Let's talk fish finders...

Hello, I have been reading Crappie .Com for a while now, but this is the first time I have posted. I'm impressed with the wealth of fishing knowledge that is openly shared on this site! I have been away from fishing "seriously" for 10-12 years or so and the technology in electronics has changed a ton! It's time to upgrade the fish finders so I can get more serious about fishing.

I have pretty much made up my mind to get an Elite 7 HDI for the console with gps. I like the screen size of the Elite 7 and I'm thinking seriously about trying to get one for the bow too.

My main question is about the maps/ gps.....Do the map cards show enough detail to justify spending the extra money on gps for the bow too?

I'm gonna be fishing Greenwood and Hartwell mostly. Figured y'all would know the local maps better than anybody.

Another question is what's everybody's favorite map card?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Buzz96 - I prefer to have the maps on the bow and at the console. When I first replaced my fish finders a few years ago, I elected to not purchase a fish finder w/gps for the bow of the boat. In hindsight, this was a mistake because once I locate the fish albeit spider rigging, dead sticking etc., I would like to "duplicate the scenario" by continuing on a contour in the same area or in a different part of the lake. Luckily I'm able to turn my HDS7 Touchscreen located at the console towards the front of the boat and follow a contour, but it isn't idea. Hope this helps!

Forgot to answer the questions about the map. I purchased the Navionics HotMaps Platinum and have been very please. The map for my area is very detailed and has been spot on thus far.

Thanks Crappie Slayer, that's exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear. I don't want to set it all up and regret not getting an additional gps unit, but at the same time don't want to spend the money if I don't need to.

The Navionics HotMaps Platinum covers our lakes on the EAST card. I been using the Hotmaps that came loaded on my DF but am about to buy a new unit and I will be adding the Platinum.

I have the Elite 7 HDI with a Navionics Premium card. The only issue I had was the slow refresh rate on the GPS screen. That seems to have been resolved witht the latest update from Lowrance. I have not had it on the water since I did the update, but using it in the yard the refresh rate is almost instant, and before it was up to 30 seconds wait.

Check carefully which cards are compatible with Elite 7. When I bought mine I think they told me the Platium would not work in the Elite 7, so I got the Premium.

You will have to play with the setting to come up with a screen display you like. Took me a while to get the DI looking like the pictures you see on the ads.

I would recommend Brian at BBG Marine as a source. They are a sponsor on the forum and he is very knowledgeable about his products. I also got a Ram mount from him that works really well. They ship almost as soon as you order so delivery is fast.

Here's something you might want to consider. (I know a guy that bought one and he's well pleased.) This unit has 6 mos. warranty vrs a full year on a brand new product but if something is wrong it generally is straight out of the box. Remember, BPS says they'll price match.:)

Cabelas...

Thanks for the replies!

Most of the stuff I have read on maps it seems that most people are running the Navionics card. Must be the best on the market huh?
The price on that reconditioned unit looks really good. Lowrance is doing a $100 mail in rebate on most Elite 7 right now... I will have to see if that's on the reman units too. Thanks for the info!

A small bit of advice. Stay away from the Factory Outlet website. They have good prices but be very very careful if you shop there.

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Originally Posted by ofishlbizzness

A small bit of advice. Stay away from the Factory Outlet website. They have good prices but be very very careful if you shop there.

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What's up John?!?

I recently bought a elite 4 color dsi for the bow from Gander mountain to go with my elite 7 dsi with gps for the helm. They had it for 149.00 with a trolling motor mount, best I could find and it is working great. I don't have the gps on the front, but I usually fish to bouys anyway except when pushing.

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Originally Posted by gabowman

What's up John?!?

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Thats where I ordered mine from. Think Allen had the same problems from them. What is listed on the web ad aint what you get. Least on my purchase. Had to call em a few bad names to get settled .

I ordered my I-pilot from them, not realizing they were not connected with MinnKota at all. I thought it was the MinnKota factory's outlet or I would never have ordered it. However, it came in very quickly and has worked perfectly since I put it on the boat.
I just find the name they market under a bit misleading. If you google almost any brand name, say Humminbird, they will show up as "Humming Bird Factory Outlet". I know it is my responsibility to know who I am buying from, but that is really misleading.
No problems though, so guess I was lucky.

I agree with yall on the factory outlet thing, but I will say we ordered a depth finder from HB factory outlet and have not had any problems with it, I thought it was straight from HB factory as well. I definately reccommend spending the extra $100-150 to get the map. You will not be able to use the map to it's full capabilities without the chip. As far as which unit, I am not a Lowrance man anymore. They make a good product and alot of people like them, but their costumer service is terrible in my opinion. They did not and would not cover the warranty for us on the last lowrance we bought.

Thanks for all the input guys! Looks like I'm gonna be needing to give Brian at BBG a call this week. I have heard nothing but good stuff about dealing with him.

Gotta hurry up and pull the trigger before the wife finds somewhere else to spend the money! Lol!