BaxterC Posted March 4, 2019 Posted March 4, 2019 So I live on a lake that is about 4k acres and also has a river that runs forever that I could follow to other areas. The water on the lake isn't the deepest. Probably an average of 4-7ft, depending on time of year and rain. There is a ton of eel grass and hydilla, but also areas with none. When it's only 3-4ft deep I can see the bottom and know what it looks like. Out in the center it is a bit deeper, and there are areas where I can't see the bottom, or areas near hydrilla mats that I can't see the bottom either. What fish finder feature would be best to be able to see what the bottom looks like in those areas? Quote
Allen Der Posted March 4, 2019 Posted March 4, 2019 Regular 2d sonar would be fine. Down imaging will give you a clearer picture but the cone is very narrow compared to 2d. Saving GPS waypoints is probably going to be your most useful feature on a combo unit Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted March 4, 2019 Super User Posted March 4, 2019 side imaging will also help. 1 Quote
Russ E Posted March 4, 2019 Posted March 4, 2019 1 hour ago, flyfisher said: side imaging will also help. ^^this. The standard 2D does not have a very big coverage area in shallow water. Side imaging will show a lot of things from weedlines to rocks, that you would miss with the 2D. Quote
GPtimes2 Posted March 4, 2019 Posted March 4, 2019 Also search youtube for garmin livescope. A good side scan will work well while traveling, but it is harder to see fish because it shows returns to scale. So a 12" fish might look like a little dot, depending on settings. With livescope you will see things as small as a lure. But be prepared to get sticker shock. The cheapest set up (fishfinder & livescope) will be about 2500. It goes up from there. Quote
BaxterC Posted March 4, 2019 Author Posted March 4, 2019 Yea, livescope seems like it will cost more than I'm looking to spend. I've checked out the Lowrance Hook series, but seem to have mixed reviews. Also checked out the Garmin EchoMap Plus series, and am intrigued by the create your own map feature. So need to do some more research. Quote
ford4wd08 Posted March 5, 2019 Posted March 5, 2019 On 3/4/2019 at 10:40 AM, BaxterC said: Yea, livescope seems like it will cost more than I'm looking to spend. I've checked out the Lowrance Hook series, but seem to have mixed reviews. Also checked out the Garmin EchoMap Plus series, and am intrigued by the create your own map feature. So need to do some more research. Don't discount the Garmin Striker Plus for your needs as well. I personally think that an EchoMap would be a waste for your application because I doubt you will be able to buy any maps for the lake in question. The Striker Plus has the same abilities as an EchoMap (minus more expensive stuff like livescope) but without being able to load maps from a card. It has the create your own map feature as well as side vue with a Striker Plus. 1 Quote
BaxterC Posted March 12, 2019 Author Posted March 12, 2019 Yea, I thought about that. Still on the fence about possibly buying an extra transducer setup so that I could run the GPS in salt as well. So those extra features would be nice. Plus I'm in Central Florida and there are multiple large chains within a one hour drive, so those extras might be handy there. But I'd honestly only fish those things like once a year or so. I'll look into the Striker Plus for sure though. Thanks Quote
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