Circa '84 fish finder

[amateurfishing]

my boat came with a circa 1984 hummingbird 4 x 6 LCR fish finder, i am not very knowledgable yet using it, been primarily for depth and attemping to find structure/fish. i may be getting some money in next week or 2 and am wondering if i should look for something a little more updated/useful in the under $500 range, would this help me find fish on the smaller local lakes that are overrun with algae right now? or targeting fish in general? any experienced low key finders with good reveiws out there?

[gurkster]

There are many decent fish finders under $500 that will get you depth, fish ID, structure, water temp, etc. I personally like Hummingbird, but there are others as well. I can't say if these will be better than what you have, as I don't know, but a new one will do the job if you are looking to replace your old one (lots has changed since '84).

[gurkster]

I should add that if money is tight you can get what you are talking about for much less than $500. You could get a nice basic setup for $100 - $200.

[Chode2235]

you can get very good units for under 150 bucks. Check out the HB PiranhaMAX series. The 150 starts at 80 bucks.

The 300 series is a pretty good value too (if you're looking to get into one with a GPS and map chip (highly recommended)).

Lowrance also has a line of compact fish finders (x-4, x-67, x-68). that people love.

Anything will be light years ahead of what you have.

[bobbymalone]

My boat came with one slightly newer than that, but not by much. It was an eagle though. The screen looked like the atari system that could only play pong, which was probably already replaced by a nintendo when that depthfinder came out. At least it didn't have the paper roll thing and it was good at telling how deep you were though.

$500 dollar system or $100 system, I think you are gonna want to replace that thing.

[amateurfishing]

wife has given me carte blanche on anything under $500. looking at hummingbirds like 385i & 560/570. i would like to get gps/sonar but do not know if gps is necessary for me. do the lakemaster chips have every little neighborhood lake on it or just the major ones? my primary fishing is neighborhood lakes right now, have never been on larger lake yet, but that said, i would also like something with the possibilty of growing into to help me learn more bout fishing, fish finding, contours, etc. if neighborhood lakes are not on a lake chip, then i maybe able to skip that part of fishfinder, otherwise i would think that is definetly way to go. Any advise/recommendations for under $500 total would be great.

[Jarrod32]

The Lakemaster probably isn't going to help you much on the lakes you fish, then. The GPS might be useful for marking spots and giving you an accurate speed reading for trolling, but that would be about it.

Like others have mentioned, you can get a good, basic unit for a little under $100. If you go up a bit in price, you can get a larger screen. The next jump would be to a color screen, but even then you can still find good units well under that $500 mark.

As for the Humminbirds you are looking at, the 385 I think has a pretty small screen. The 560 or 570 would be good options in my opinion.

[Chode2235]

I would really recommend getting GPS if it is in your budget. Navionics chips typically have most of the smaller neighborhood lakes compared to Lakemaster (Nokomis for instance). But the list of lakes are all out on their sites.

But even if you don't buy the chip right away, the GPS is incredibly helpful to helping you get back to your spots or marking points, repeating tracks, etc. The contours are nice, but not the real value of the GPS.

I use my GPS the same way I used to throw out markers.

The HB 500 series are great units, maybe even a Lowrance Elite unit too.

[TooTallTom]

If you can find one that you're happy with and can afford, definitely buy one with GPS. I would say that in a basic fishfinder (no side- or down-imaging capabilities) screen size, resolution, and GPS are the things to be concerned about.

As has been mentioned, you can still get lots of the benefits of the GPS without springing for a map chip at first. Even if you're just printing off maps from Lakefinder and using those to "dead reckon" to a spot on the GPS, it'll be a lot easier to find the place you're looking for if you have your location relative to the lake outline.

[amateurfishing]

thx for all the info.....well after a talk with wife last nite (and using the video game analagy a previous poster mentioned), i talked with the wife last nite, and she just said keep it under $500. so i went to C's this am for some in depth fish finder recon work (wink wink) and told em under $500 with/without gps. they said hands down hummingbird 597 CI (which was on sale for $420 from $560, needless to say kinda hard to say no. salesman researched & said all my neighborhood lakes were on those lake chips so i was kinda sold on getting gps & he said hands down 597 CI, skipped lake chip for now, but am very excited that it also has ice fishing capabilities, plan on adding that at some time to. considering the store, im hoping/thing a great buy.

Now anyone have experience installing one? store wanted $90, hoping to do myself for for a 6 pack or 2 if anyone wants to help.

[TooTallTom]

Sounds like that'll be a good unit for what you have in mind. Being able to add a map chip later is a big "grow into the unit" option.

Intall isn't really that big of a deal if you're mechanical at all. Just make sure you read and understand the instructions and you should be fine. (I think I read mine two or three times, visualizing the install before I actually went out and started poking holes in my boat.)

If you have any questions, post back here and I'm sure we can help you out.

[amateurfishing]

mechanics & me dont mix, took me 3 weeks to find bad connection in trailer wires this spring alone, but after i get some alone time this weekend, can read instuctions, maybe will try & tackle sat afternoon or sunday....wont have time today & already promised boys water time tomorrow am. but if anyone is in the area & wants to help, im all ears.

[Down Deep]

I still have a Lowrance 2085 flasher that I bought for a new boat in 1983. I haven't pulled it off the shelf in 15 years, but I'm sure it still works. I agree that you can get a great fish finder "new" for around $150. Spend the rest of your $$'s on a good rod.

[Chode2235]

Sounds like that'll be a good unit for what you have in mind. Being able to add a map chip later is a big "grow into the unit" option.

Intall isn't really that big of a deal if you're mechanical at all. Just make sure you read and understand the instructions and you should be fine. (I think I read mine two or three times, visualizing the install before I actually went out and started poking holes in my boat.)

If you have any questions, post back here and I'm sure we can help you out.

There is lots of good stuff on the internet to help you out. Don't rush into it. You can do it, if you read enough and do it when you are comfortable.

The hardest part will be mounting the transducer. Maybe you can even use the mount from the old one? That would save you from having to drill more holes in your boat. You'll need to drill a couple holes, and then fill them with some 3m 4200 or 5200 when you put the screws in. If you take the old mount off, be sure the old screw holes are filled too.

Then it is basically running wires to the unit, and mounting the unit head where you want it.

I'm a big fan of my ram mount, but find a place that works for you, and do the same thing with the mount for the unit head. Drill the holes for the base, and mount it with screws. DONT USE 5200 if you EVER want to get it out again! I like to use the 3m paste to be sure the holes are sealed, but 4200 dries and is still pliable (you can get it back out) and the 5200 hardens into a brick and is extremely difficult to remove.

Then you need to attach the power cord to your power source. If you're running it off of a battery, you usually have to crimp on a couple ends to your supplied cord (I like the round ones that go around the battery screws) and peel back some insulation, and put the end on, squeeze it with a pliers or something to ensure it is tight and you have contact. Put a little electrical tape around the base for good measure.

Black goes to negative, red goes to positive.

Find some place to tuck the rest of the wires, use some wire ties and try and get them out of the way.

If you have a local hardware store, they can be pretty helpful with this type of stuff.

But in short you have to:

Mount the transducer

Mount the base for the unit head

hook up the power cord to your power source

run the power cord and the transducer cord to the unit, tucking the wires up and out of the way

Enjoy!

[amateurfishing]

got my new hb 597ci installed yesterday & tested it out a bit today, all i can say is geeeez alou, THAT changes everything. much easier to catch fish when you are by them, EVEN if it is a tough bite day!! just like i learned the hard way with ice fishing, if u dont know where they are, u cant catchem, this is a really nice unit which i will be able to grow into alot over next few years. extremely impressed today, atari days of fish finder are over!