Fish/Depth Finder for beginner

[queyit]

I'm a pretty descent pan fisherman and have been doing great on Bluegill and Red Ears/Shellcrackers. I'm ok fishing for Crappie/Sacalait but have a lot more to learn and have decided to purchase/learn how to use a depth/fish finder. Most of the water that I fish are marshes, small tributaries and small rivers. I'm looking for advice on the best unit that I can purchase (reasonable) and learn how to use. Thanks

[vic n]

I think maybe the best idea for you might be to float up next to someone who is fishing in those areas and ask them what they are using and why. The areas you fish sound like they are all pretty shallow? The guys who are fishing in there, and have been for years will know what works. What I like may not be the best for your waters. All that being said, usually the advice given is "buy the biggest screen you can afford" because bigger is better/clearer. If you are fishing shallow water, a Side Image may be the best because you just won't get much info looking down (DI) due to the shallow depth.

[crappie1133]

Good point vic n...... Also...A depth finder with dual frequency(200htz and 83htz) will do good in shallow water. The 200 htz will show about one third of the depth, the 83 htz will show the depth. In 12 feet of water the 200 htz will show about 4', the 83 htz will show 12'. Keep in mind that unless your boat is sitting still fish may not be seen due to trolling motor movement or other turbalance. Big screen is very helpful.I don't feel you need all the bells and whistles that are availiable.......crappie1133

[doggone]

just start out with something fairly inexpensive to start with.If you fish shallow you will mostly use it for showing you structure,bottom contour,weed lines,creek beds,ledges,etc. The vast majority of the time I fish shallow weed beds,I use the depth finder to find the submerged grass in the right depth,and were the grass stops and starts,the weed line.You will get good enough with it that you can tell bottom type, etc. In really shallow water say less than 6 or 7ft fish will have a tendency to move out away from the boat as you pass over especially if your running a motor, so in general you'll use it for marking fish over those depths,and for bottom info in the shallows.

A wider scanning beam does help some in shallow water.But just start out simple. When and if you upgrade you keep the simple one to run on the back if you want.

One that is really visible in direct sunlight is important. I have had good luck with a lot of different brands,but I think my Garmins all in all have been the most reliable.

[rnvinc]

If I could only have one feature in all the possibilities in today's choices ... It would definitely be GPS Chartplotting ...

Be able to return to known good spots over and over is worth more than any of the bells and whistles ...

If budget is tight ... I advise sonar/GPS Chartplotting ...

Do you have a budget ...??

Rickie

[scrat]

I would say that a color unit would also help. I have the old gray scale and they are harder to read than the newer color units that show color. Maybe one day (my wife said, when I find the money in a bears track) I will update to a color one myself.

[Alphahawk]

I'm a pretty descent pan fisherman and have been doing great on Bluegill and Red Ears/Shellcrackers. I'm ok fishing for Crappie/Sacalait but have a lot more to learn and have decided to purchase/learn how to use a depth/fish finder. Most of the water that I fish are marshes, small tributaries and small rivers. I'm looking for advice on the best unit that I can purchase (reasonable) and learn how to use. Thanks

If you are a pretty decent pan fisherman a side imaging soar will turn you into a great pan fisherman......if you learn how to use it. I say that as many I know personally buy one and never learn how to use it. It will do nothing but greatly enhance your fishing.


Regards

[wannabe fisherman]

I would say that a color unit would also help. I have the old gray scale and they are harder to read than the newer color units that show color. Maybe one day (my wife said, when I find the money in a bears track) I will update to a color one myself.

with my luck I'd find the bear!!!

[queyit]

Thanks for the information guys. It helps a lot. My wife said I'd better not spend more than $250 on something that I don't know how to use. LOL, so I wanted to see what you guys recommended for someone that has never used one and based on the type of water that I frequent which runs up to about 25ft. I do most of my crappie/Sacalait catching during the spring and early summer off laydowns that run from the bank. I'm looking to fall fish by locating structure such as submerged brush piles, cypress stumps, etc...

The two that I've looked at are:

- Garmin Echo 301dv
- Humminbird PiranhaMAX 197c DI