Depth Finders

[Guest]

Picked up a new lund last year, and it came equipped with a couple Sea View 628 Depth Finders. I probably haven't given them enough time, or studied up enough on them, but at this point I am not real impressed. I just wanted to get the boards input on what they think are the best depth finders and why.

Thanks for the input!

[CHODE]

Well if you wanna actually see the fish below the boat (true reading) By a vexilar! Also a x15 is another excellent unit!! As far as what you have well they will give you a bottom reading and thats about the extent of it!

[Guest]

Eye DR.
I definatly agree with the Vexalar Fl-8 or THe X-15. I have my Vexy on the bowmount and the X-15 on the console and they will both mark fish. the X-15 is pricy but well worth it when you can see exactly what is under the boat. They are also very user friendly. I havent heard any complaints so far but mine will lock up every once in a while, does any body know if this is normal? I have heard it was a real problem when they first came out. It will only lock up when I am changing pages from navagation to sonar. And it has only happend 3 times.

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<;(((><

[Big Dave2]

Hey Pimp,
the x-15 you speek of, is that a vexilar product or something else?
And your fl8, how do you have that mounted on the bow mount?

Thanks, Dave

[Guest]

Big Dave
The X-15 is made by Lowrance. They are rather spendy but worth every penny. The fl8 is mounted with a special mounting kit that vexalar sells for about 45 bucks. The x-15 and vex do not fight buti also have a clearwater clasic (Zercom) flasher that is effected by the x-15. Be sure to wire the front depth finder to separette battery than to trolling moter.

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<;(((><

[Guest]

I believe that depth finders are important, after getting used to one. However:

Fish Finders I am starting to think are a scam, and here is why:

I recently did a day long (okay, 2 half days because of rain) guided trip on Lake of the Woods. We caught a LOT of walleye. The boat had advanced, guide level electronics on it, including the standard marine band radio and Lorance (sp?) gear, and fish/depth finders.

I never ONCE saw a fish on the finder, and the guide said that was typical. Yet in two days we caught at least 42 walleyes. Everyone around us was pulling them in too. It was fun, because we got to pick and choose the keepers and let the others go.

[Surface Tension]

Theres times you wont see the fish because there laying on the bottom. Your sounder will tell you bottom (mud sand rock). It will show the drops and humps weeds and keep you in your targeted depth. You need to use all of this imformation. This is the more important then looking for an arch.

[TUMBLEWEED]

Not uncommon not to see fish while catching them right and left.Especially when they are right on the bottom. Also, most transducers used are of the wide angle type,which are fine for most general things like depth,
structure,etc. A very good tool for fishing in the right spots,and you can play around
with the sensitivity and zoom sometimes,and
see some of those "bottom huggers". I would think the narrower angle transducers better
suited for more precise viewing.
As for what comes with a boat package,it is
usually "junk" this would include graphs
and stereos. If you want something decent,you
will have to fork out the cash!! It will all
depend on "your" needs.......

Forgot to add, I have an X85 and love it

[This message has been edited by TUMBLEWEED (edited 07-05-2002).]

[Big Dave2]

hey pimp, just wondering, why would I have to wire the fish finder to a seperate battery than the trolling motor. Are you just concerned about the draw, and running the battery down too quickly or is there another reason?

Thanks, Dave

[Surface Tension]

Its only nesseary if you have a noisy motor. With its own battery you will get ride of the clutter.

[Guest]

If you have an FL-8, and you KNOW how to read it, you will find and see more fish then anything else. You will know the bottom content, you will know the weedline, and you will be much happier in the winter as well.

The only other thing you might want is a temp gauge for early season.

Vexilar all the way!

PCG

[Ozzy169]

to take this one step further, FL-18 is the real ticket= bottom lock feature, this rids of the up and down reading on the graph from porpoising (going up an down from the waves)!! There is the option of also zoming in the bottom 6 ft.

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Get 'er done

[Surface Tension]

Sorry Crappie Guide but the Vexilars dont compare to even the mid priced sounders. I dont know what other sounders you have used but for me the Vexilars would be on the bottom of my list. I'm not tring to ruffle anyones feathers here just stating my experience using sounders for thousands of hours the past 25 years.

[Guest]

well I must say that VEXilars have thier own place if you want real time info of whats under you right now there isnt a bettter unit.
But for me I like the Garmin 160 and 240 units, they have a flasher feature where you can display real time flash across the right side of the screen, while watching the time graph on the rest. Also the resolution and detail is wonderful, i was in sunken trees a while back and the info dispayed was accurate and once you learn how to effectively read your finder it is a wonderful tool.
Unfortunately my Garmin 240 was stolen last year (that *ssh*le should be strung up by his balls and beaten to death) and just friday night my Garmin 160 took a [PoorWordUsage] and im sending it in tomorrow.
If I bought another Depthfinder today it would be a tossup between the 160 and 240, both are excellent but the 240 has a nicer display.
Shawn

[Guest]

Hey EYEdoctor
Can you recommend a good eye doc for me to get my eyes checked?
Thanks
(I'm serious)

[Guest]

I agree with just about everyone who has posted. Just wanted to add my .02.

First, I wouldn't even consider going walleye fishing without a graph (a GPS these days as well). I have owned Lowrance and Eagle graphs and both work great. Garmin makes a good graph too. I typically buy Eagle just because you can get the same features and literally the same unit as the Lowrance for about 30% less. They even come out of the same factory. I currently use an Eagle Accura 240.

I also own a Vexilar FL-18. I would never go ice fishing without it. It is also mounted on my boat for the Summer. It has great features and great target (bottom) seperation, but I don't use it a lot. The main reason is that I troll 95% of the time. If your eyes aren't glued to flasher, you will not see fish you went over. If I look at my graph, I can see what I have been going over for the last 30 seconds or so. This is important if I want to go back over an area that I marked fish on.

Lastly, the better the graph and the way your transducer has been mounted can and does make a big difference in seeing fish and getting the nice arch people are looking for. However, there are times as others have mentioned that the walleyes are belly-to-the-bottom and you can't see them.

[Guest]

This bottom seperation thing is a joke!!! I have an LMS-350a, this summer I was using my Aqua-view and I could see it on my graph. I dropped the camera down until the graph showed it on the bottom, I then looked into the camera. I couldn't see the bottom, it took 8-10 inches of cable to get to the bottom. 8 inches high is a pretty good sized walleye to see if it's on the bottom!!