain fishfinders that can go through the hull so that you dont have to mount on the outside? shoot though capable...? i dont know the terminology if that is even it.

yeah, most non DSI finders can shoot thru the hull.

Well ... Humminbird DS can shoot through the hull too.  I verified this with Humminbird and that's how I run my 597ci HD DI.  No issues for me.

-Allen

Killer, thanks.

Thanks for all the good info.  I also want to try for salmon.  I thought you needed to be able to spot bait fish and krill.  Will a cheap fish finder show anchovy schools and krill balls?
Thanks

Yes!

+1

Cheapo depot on mine

WBTH- that model i believe is discontinued.

I have an Eagle Cuda 168 I think is the model if interested. Just about new. Complete. I have a dashboard that will fit on the Ride also that is set up with the FF and transducer arm off the side.

isnt there certain fishfinders that can go through the hull so that you dont have to mount on the outside? shoot though capable...? i dont know the terminology if that is even it.

I will show you how I did mine tomorrow if you are still in for the Port? I got a simple Lowrance for under $100 a battery off of e-bay, and a couple tubes of Goop and I am gtg.