Best entry level fishfinder for boat?

[jcpmn82]

Looking for suggestions for a simple inexpensive easy to use first fishfinder for my first boat ever. Best one under $200. I was thinking this one: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=149&pID=85820

[Get'n Jiggy]

My personal experience would direct me to a Hummingbird 325, similar

unit and price, Hummingbird has good customer service.

[sled59]

I second the Humminbird choice. I would try to get one that has color. I have 2 Hbirds one with color and one without.

[cheddar 86]

Depending upon what type of fishing, and which type of waters you fish....you may want to mull over having gps and maps (built in or at least as a purchasable option). I bought a color Humminbird with GPS (built in maps). I'm a musky guy and I fish water with a lot of submerged structure. It makes it hard to fish without gps on these type of lakes, and also I wish the one I purchased had the option to add maps as the built in maps don't have depth contours. The gps also makes it nice for one water I fish consistently that is fed by a river and there is a narrow channel I've marked so I can navigate in the dark if needed.

Again this may be more than you need, and it depends upon the type of fishing/lakes you fish. But it is one consideration I overlooked based on my intended budget.

Depending upon where you plan to store it, you should look into the possibility of unit removal. My particular model doesn't have a lock option, but the unit removes by holding down a button and lifting. I like to store it inside during the winter.

I guess bottom line is if you offer more specifics on what you plan to do, people may be able to offer more insight for your choice.

[mainbutter]

I like humminbird for their fish finders.

I like garmin for their GPS.

If I had to go with one that does both, I'd go with a HB. Instead I have a portable HB 345c, and a garmin pocket gps of some sort.

[corncob]

My favorite finder from the past was a Garmin 160. I upgraded to a Lowrance , then a Hummingbird.......What I liked about the Garmin was it easy adjust settings and to interpret bottom type, weeds, rocks, and fish.....The added features of my upgraded finders also required finer adjustments, more clutter, much harder time fine tuning......For under $200 , you couldnt go wrong with a Garmin Echo 200 , $159 retail.....5 inch screen , temp and speed, dual beam...For a basic finder ,easy to adjust and interpret display, you cant go wrong.