fish finder for bass raider 10E

[Joshua Colvey]

I am trying to find a good fish finder for under 400. Would like to stay under 300 really.

Any help. That and how are you guys mounting them?

[racedad]

This is where I mounted my Helix 5 si on a ram mount. You may want to check out the boat and kayak forum here. There is a dedicated thread for the 10e.

[Joshua Colvey]

What about brand and type. This would be my first ever fish finder and i am kinda lost when it comes to what i need it to have. I was at bass pro and i kinda told him what i was doing yet he only wanted to sell me one for like 900 and up..... WHAAAAAAA

 

[Wayne P.]

You made a good first step going to a location that has units on display.  The best approach is push the unit buttons and see which you are the most comfortable with avoiding any advice by any sales person.

Once you have done that, you need to decide what features you want and then see how many of those features fit your budget. There is probably some on here that have a unit you may be interested in and can advise you about it.

The bottom end units would have a grey scale display and a single sonar frequency. Top of the line units would have a color display, larger display, some imaging technology and capabilities to add accessories to do more stuff. There is a wide range between those.

[Joshua Colvey]

So went to academy and looked at them and well I am a little overwhelmed. Sonar. Gps. Color. No color. Some other setting that shows lake floor lol. I'm so lost. People at academy are even more stupid than bass pro. 

 

So so I would love to see fish. Water depth. Water temp and logs and such. This would be nice if I could get that for under 400. The color ones all look really nice but I know seeing them n demo mode vs actually using them will be different.   So based on all that. Any idea of a few to look at. Lol.  Link below in case anyone wants to recommend one or 2 lol  I don't really know anyone who I can personally ask about this  

 

I also looked at the deeper fonder for 299 but the boat mount is 100 alone and u have to use a android or iPhone  

http://www.academy.com/shop/browse/boating--marine/fishfinders--navigation/fishfinders?cm_cr=No+Campaign-_-Web+Activity-_-SubCategoryRecommendation+F%26S-_-SubCategory_CP1-_-Fishfinders-productNameLink

[Wayne P.]

There are several in that link. I would recommend at least a color display with regular 2D sonar. It is much easier to see in bright sunlight.

Good ones by Garmin, Humminbird, and Lowrance within the $400 budget AND you can get most any of them at a lower price by shopping on-line with a marine electronics dealer instead of a big box general sporting goods place like Academy, Bass Pro or Cabelas.

You can have not only color, but GPS and Down Imaging too in your price range.

The Imaging technology will show what stuff really looks like. Humminbird has Down Imaging, Lowrance has Down Scan, and Garmin has DownVu as their trade name for the down looking imaging technology. Look through the posted screen shots in the topic above to see how stuff is displayed in the real world.

[Joshua Colvey]

The screen shots above?  That's what I was looking for like what wording and specs that I needed to look for and all that. Thank you 

[Wayne P.]

At the top of this Electronics forum are posted Screenshots from several brands showing what 2D sonar, down looking imaging, and side looking imaging looks like.

[Joshua Colvey]

Thanks just read every page. Is ther anywhere i can go to read about all the different types of finder and what they mean?

[Joshua Colvey]

Think i may have narrowed the finders down to 3. I am looking to buy this with the ability to move it to a larger boat in the future and also be able to make it mobile so i can take it when my father in law and i go fish in his larger boat. Any input would be great or alternatives.

 

I would love to have side and down scan along with gps, water temp and so on. Thank you guys a lot so far you ahve been a great help.

Lowrance Elite 5 Ti TotalScan Fishfinder/GPS Combo

Garmin STRIKER™ 7sv CHIRP Sonar/GPS Fishfinder Combo - but not gps or maps

Humminbird Helix 5 SI GPS Fishfinder

[Wayne P.]

You can make them mobile with just an extra mount, power cord, and transducer.

[Joshua Colvey]

Yeah i dont figure it be to hard really to move them from boat to boat and ti wont happen real often. I was more curious about input on what one to choose lol..

I think i am cross eyed now trying to read about them..

[racedad]

23 hours ago, Joshua Colvey said:

Think i may have narrowed the finders down to 3. Humminbird Helix 5 SI GPS Fishfinder

I really like my Helix 5.

[Wayne P.]

21 minutes ago, racedad said:

I really like my Helix 5.

Which one of the nine models of Helix 5 do you have?

edited:

Never mind I see you stated that in your first post. GOOD choice.

[bbgobie]

What depth do you usually fish at?

Garmin software sucks, so watch out for that.

[Joshua Colvey]

The lakes range around here. 5 ft to about 100 or so. Depending on the lake. We have one lake that the deepest area is about 18 ft. It's a newer lake and still filling. The game and fish control and stick it and keep it very well stick with a lot of brush and so on. 

 

Thanks for for all the replies. I found the 5 si for 409 so I think I'll do that. I still need to go pick up boat and all my other junk like motor. Trolling motor. Batteries and all that other good stuff. 

[boostr]

15 hours ago, Joshua Colvey said:

The lakes range around here. 5 ft to about 100 or so. Depending on the lake. We have one lake that the deepest area is about 18 ft. It's a newer lake and still filling. The game and fish control and stick it and keep it very well stick with a lot of brush and so on. 

 

Thanks for for all the replies. I found the 5 si for 409 so I think I'll do that. I still need to go pick up boat and all my other junk like motor. Trolling motor. Batteries and all that other good stuff. 

Good choice, the Ram Mount kit that racedad is using is the same one I have, except for the lower mount. Mine is round insured of square, and it's mounted to a accessory adapter to work on my track system on the yak.

[Joshua Colvey]

26 minutes ago, boostr said:

Good choice, the Ram Mount kit that racedad is using is the same one I have, except for the lower mount. Mine is round insured of square, and it's mounted to a accessory adapter to work on my track system on the yak.

I was looking at the ram mounts yesterday. Ill have to either order some of the yak-attach track systems or find another way to mount it. Hard to drill holes in a new boat that you can t get to the back side of.

Also has anyone had one of the bass raiders open. I watched a video where someone filled areas that didnt have any hard foam with expansion foam for more stability.

 

Oh Boostr thanks for the info and help. I do appreciate it.