Best 500.00 Depth finder

[#fishhunt#]

I looking to upgrade an old x-85 Lowrance with something around the 500.00 range. My normal fishing lake is 25 depth max and most of my fishing is done between 7 and 10 feet. It is generally a silt bottom lake. Walleye is my main target. My old graph still works and I will probably move it to the front of the boat. The issue with it is I lose bottom ay anything under 6 feet. Once I get back out to 8 it starts readign again. It is getting anoying and this has been happening forever. Is it worth it to put a better graph on if fishing in 7-10 feeet? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[TruthWalleyes]

Sounds like the angle of your transducer is wrong. If angling too much forward or backward the signal won't make it back to the transducer in shallow water.

I'd take a close look at side imaging or structure scan if you want to make a drastic improvement in your walleye fishing. Would have to be the smallest versions to fit the bill.

[ClownColor]

Above...hb si/di is on sale for $750 right now!

[amateurfishing]

i'd say a 500 series (like 597) HB but im kinda biased

[ClownColor]

Another thing to consider is a lowrance hds then adding ss/ds at a later date when u have more funds.

[rupprider]

i'd say a 500 series (like 597) HB but im kinda biased

I picked up a 597 ci hd with di last year and have absolutely loved it.

[eyesonly]

I see the Elite 5 is on sale for 374.99 Right now. Thats the best deal Ive seen in a while on electronics.

[Moose-Hunter]

If you need spare transducer for your X-85, let me know. I used to run two, X-85's in my old boat and found a few spare parts during this year's spring cleaning. dan8026 AT gmail DOT com

[RJMOEN]

I love my Humminbird® 587ci DI Sonar/GPS Combo. On sale on line at big C sto re for 459.

[Superduty]

The X-85 wouldn't read shallow water when new. Didn't like a soft bottom either. It was the most frustrating sonar I ever owned and I am a diehard Lowrance guy. My vote is for a side imaging unit if you can swing it financially. It will change the way you fish. The Elite-5 if it can be had for $375 is a great deal too. It's basically an updated version of the LMS-332 and LMS-520. I have owned both and they were a quality unit if you don't mind the smaller screen size.

[dan z]

Not sure if its still available but the x-135 has been putting fins in the live well for quite a while. At the time I purchased it, it was the strongest gray scale availabile. Love it, it now sits beside a mark5 dsi and I find more fish with the 135 than the mark 5 but the mark 5 shows the structure very well.

[Tator2k]

The 78(x)ci units are typically on sale in the $449-499 range around the time of the northwest sports show every year.

[drewbop]

so how does everyone feel about the Lowrance® Elite-5 DSI Sonar with GPS- it's on sale at the Cstore for $419. I've been looking to upgrade sonars for the last couple years. Just trying to see if I should jump on this deal?

[delcecchi]

There is a new 7 inch widescreen Lowrance that, while somewhat more money, looks like a better deal.

There was a long discussion of DSI in one of the recent depthfinder threads.

As I recall the Elite unit is only DSI, no conventional which is somewhat of a drawback.

[drewbop]

Just curious as to why you see that as a drawback (except for the fact it's less whistles..) I'm just trying to get a feel for what I would like to try. I've only had the $150 specials (like Eagle) that typically displays depth and that's about it. I feel I need to invest in an open water electronic package where I can finally figure out how to see fish and structure, and hopefully increase my success! (like everyone else wants!)

[delcecchi]

I have never used DSI but there have been a couple of long threads about it recently. You might look down a few pages and see if they are there, or search.

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2923502/Lowrance_Elite_5_DSI

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2520117/597ci_HD_DI_vs_Elite_5_DSI

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2997983/Input_Needed_on_Lowrance_Elite

are a few. I typed DSI in the search box and a whole bunch of stuff showed up.

[raymondk]

the elite 7 hd1 has both conventional and di

[delcecchi]

That is the new widescreen unit I mentioned. I didn't remember the name. That looks like a good unit, but a little above the $500.

It is good to know that it has both.

[TMF89]

I would go with the Elite 7. Currently the best bang for your buck in the sonar world, IMO. Nothing else comes close to screen size for the money. $600-700 depending on if you want DSI or not. It depends on the fishing you're doing but in general DSI is very helpful. It allows unparalleled detail in the underwater world. It makes telling the difference between a school of baitfish, small game fish, and large game fish as easy as looking at the screen. Not to mention you'll find small rock piles that you never knew were there, and you'll be able to tell if that stuff on the bottom are rocks, fish, weeds, etc.

However, one of the issues I had with the Elite 5 DSI was, as mentioned, it's ONLY DSI. Now the problem with DSI is that it's a very narrow sonar window. Which if you think about it makes sense. A 20 degree cone will have a diameter roughly equal to the height of the cone. So if you're in 30 fow, that's a 30' diameter cone your sonar is showing you. Now if you have something like DSI, which is very detailed, that becomes an issue. If the unit is trying to cover too much, it won't be able to show the detail in the first place. Basically DSI shows you what's directly under your boat, while regular/broadband/2D/whatever the hell they're calling it these days will show you structure both underneath and around the boat. Now if I'm out on Mille Lacs chasing walleyes on the flats, that regular sonar is gonna be what I use to locate the fish. Then once I've found them, I would use the DSI to pinpoint their exact location, as well as find any structure I can work. The nice thing about the 7 is that you can show both screens at once, so if you see the fish on your regular sonar but not on your DSI, you know you need to move a little to get on top of them, or troll over them.

Add the ability for the Elite 7 to run GPS w/map chips, and it's a no brainer in my book. I plan on putting one on the bow of my boat (if I don't wind up just ethernet-ing a second HDS up there), really nice little units.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Nice unit, but way over $500. That is always my issue. What I truly want is always over my budget.

If you need to stick to $500 then go with a 5" screen. Elite 5 combo, or 700 series Humminbirds are both good. Choose the Humminbird and add a Lakemaster chip down the road for some awesome mapping features.

Go to the Sportshow today and get a demo on both brands. You really can't go wrong with either. I got a Humminbird because of the Lakemaster capabilities with it.

[TMF89]

Actually if he does go to the show he can probably snag an Elite-7 for close to five. 10% would bring the base model down to $540. Also I'm not sure about future editions, but the current Lowrance Insight chip uses the exact same contour maps as Lakemaster, because the data's from them. Part of the whole Johnson buyout thing was the deal that Lakemaster would license its data to Navico.