NEED Help!!!!!!!! With gps fish finder what to buy

[Angelo Johnson]

 Hi guys new to the forum  I just bought a 99 ranger r61  looking for a fishfinder GPS combo  don’t know which one to go with if anyone can help I really appreciate it 

 

im looking at the  hummingbird  helix 7 chirp gps g2n

 

or the  

Ray Marine  dragonfly  Pro chrip  if anyone has any other opinions please let me know 

 

my budget is about $600.00

 

[Scott F]

Which one you buy depends on YOUR needs and budget. Without knowing either it would be hard suggest anything. 

[Angelo Johnson]

To be honest I really don’t know what I need just yet this is my first time buying one But I can tell you is I am fishing in  Southern California Mostly at Castaic Lake

 My budget is about $600 

[Russ E]

go to a local Bass Pro, Cabelas, Scheels, etc. and play with the display models. see which one you prefer.

Hummingbird, Lowrance,and Garmin are all good brands. 

I have owned hummingbirds for 30 years, I stick with them, because It is what I am familiar with.

I have 2 hummingbird helix 7's. both have GPS. bow has down imaging, console has side imaging.

[tander]

My preference is Garmin, but it is hard to go wrong with any of them.

[Tennessee Boy]

I was a Lowrance guy for the past 20 years until this spring.  I never had any problems with my Lowrance units. They are rock solid and well designed.   This Spring I switched to Humminbird Solix units.  They work but I have found them to be a little buggy.  Nothing serious just annoying little things.  I switched to Humminbird for the following reasons and I don't regret the decision.

 

1) On the lakes I fish most often,  the Humminbird Lakemaster maps are far superior to any other maps I have seen.  This alone has made switching to Humminbird worth while for me.

2) I have Humminbird 360 imaging and like it.

3) I have an i-pilot link trolling motor and I like the integration it has with my Humminbird units.

 

If I was not taking advantage of these Humminbird only features,  I would have stayed with Lowrance.

[haggard]

On 8/4/2018 at 6:10 PM, Angelo Johnson said:

To be honest I really don’t know what I need just yet this is my first time buying one But I can tell you is I am fishing in  Southern California Mostly at Castaic Lake

 My budget is about $600 

Three of the biggest choices to make are 1) do you want GPS and 2) what type of sonar do you want (side scan, down scan, etc) and 3) screen size. GPS units will cost more but will open up features like seeing where your boat is on a map, boat heading, logging coordinates where you caught a fish, mapping the topography of the lake, logging the route you took, etc.

 

As for GPS, it adds a lot of features and capabilities to your finder. If you're fishing a tiny home lake 90% of the time, GPS might be a waste. But if you're fishing lots of different/new waters, or if your home water is huge, GPS may add lots of value.

 

As for scan type, basic sonar will let you see what's directly under the boat (bottom structure type, fish, etc) while other scan types can show much higher resolution details/images of objects around you. Some units show what looks like old school video game displays; others look almost like photographs of underwater objects.

 

As for screen size, consider how far your eyes will be from where the finder is mounted. Also, sure you can zoom in and out but even when zoomed in, you don't see the surrounding context. Like computer monitors, bigger is often more comfortable on your eyes and also better in terms of you processing the information that's presented. Going "too big" is diminishing returns; unless you're sponsored or made of money, a 12 inch panel for recreational fishing is questionable (opinion).

 

Most important is spend some time (before buying) figuring out what you need. Keep in mind that what you need is based on what you're most likely to actually be doing, not what the marketing material says you could be doing in some perfect scenario.