Fishfinders

[fishhawk8]

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase a new sounder for my boat. Something that will pick up baitfish as well as targets. I do not need a GPS as I am quite happy with the one I have and have had no issues with it whatsoever. I did a search on the site and found this excerpt below, which I believe gave me the most info on sounders but as you can see, it is a little aged. Does anyone have an update on current sounders/fishfinders that would meet my needs.

Thanks for your valued opinions, as I have used them in most of my recent purchases.

Cheers,
George

Posted - 08/16/2006 : 03:24:09
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Lowrance is considered to be a mid-range fishfinders - current models that is - not bad units. The X50/65/75/85 units are suffer from low technology and at best, are good for finding the depth but not much use locating fish compared to current Lowrance models. Having owed 332C, X75, X85, and 110c Lowrance units, Furuno FCV582 and currently, ther Furuno FCV585 digital sounder, I can attest to their pluses and minuses.

Recent advances in Digital Signal processing have moved current offerings from Lowrance down the performance list. Digital Finders form Furuno and Raymarine really make the the rest of consumer finders 2nd or 3rd class substitutes. However, Furuno and Raymarine do not come cheap running between USD 350-1400 depending on power capabilities and tranducer type. All offer 50/200kHz, temp and speed tranducers.

Furuno FCV620 with 600w - USD 895.00
Furuno FCV585 wiht 600w or 1kw - USD 1,295.00
Raymarine A-Series 500w - USD 360.00 (transome mount)
Raymarine A-Series 500W - USD 630.00 (Thru-Hull)

Both the Furuno units are a big step above anything from Lowrance but the Lowrance is no POS by any stretch of the imagination and you would be happy with 337c DF, or 110c or any of the color units from Eagle. However when comparing units/brands note that Lowrance's claims of Peak to Peak power output are quite misleading in that you must turn the gain to max to realize the peak power or peak cone angles.

Like everything in life you get what you pay for and if you survey commercial and hard-core tournament anglers you will find Furuno to be the number one installed finder. Digital Sounders flat-out smoke anything from Garmin, Lowrance, or others but, they do cost a pile. If budget ditates Lowrance quality I would go with that $360 Raymarine unit before Lowrance and Lowrance before Garmin or Hummingbird, etc...

Good luck in your search.



Seafood, eat it, then catch more.

 

[danthewire]

I have the furuno 585, 8.5 inch screen 1000 watt transducer.You can stand at the back of the boat on the brighest days and read it.The definition is unreal, picks up everything.Can't praise it enough, spendy though $$$$.Check pricing at the GPS store.Dan

 

[Karma-Kazi]

I was out on a guide boat in bamfield, and the guide had a commercial sounds that acctually showed fish swimming up to the bait and then swimming away, it was the most unreal thing i ever saw!! Not sure what kind of sounder it was, because i was to young and not really paying much attention to that when i was fighting fish!!


-Steve

 

[Charlie]

The FCV-585 would be my first choice for a stand alone fishfinder.

Throughout my years I have ran Sitex, Lowrance, Garmin, Raymarine. I currently have a Raymarine 70 series and also run a Garmin 545s. Both units do okay in regards to picking up bait, but I do have to manually adjust each. And yes, they do conflict with each other at times!

When I picked up the Garmin (the newer of the two) I did a lot of homework on fishfinders/sounders. If you want what I think is the mother lode of all fishfinders… get the Furano FCV-1100 or the FCV-1200BB. Either one of these should be on your Christmas list as most of us mortal men cannot justify spending what is asked for them. If neither of these are within your budget take a hard look at the FCV-585. My second choice would be the Raymarine A-Series.