$250 budget fishfinder

[d-camarena]

I recently was passed down a 1992 tracker panfish special. Everything works great, i just finished replacing all the wood and before i screw the wood in i want to install a fishfinder with gps. 

Whats the most recommended fish finder in my budget. Mostly need it to save spots

[Josh Smith]

Dude, I'll tell ya': Whatever you get will be more than adequate for what you need unless you take a lot of time and fish in special circumstances (sounds like a GPS model would do you good).

In the '90s we did just fine with a black and white LCD model and compass bearings.

Rebuilding the boat, I have been getting ideas of what I'll be using. The cheapest WalMart fish finder has more capabilities than that older unit.

It almost sounds to me like you could get away with an inexpensive unit and a good handheld GPS for marking waypoints.

Josh

[Wayne P.]

1 hour ago, Josh Smith said:

Dude, I'll tell ya': Whatever you get will be more than adequate for what you need unless you take a lot of time and fish in special circumstances (sounds like a GPS model would do you good).

In the '90s we did just fine with a black and white LCD model and compass bearings.

Rebuilding the boat, I have been getting ideas of what I'll be using. The cheapest WalMart fish finder has more capabilities than that older unit.

It almost sounds to me like you could get away with an inexpensive unit and a good handheld GPS for marking waypoints.

Josh

You are suggesting two electronic devices to take the place of one. Unless the handheld is free, that is still a cost.

What does a "good handheld GPS" cost?

 

Bass Pro has the Garmin Echomap 43DV for $300. The Garmin Striker series has GPS but with no mapping capability.

The Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar GPS is $300 MSRP.

There are Lowance Elite 4 CHIRP models that are discontinued and some are still available for a lower price. They are GPS/mapping

[Advantage]

16 minutes ago, Wayne P. said:

You are suggesting two electronic devices to take the place of one. Unless the handheld is free, that is still a cost.

What does a "good handheld GPS" cost?

 

Bass Pro has the Garmin Echomap 43DV for $300. The Garmin Striker series has GPS but with no mapping capability.

The Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar GPS is $300 MSRP.

There are Lowance Elite 4 CHIRP models that are discontinued and some are still available for a lower price. They are GPS/mapping

Go with the Garmin or the Lowrance. I've got the Lowrance Elite 4 with DownImaging from the year before the CHIRP model and it's a pretty good little unit that has traditional broadband and DownImaging and GPS. The CHIRP is an added bonus to that unit. 

I don't know that much about the specifics of the Garmin but have heard very good things about them.

[d-camarena]

Ive been looking at a lowrance elite 4x chirp? That one has plotting?

[d-camarena]

Anybody know the difference between the 4 chirp and the 4x chirp?

[Advantage]

42 minutes ago, d-camarena said:

Ive been looking at a lowrance elite 4x chirp? That one has plotting?

Yup, it has gps on it.

7 minutes ago, d-camarena said:

Anybody know the difference between the 4 chirp and the 4x chirp?

The elite 4 chirp has gps and the 4x doesn't, from what I can tell on their website.

[d-camarena]

Last question guys, im sorry im just very new at using fishfinders. 

Is gps a must have for bass fishing? I can get a brand new lowrance elite 4x chirp for $100. Locally. I can try it before i buy it. But that one doesnt have gps.

And thanks advantage for your help!

[Wayne P.]

GPS will allow you to mark stuff you find so you can return directly to it. It will also draw a trail/track on the GPS view of where you have been.

Mapping with GPS will have a contour map background that may or may not have the coverage you need. You have to check the map source to see if your waters are covered.

Whether or not you "need" GPS and mapping depends on how large a body of water you fish and how familiar you are with it. Plus whether or not you want to mark locations to return to like brushpiles, or any submerged feature that may hold fish).

 

[BiteFiend]

On 8/12/2016 at 7:18 PM, Wayne P. said:

GPS will allow you to mark stuff you find so you can return directly to it. It will also draw a trail/track on the GPS view of where you have been.

Mapping with GPS will have a contour map background that may or may not have the coverage you need. You have to check the map source to see if your waters are covered.

Whether or not you "need" GPS and mapping depends on how large a body of water you fish and how familiar you are with it. Plus whether or not you want to mark locations to return to like brushpiles, or any submerged feature that may hold fish).

 

GPS is helpful on large lakes, but just as helpful on small lakes as well IMHO. I like marking underwater brush piles and rock piles. Those areas dont get hit as much as emergant cover. That alone is worth the extra cost of GPS to me. 

[Josh Smith]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 5:39 PM, Wayne P. said:

You are suggesting two electronic devices to take the place of one. Unless the handheld is free, that is still a cost.

What does a "good handheld GPS" cost?

 

Bass Pro has the Garmin Echomap 43DV for $300. The Garmin Striker series has GPS but with no mapping capability.

The Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar GPS is $300 MSRP.

There are Lowance Elite 4 CHIRP models that are discontinued and some are still available for a lower price. They are GPS/mapping

I have an accurate phone app that cost all of five bucks.

My handheld unit with mapping cost $100 on clearance.

I would rather have two products than one. One fails, I still have the other.

Josh

[lo n slo]

Gander Mountain has the Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar for $199

just sayin'

[Wayne P.]

38 minutes ago, lo n slo said:

Gander Mountain has the Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar for $199

just sayin'

That does not have GPS/Mapping. The same model version with GPS is Helix 5 SI GPS

[Kris2016]

Gander Mountain also has the Lowrance Elite 5 HDI for $249.98.  That gets you a bigger screen, GPS, down imaging, trackback and a cover.   It will also take a Navionics chip or other that will increase your GPS capabilities later if you wish.  I bought one for my aluminum boat redo.

[zell_pop1]

Gander also has Humminbird 698 for like $380 online plus a rebate of $50 or $75(not sure without looking it up). It has gps, si, and di. The Gander nearest me has all 600 series birds in a clearance bin, so if you have one near you check them out. Of course the Gander near me also has a 598 and 798 on display, but for some reason not on clearance, I asked about them but the guy working there was clueless.

[Wayne P.]

1 hour ago, zell_pop1 said:

Gander also has Humminbird 698 for like $380 online plus a rebate of $50 or $75(not sure without looking it up). It has gps, si, and di. The Gander nearest me has all 600 series birds in a clearance bin, so if you have one near you check them out. Of course the Gander near me also has a 598 and 798 on display, but for some reason not on clearance, I asked about them but the guy working there was clueless.

The 500 and 700 series were discontinued when the 600 series came out.

Both of those are more desirable than the 600 series for Side Imaging due to the wider display.