Fish finders, worth the price?

[PikeLover]

I would really love to catch more fish. Seriously doing research on fish finders and fish finders/GPS. There sure are a lot of different ones out there. Guess what I want to know is if you can really catch more fish with them. Would be willing to spend the money for mid price range one if I they really work. Can anyone tell me if it has made a difference in how many fish they caught after they purchased one. Advice will be appreciated. Thanks!
:fish:

[malainse]

It will give you the advantage to catch more fish..

With a FF you will be able to see structure, drop offs and other bottom features. Plus will allow you to see suspended fish. Say water is 40 ft deep and you have been fishing the bottom with no luck. You flip on the FF and see the fish are hanging out in the 20 ft. range . It will give you an area to target the fish....


You still need to catch them... ;)

[PikeLover]

Thanks for the reply. Mostly have been fishing Houghton Lake, and would really love to get some of those yummy eyes, but haven't had any luck. Fairly new to fishing there, so I don't know the good spots yet. I think a FF might help.

[newaygogeorge]

Sinced i started using a FF for ice fishing all the stars have aligned perfectly. it has helped me locate spots even locals did not know about.
nothing better than to be able to watch a black cloud come across the screen at 15ft while you are bouncing off the bottom at 25ft quickly reel up that line till you hit the cloud and scream, fish on boy's! IMHO greatest thing since slice bread. Good luck!

[DFJISH]

IMO a "fish finder" is a misnomer. I rarely see fish that I catch. In a shallow lake like Houghton Lake I doubt you'd see fish that you catch either. Most of H.L. in less than 10' deep. I fish H.L. a lot. Find the weed beds on drop-offs and either troll the edges with crawler harnesses or drift the edges with a Lindy rig and a crawler and you WILL catch walleyes. Evening is ALWAYS best for me. That said, a DEPTH FINDER is worth it's weight in gold. It allows you to see bottom contours, weeds, trees, and other cover. I just got back from Lake Superior and my DEPTH FINDER revealed all bottom contours. We marked almost no fish but caught them all day long. :lol:

[ENCORE]

It will give you the advantage to catch more fish..

With a FF you will be able to see structure, drop offs and other bottom features. Plus will allow you to see suspended fish. Say water is 40 ft deep and you have been fishing the bottom with no luck. You flip on the FF and see the fish are hanging out in the 20 ft. range . It will give you an area to target the fish....


You still need to catch them... ;)

Perfect explaination. I might add...... once you learn to use a GPS, you'll be glad you have it. The ability to follow your same line (track) or to return to the same spot, can be priceless. Most of the newer models have built in maps, which show depth contours. Two friends just purchased the Lowrance HDS5 units and love them.
Fishing unfamiliar waters, especially at night, that GPS will take you right back to the launch. If you've ever fished an unknown lake and fished late at night, you know it can sometimes be hard to find the launch if you have no real landmarks.
Good luck with your decision.

[PikeLover]

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I did look at the Lowrance HDS 5, which is about my price range. Now all I need to do is research on all of the different HDS 5 models they have. Thank God for the internet. LOL

[ENCORE]

Most generally........... you get what you pay for.
Good luck..

[sfw1960]

Most generally........... you get what you pay for.
Good luck..
Dang RIGHT !

[FreeTime]

Fishfinders and GPS give you a couple pieces of the pie. I think any fishfinder should have a GPS. Its great to see whats undernieth you but the goal is to be able to repeat success. You want to get back to that great piece of structure, that drop, that flat, etc.

That said, I have owned such units as a $500 Lowrance to a Humminbird 997 Combo that was $2200. I have sold them all and fished alot of them.

With todays tecnnology I dont think there is that much difference between a the mid range and high end. You get a few more toys, bells & whistles, etc, but the main stuff is pretty close to the same.

Find a good value on a name brand and you will be happy. Personally I'm a Lowrance fan but I fish alot of deeper water. If I was strictly in a shallw inland like Houghton I would goto a Humminbird.

Dave

[PikeLover]

Awesome! Bought the Lowrance HDS-5. After finally figuring out how to use it, really amazing. I didn't know it even makes a trail of where you go on the lake. Now we have a lot of spots marked where we always see fish, but now we just have to figure out how to catch them. :lol:

Thanks everyone!