What's a good Sounder / Fish Finder for Salmon fishing

T

trendsetter

Active Member
My current unit (hummingbird 560) sucks. It works great when I'm fishing in less than 200 feet but once I'm over 300 it constantly loses bottom and gives strange readings in the top 20 feet. I've tried all the suggestions in the manual and on the website to adjust the settings. Still can't get it to work properly deeper than 300ft.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a unit under 500 bucks? Or do I have to spend more?

I don't need the fancy GPS or color display. I have a separate Garmin GPS. Just want a good solid unit that reads accurately and lets me track bottom and bait/fish in waters that are 400'-800'.
 
500 to 600 should get you a lorwance hds 5 gps fish finder. Also look at the elite fisf finder gps don't get the downs can elite it will loose bottom in 200 feet of water
 
Been looking at the Lownrance elite 4 series under 400 bucks but only problem is small screen 4 inches but for the price looks like a good sounder/chartplotter. Lowrnce in my experiece with hds7 is top notch but external antenna needed for chartplotte if unit is inside alluminum top. My 2 cents
 
I've never owned any Lowrance equipment, but after reading about the problems people
have experienced with it , i think i'll stick to Garmin.
From what i've read, when it's working people love it, when it's not it's a pain in the a$$
 
KV1 said:
Been looking at the Lownrance elite 4 series under 400 bucks but only problem is small screen 4 inches but for the price looks like a good sounder/chartplotter. Lowrnce in my experiece with hds7 is top notch but external antenna needed for chartplotte if unit is inside alluminum top. My 2 cents
Click to expand...

Just read the specs on the Elite 4, it's only good to 200'
 
Just found out I am past the return date for my Hummingbird fishfinder. The thing that kills me is it says it's good to 800'. Does anybody know if there are any settings I can change on the sounder that will help it to keep working in deep water?
 
Go to "menu" there should be a sensitivity adjustment you can make that should enable you to pick up th bottom at greater depths.
I have a Humminbird, and after i made the adjustments it will pick up the bottom at 450-500 '
I seldom need more than that.
 
Page 26 and 27 of your manual.

try "Max Depth" from auto to something like 500 ft.
try changing "Water Type" from fresh to salt.
try "Noise Filter" off or low.

The first one I would try is "water type" as that one fixed the problem on a few I have seen in other models.
Next would be transducer angle and condition as they are important to the ability for it to pickup bottom.
Make sure there are no scratches on the bottom of the transducer.
If there are you can polish out the scratches with 1000 grit.

GLG
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I have tried adjusting the sensitivity anywhere from 0 to max and that helps but doesn't fix it.

Also, I don't have a water type option on the menu system. The noise filter I haven't touched; it's currently on "low" as it came from the factory. The transducer is smooth and mounted so that it sits parallel to the hull when it's in the water. I don't think that's it because it works great in 200' or less. Reads the same depths that my old unit did.

I will try setting the max depth feature and play around with the noise filter today. I wish I did have that water type option because I am fishing off the mouth of the fraser and there is a lot of different components to the water there.

R.S. I am only really concerned with the top 150', I never ever troll deeper than that for salmon. However, when I'm out past the QA and over towards the Hump the water is 400-800 feet deep. When the sounder loses bottom it doesn't read anything properly and just shows random noise in the top 20' or so.
 
The elite DSI is only good to 200 the normal one with the 83/200transducer goes really deep!
 
Just a shot in the dark, try angling your transducer 1/4" down so that it is not parallel with the bottom
of the boat.
I've found that with some units, the wash and bubbles will cause it to lose bottom.
a slight change will sometimes work.
 
Fishing with a lot of freshwater on top like the Fraser River area would give most sounders a go for it,the signal tends to bounce back
 
If you want a fairly good sounder/fishfinder and you don't want to spend a bucket of cash...then the Lowrance X-4Pro...

Might be what you want.

It has 2 settings on it.....one for deep water (up to 1000ft) and one for less than 400ft. (200kz and 80kz).

I use one....and it has been good for me.

It has been the best inexpensive sounder I've bought so far.

Tried others....Garmin and HumminBird...but for the money the Lowrance X-4PRO is IMO the best bang for the particular amount of money.
 
Seafever said:
If you want a fairly good sounder/fishfinder and you don't want to spend a bucket of cash...then the Lowrance X-4Pro...

Might be what you want.

It has 2 settings on it.....one for deep water (up to 1000ft) and one for less than 400ft. (200kz and 80kz).

I use one....and it has been good for me.

It has been the best inexpensive sounder I've bought so far.

Tried others....Garmin and HumminBird...but for the money the Lowrance X-4PRO is IMO the best bang for the particular amount of money.
Click to expand...

I echo all that. I have an X-4 Pro and it works really well, especially for its low cost. Until I can afford that Furuno, it's the ticket.
 
I think most of the cheap sounders were designed for americans fishing shallow lakes. Get the most power (watts) you can afford, play with the transducer mounting for best results, and don't leave the unit on your boat or anywhere damp/wet, as they all go crazy when their brains/boards get damp or corroded. I have the Humminbird 768 combo which rated for 1500ft (fresh). I don't know anyone with a reel big enough to fish that deep anyway. My 768 works well up to 450ft deep saltwater, then it loses bottom. If there are too much bubbles/running too fast, it loses bottom. It I leave it outside or on the boat when put away wet, it goes funny losing its settings. If I always remove it and put it somewhere dry and warm in the house between fishing trips, it works fine up to 450ft. I think all the ratings provided by manufacturers are BS.
 
NautiGirl said:
I think most of the cheap sounders were designed for americans fishing shallow lakes. Get the most power (watts) you can afford, play with the transducer mounting for best results, and don't leave the unit on your boat or anywhere damp/wet, as they all go crazy when their brains/boards get damp or corroded. I have the Humminbird 768 combo which rated for 1500ft (fresh). I don't know anyone with a reel big enough to fish that deep anyway. My 768 works well up to 450ft deep saltwater, then it loses bottom. If there are too much bubbles/running too fast, it loses bottom. It I leave it outside or on the boat when put away wet, it goes funny losing its settings. If I always remove it and put it somewhere dry and warm in the house between fishing trips, it works fine up to 450ft. I think all the ratings provided by manufacturers are BS.
Click to expand...

This may be a problem with cheaper units but I understand for example that many Lowrance units are completey sealed and filled with slightly pressurized nitrogen gas the same as a good quality rifle scope which protects them from rain and condensation. You should be able to throw a bucket of salt water on them while they are running and not have a problem unless the seal has been compromised and even the hatch for the map chip has an O-Ring on it . Never try to open the case yourself and don't drop it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
High Five said:
The other big one I did ( and you can read forums on this) is that if you have the basic hummingbird transducer you will notice bracket comes down and there is huge gap between transducer and bracket. I took electrical tape and closed gap up and now know more issues with depth or rooster tailing. I believe water shoots through here, and i think it screws up the reading when you get air bubbles etc. Quite honestly with all the trouble I had I should have just got a different finder.... That bracket thing kind of pissed me off, and they even know it is an issue...
Click to expand...

I had the exact same issue and used the electrical tape fix. Apparently they have a plug which you can order to fix the rooster tail issue.
 
trendsetter said:
Yep, I see that in the manual and mine is the 560 so that is the correct one. But it's not on my finder menu. I do have the advanced display on and I see every option but that one. Maybe I need to update the software?
Click to expand...
Not sure you can upgrade the software, check with dealer.
Go to page 45 "select readouts" and add voltage.
Make sure you have good power. Not sure of the number but it should be over 12.75
If low check connections.
Adjust the angle of transducer as others have suggested.
 
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