Fishfinders are technological advanced instruments that help fisherman find where the fish are by using sonar to detect fish and "the bottom". They use a graphical display on the fishfinder to show you where the fish are located beneath the boat. There are even new sidefinding fishfinders that function much the same as the fishfinders that point down except they send and receive sonar to the sides of the boat. The technology that makes them work is more expensive than traditional down facing sonar fishfinders. Fishfinders don't come without a little controversy. Many traditional fisherman say fishing is meant to be relaxing and for fun, why use a piece of technology that to some fisherman is considered "cheating" in an honest pasttime. I can certainly understand why a fisherman looking for an easy day of fishing wouldn't want to use a fishfinder, it actually may take the fun out of fishing. On the other hand, if you are a professional fishmerman, why waste time looking for the fish and hoping something bites your line when you can use the fishfinder to locate all the fish you want. Too bad they don't have a "fishcatcher" to go with fishfinders. We read reviews of the newest and latest fishfinders to come up with what consumers say are the best of the class. The results are below, please keep reading.
The top brands in fishfinders are Bottom Line, Eagle, Furuno, Garmin, Hummingbird, Lowrance, Raytheon, and Magellan GPS. The best selling fishfinder is made by Hummingbird - they have been in business for over 30 years and every year get the top ranking products when it comes to customer feedback. The Humminbird Matrix 15 Fishing System ($180-$230) - has DualBeam PLUS and QuadraBeam Side Structure Locating sonar. The Matrix systems from Hummingbird fishfindres are rated high for "degree of sensitivity" and most come with high-definition LCD screens. The Humminbird Fishfinder 565, 640V x 320H pixels ($200) is a top pick of fisherman with clear images of fish (big and small) and the sonar operates up to 40 times a seconds. The Garmin Fishfinder, 140 with dual Beam ($114) - alarms for fish size, shallow water, deep water, and low battery. The Eagle - SeaFinder 320DF Dual Frequency Fishfinder ($200) has a 5" diagonal LCD screen with great performance in a 5 dual-frequency "workhorse". The Seafinder is great for lakes as well as coastal waters and can penetrate depths up to 1500 feet. The Bottomline Fishin Buddy 1200 is the ultimate value-priced fish finder ideal for fishing boats, duck boats, sailboats, ski boats and small runabouts. Other top sellers include the Furuno LS4100 Fishfinder w/transom-mount transducer ($200), Lowrance - LMS-337C Dual Frequency Fishfinder & WAAS GPS Chartplotter ($700) - high end fishfinder with FishReveal "that exposes targets hidden by clutter and cover", and the Raytheon Fish Finder L750 ($670-$790) - works well in night conditions. From what we read in reviews, no matter which "fish finder" you choose, you are bound to have more luck when fishing in the future. You can purchase all these models and more on the Internet at Fishfinder-store.com or at Amazon.com.
Portable FishFinder:
The #1 portable fishfinder is the FF3355P Hawkeye Portable Fishfinder ($100) - just toss the floating transducer from the shoreline or boat and get depth readings, fish findings, and a 'bottom' locator. Some of the top feautres are listed below:
compact new design
rugged construction
Easy Touch Programming
easier than ever to use
Built-In Bluetooth and Speakerphone
Voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names
Another portable fishfinder that is a wrist mounted GPS unit is the Garmin Fishfinder 250 ($135) - runs on 2 AAA batteries and can be worn like a watch. Both of these portable fishfinders can be bought online at Amazon.com.
Ranking of High End Fish Finders:
Believe it or not you can spend up to $2000 on an expensive brand name fish finder and you may find it's worth your money. Those fisherman that are on the waters daily and need to make a living doing it or feed their families, rely on the high end fishfinders to "guarantee" they will catch lots of fish without having to try all that hard. An investment of $1000-$2000 can earn back its keep within a year or 2 if used properly. The Interphase Twinscope Black B/T U2-Twin-SCPC sells for a little over $1500 and is loaded with features that give you a "live action" shot of whats going on underneath the water. Has a forward, sideways, and downward sonar which covers all angles. The Lowrance LCX-110C Display Only ($1640) is another technologically advanced fishfinder with a high end screen, detailed mapping capabilities, and 2 memory card slots. Lastly, the Humminbird 987c Series 900 Fishfinder ($1860) has a built in UniMap of the USA coastline, inland lakes and rivers. The precision GPS chartplotting and ultra wide screen make this the fishfinder to show off to all your fishing buddies.
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