best yak fishfinder

what is the best fishfinder for hobie pro angler. Also any with GPS, or is it better to have separate handheld GPS?

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U BEEN CLOWNED

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Personally, I've been looking at the Hummingbird 383c combo. Fishfinder/GPS. It costs $399.99 at Bass Pro Shop and it does come with the color screen. You can get the 363combo with the monochrome screen (black & white) for $299.99. The Lowrance M68c is another choice I've been looking at for the same price of $399.99 and looks somewhat narrower overall. The Hummingbird had a 3" screen where the Lowrance has a 3.5" screen. The Hummingbird also reaches 1000 ft. (Not important to me) where the Lowrance only reads 600 ft. When you compare the overall size of the unit, the Lowrance has a larger screen and yet the entire casing is narrower than the Hummingbird and it is waterproof too. I think for the money the Lowrance is the better bargin but again thats just my opinion. I guess it all comes down to what you really want to spend. You can get either brand for alot less if the fishfinder is good enough and you really don't need the GPS. I currently have two fishfinders without the GPS in my jonboat so I would really like to get a combo this time just cause I want it. I'm going to be getting the Pro Angler shortly and since I really don't want a huge fishfinder mounted, I'll probably go with the Lowrance.

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Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in his boat (or kayak)and drink beer all day.

I have a Lowrance M68c on my Outback its combo unit with a color screen its a gr8 unit and has worked very well for me, as far as fishfinder's go it does a gr8 job and the GPS works super.

I should add that I've seen some transducer options avalable from the Humminbird folks that will have me thinking about getting one of there units when I rig out my wife's Revolution.

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Fastfish/Geoff
Kayaks Owned>Outback/Mine & Revolution/Wife

those are the two units I,ve been looking at. Can you update either units maps by connecting to computer?

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U BEEN CLOWNED

As a long time kayak angler and kayak fishing shop owner I'll add this:

Humminbirds are allergic to saltwater.

Personally I have 4 Hbird units in a box in my garage. Hbird wanted $60 to diagnose the problems on each and it wasn't worth the money to me. I'm now using Eagle units. My Pro Angler has the Eagle 350 GPS/Sonar combo and my Revo has the Cuda 168. They just discontinued the 168 and the unit we're using in the shops is called the Cuda 300 (it's the old 242 with a new paintjob).

The OEX shops all use Eagle exclusively because of their durability in the saltwater. Eagle is the "value" line produced by Lowrance. I took the Lowrance sonar education seminar where we used their high-end color/gps/sonar units and it was fun but personal conclusion was that color was over-rated for kayak use as we are moving so slowly and shooting through-hull. The units I use are powerful enough to give me bottom composition detail (mud vs sand vs weeds) and I can tell the difference between kelp, floating debris and fish so what more do I need?

The last piece of my decision making tree is price. If I lose a $300+ piece of equipment that hurts. The Cuda 300 is only about $120...

Hmmm Sooo, Drew...your saying color doesnt bring anything else to the table except higher price? Or does it really show more definition. Also does the eagle/cuda differentiate between fish or does everthing show up the same

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U BEEN CLOWNED

Whatever brand ( ilike Lowrance)if your fishing ocean get dual frequency.

Something like 50/200 mh.

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I don't feel that color adds anything but price, right.

And I'll disagree with AlohaDan on the dual frequency. When we're fishing water that may be 100'+ deep the wide angle of the 50 kHz will show such a huge area of the bottom that it is difficult to get a real idea of what is directly under you. It's greater penetrating power is definitely a plus in shallower water but it's my feeling that it defeats itself when we're looking at deeper areas.

In a boat this all changes, of course, because of the speed with which we're moving. Kayaks at 4mph aren't getting the benefits of that higher power ping. I could be wrong about this, of course - I'm no sonar expert.

Drew

I didn't specify 50 mh. I specified dual frequency. You get the advantage of both.


I believe you need some more education.

Try this article by Lowrance

Be sure to read the paragraph on frequency

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Support/Tips ... -Tutorial/

aloha

Dan

PS from their transducer help page

A transducer's cone angle determines its coverage area of the underwater world. The wider the cone angle, the greater the area that's covered. We offer a variety of 200 kHz transducers with either a wide (20°) or narrow (12°) cone angle. The 50 kHz transducers come with a 35° cone angle. The dual-frequency transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 50 kHz cone angles. And the dual-search transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 83 kHz cone angles.

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mmmmm, Sooo who's right? I'm soooo confused

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U BEEN CLOWNED

After reading that page I feel like my points are still valid - and so are Dan's.

In the end I can say that I've been using fish finders on kayaks for 8 years and my favorite to date for reliability, ease of use and clarity are the Lowrance "Eagle" line. Specifically the 350 S/Map or the Cuda 300. (These are renamed items from their existing line).

Our shops have installed over 300 of these units in the past few years and had very, very few warranty claims or complaints. Not sure who your local Hobie dealer is but if they don't do installs regularly you should roll over to OEX Sunset Beach and visit Andy - he'll hook you up with an install. The man is a kayak fishing legend and a great guy to know.

Thanks for the info Guys!! I am now better informed

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U BEEN CLOWNED

Fortunately, for my area, a good pair of polarized glasses and a stakeout pole is all you need for a bottom machine

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