Sonar

[hardtimes]

Anyone useing a sonar on thier boat? Other than commercial i guess. I have a Garmin Fish Finder/Depth Finder on my boat, but have been told a Sonar gives much better detail etc. Could someone tell me a bit about them, and what would be the cost to buy & install a fairly decent one. Would it be worth the cost, versus what I already have that is paid for.

 

[Dogbreath]

Not worth it-no need for that kind of detail here in fish rich BC.

 

[Whole in the Water]

I not sure what you mean by sonar. All depth sounders are sonars by design. I would get a depth sounder with dual frequency (i.e. 50 & 200 mhz) and lots of power (3-4000+ watts). It is the lower (50 mhz) frequency that is best for saltwater use. Lowrance and Eagle both make sounders such as these.

Sharp hooks and full traps!

 

[Mr. Dean]

Hey Hardtimes!.

I'm wondering if you mean flasher. Some outfits work either way, when set to flash mode, targets (fish) are displayed as arches instead of fish icons or dots. When full understanding of the tv screen comes around (by fiddling with it mostly), clearer target seperation/translation can be achived when in flash mode.

I mostly use mine for finding structure and learning the type of bottom (rock, gravel, mud ect.)then it's nice to know if there's any bait in the area. Check to see if that Garmin is in fact a dual beam w/ the proper transducer tied to it. I think it probably is.

If so and it was my money, I'd leave things as is. Refer to the owners manual, it may even be capable of flashing as well.

Btw. I run a 5 year old, middle of the road Humminbird. Not very classy at all. It does however get all of the above done. I think it even flashes, but people like watching the fishy's go bye on the tv (lol).



Some like it rough...
Others just puke!.
Mr. Dean