Depth Finders/Fish Finders

[-Marc V-]

Howdy Gang,

Would like to get some folks' opinion's on mainly one aspect of a fish/depth finder. I've been considering for some time getting a Lowrance x135 in black and white. I'm thinking that in getting this model it has 4,000 watt peak to peak power, and it's the cheapest one around that offers this feature.

I've heard that a higher watt finder will higher levels of detail (schools of baitfish) that depthfinders of a lower watt will not show. Is this line of reason true? If not, feel free to set me straight.

Another feature that I liked on this model was that you could change from a standard fish finder screen to a view that was similiar to vexilars, or marcums dispaly.

I'm just wondering if I could get away with a 2,400 watt finder, or even a 1,000 watt finder, and get pretty much the same level of detail that a 4,000 watt finder would show.

Probably going to be river fishing the most, and finding the baitfish would help my chances of finding the kitties, and other fish quite a bit easier.

Thanks for any input.

Marc

[zachp]

The only time that you will need more than 2000w is if you were fishing the great lakes or in the ocean when you might be fishing in much deeper water than we do in our lakes and rivers in MN. 2000 watts will be plenty for what you are looking for. If you want to get better detail of bait fish and fish in general then your best bet is to get a color fish finder, the detail and imagery of most colored units is much, much better than the b&w's. If a color unit is out of the question then get the x135, i've seen it in action and it is a great unit, I was skeptical at first that a colored unit would tell me what's going on under the boat better than the b&w, but once I got one I was very surprised at how much easier it was to tell the difference between baitfish and a pile of rocks or brush, and even the size of fish that I was marking.

[taw]

Marc V,

More important then power is cone angle. Look at Humminbird to get easy to use units with multiple frequency/cone angles which will up your odds for finding baitfish and target species. Power of 4000 watts P/P will increase the ability of the wider cone angle to pick up smaller targets on the fringe of the cone. Just remember that a standard Lowrance cone ange of 20 degrees will only show a 3 foot circle below the tranducer in 10 foot of water. A similar Humminbird 60 degree cone will show a 9 foot circle below the tranducer which is how you see much more on a Humminbird then a comparable Lowrance dollar for dollar.

[-Marc V-]

I checked out the Humminbirds. I've heard good things about them as a unit also.

One question, I found a Humminbird (767c) that has both color, and 4000 watt p/p power, but it's a dual frequency (200 kHz / 20degree @ -10db - 83 kHz / 60degree @ -10db). I've heard that on the shallower frequency, or one of the frequencies of a dual beam, that the unit will not be able to identify fish. And that dual frequency units are mainly for folks that fish with downriggers. Any truth to this?

Otherwise the 767c is in the same range as the lowrance with the same p/p power, and has a color display the same size.

Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

Marc

[Hookmaster]

I have the 777c2 with the quadra beam transducer. It has 20, 60 and 90 degree cones. All will mark fish. Most of the time I run it in the mode that combines the image seen by the 20 and 60 degree cones. Get a color unit. I really like my Humminbird.

[BobT]

I have always thought that the wattage output had more to do with the depth that you might be able to scan and to show finer detail requires higher resolution, not necessarily higher power.

Bob

[-Marc V-]

That makes sense. Talked to a Lowrance rep at the "world's foremost outfitters" a couple weeks ago, and I think he was trying to tell me the same time, just wasn't clicking. Not sure if i'm just that slow, or if he wasn't explained all that great.

Think I'm headed toward a color screen now vs. the black and white. The Humminbird I have in mind will provide both the power, and the resolution. Should have both bases covered.