A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
Headed down to Central Fla this past weekend and got to stop in at the Orlando Bass Pro. Hoped to find a new prop in-store, but they didn't have what I needed. Anyways - talked to the guys at the electronics section about a fishfinder for a boat that primarily fishes inshore / flats.
He said to stay away from Humminbird b/c they couldn't handle the saltwater. Also said that Eagle and Garmin had too much power and would improperly 'echo' their signals. He pointed me to a Lowrance X67C as the best answer for a shallow water machine. I was pretty surprised to hear bad things about those other options and to find out that I may need to spend twice as much as I initially expected.
Have you guys used the X67 before? Or the Garmin / Humminbird for shallow water fishing? Do those reccomendations reflect what you've found on your boats / machines?
-Thanks
"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope." - John Buchan
Thats pretty funny that he would say that.. He is either pushing Lowrance, or has no clue... I bet the no clue is the correct answer.. Well Eagle is simply less sophisticated than Lowrance, but both are made by Lowrance.. I have Garmin 240 Blue and do not get echo's in 3 ft, so to much power is not making much sense either. And unless they are selling it for less than $300 as here BOATFIX something is just not right.
Ok....so the guy at BP was pretty much full of crap.
The only experience I have had with fish finders is an old Lowrance unit on a bay boat we've got at work. It generally does a pretty good job of telling ya how much water you've got between you and the bottom. I don't have a manual for it and Lowrance no longer publishes them..so I haven't really played with it that much. Just turn it on and read it as you're scootin' around the creeks.
Will I be able to read grass from sand on a sub $200 machine? This isn't a fancy boat or a deep sea scouring vessel...I'd just like to know how deep it is when I can't see the bottom.
Thanks - D
"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope." - John Buchan
Last year I bought a Eagle "Couda 128" for less than $100 at walmart and it works great in the bays and flats as well as offshore. I saw loads of fish today...
Time is the most precious commodity we have in life, stay focused.
I have been using an entry level Hummingbird for five years and it works great although more useful for tracking the bottom then spotting fish. Wish I had one that showed the water temperature.
I researched depthfinders to death right before Christmas and read all the online reviews I could find. I ended up with the BottomLine Tournament 480 ($149.00 with temperature) which I problems with but the company replaced it for me immediately and now it works fine. If I had to do it all over again, I think the I would buy the most resolution I could get for about a $100 for just flats fishing. The Eagle Cudas, Humminbird Pirhana Max series, and the cheaper Lowrance should do you fine. Don't count out Bottomline brand either...the replacement unit the company sent me works very well.
I've had my eye on that Garmin It looks like you get a good sized screen as well as a temp sensor. I don't really know the value of a temp gauge other than for the logbook - but it would be nice to keep track.
Ended up ordering a new prop this week (so I can have a spare) and hopefully not wobble out my bearings with the current chopper (should be in next week). Any ways it looks like the Depth Finder will have to wait a little bit longer.
maximum depth of 600 feet
I think that'll be deep enough for most work...
"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope." - John Buchan
dave7 wrote: I don't really know the value of a temp gauge other than for the logbook - but it would be nice to keep track.
If you can find water a degree cooler in the summer, or a degree warmer in the winter, you'll see the value of the temp gage. The fish can find that 1 degree difference.
Dave, I replaced mine a little over a year ago. I originally set out expecting to pay $800+ for what I wanted. Since it was giving me heartburn about spending this much money, I started looking at Lowrance and Eagle and the differences between the two. Like someone said, Eagle is not quite as sophisticated as Lowrance, but I had an Eagle unit before and knew that it was pretty tough and worked OK. I wound up buying an Eagle Seafinder 480 ($230 including shipping) that I have been very pleased with. I have no trouble picking out the bottom type or spotting bait or fish. I have used it on the flats some and I haven't noticed any problems with echo in 10 feet or so. I don't really pay it that much attention (other than depth) when I'm shallower than that.
I've also heard a lot of good stuff about the Garmin 240 blue, so you probably can't go wrong with that one.
I've had both and there was little difference between an eagle (some model from wally world, about $100) and Lowrance X65. Both read at WOT. The lowrance had a zoom factor that was more detailed than that of the eagle. That's about it.
Hoped to find a new prop in-store, but they didn't have what I needed. Anyways - talked to the guys at the electronics section about a fishfinder for a boat that primarily fishes inshore / flats. 
Thats pretty funny that he would say that.. He is either pushing Lowrance, or has no clue... I bet the no clue is the correct answer.. Well Eagle is simply less sophisticated than Lowrance, but both are made by Lowrance.. I have Garmin 240 Blue and do not get echo's in 3 ft, so to much power is not making much sense either. And unless they are selling it for less than $300 as here 
