Fish Finder Thoughts Needed
 

Hi Folks,
Its time for me to get set up on the fish finder. I have a Hobie Outback and she needs the action. I have gone over a lot of the site, looking high and low. I have about the $500 range to spend.

It sounds like the debate rages on...Lowrance, Raymarine and Humminbird.

Cabela's has great prices, just not sure where to start, what features I need.
Fish Countyline and the Ventura area, rock structures, break walls, sand bottoms etc...

Any help is great.

This is where I am at now...
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/brows...&WTz_stype=GNU

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/brows...&WTz_stype=GNU

Avoid cabelas.. Stick to either west marine or bass pro shop due to warranty as your FF will break down with eventual use..

A great starter unit is the elite 4 HDI or CHIRP.. Lots of guys use HdS 5 model as well..

But regardless buy the extended long range 100 year warranties


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http://www.basspro.com/Brand-Lowranc...z0u8zgZ1z0v3bu

one of those guys? i don't know a darn thing about these right now...so not sure what the difference is, how to hook them up, etc...i can buy a 3 year warrantee for 150 or so.

+1 on the WestMarine Warranty. It is essential on a kayak. Your FF is going to be much more exposed than on a boat. It will pay for itself on your first flip in open water or on the beach when you flood your unit.

I have an Elite 4 CHIRP and think it's a great FF. I advise is to wait for a sale at WestMarine when the run them about $75 off and get the gold version with a map card.

I am not sure if anyone else shares a similar opinion but if you stick to the smaller 4 inch units which are almost 1/2 the cost of the 5 inch unit you can upgrade to the newer technology faster at the same cost rater then sticking with a 5 inch unit for another upgrade cycle.

I bought a Lowrance HDS 5 GEN2 almost 3 years ago at West Marine. Best price w/rebate at the time. A good deal. I fish structure a lot and need a split screen. A 5" screen works fine but the pictures get tight. My unit allows a split screen(navigating & fish finder) PLUS bottom lock or zoom. Pretty damn good options right there but that's 3 looks on a 5" screen...

I've always stored it while launching and landing but still had to get it turned in (3) different times due to issues. Electronics and kayaks...

On the last problem the WM person said "Dude, I can get you into an HDS 7 Gen 2 for $100. And if you buy a protection plan for this unit, it'll be covered for 4 years. Wh...What? Okay? What other store will take your purchase price from 3 years ago and apply it to a new unit?

I felt dirty leaving the store. No better place to buy your electronics.



Jim

THIS!!! I always store my ff launch and landing in a water tight bag... Had it for a little over a year and been through two units. Go to west marine. They price match anything online and you can get the warranty! Save yourself a huge headache. I got the HDS 5 during a sale and I think total it came out to 365$ with the warranty.

Best of luck!





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Give Andy a call at OEX. I got my latest ff from him and he was super helpful.

thanks. i live close to a west marine.

You should have no problems getting a gen 2 HDS 5 with warranty out the door for less than $500. And you will love it.

Thanks fellas, great info...
I am watching the sales at West Marine...and on the hunt for a finder.

My next question is...I have a Hobie Outback...should I buy the Hobie Fish Finder III set up? Or build my own wiring/battery/charger set up? The battery and charger at West Marine was going to be about $250 before parts and wire. Lets call it $300 out the door. The Hobie set up is like $125. Much smaller battery which is great for weight. I put in at 6:00am and fish till 4:00 most of the time. How good or bad is the Hobie battery/charger set up? If is fished a few days in a row will it charge over night?

Thanks.

250 for a battery and charger? What kind of battery? I get 12 volt that last me all day from a local electronics place if you can't get to OEX

use to buy the cabelas 12v battery, 9 amp I think
but after one got puffy on me,
last one I got was from amazon
12v and 10.5 amp
around 25 bucks
chrome brand
still going strong

http://www.amazon.com/BATTERY-10-5AH...036166&sr=1-17

the more amps the better
but size was/is an issue for me
has to fit in my box I bought from Fry's

this is the charger I have been using for some years now
works ok for the car too

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...battery+tender
battery tender about 28 bucks

found this too
might be relevant...

http://slickdeals.net/f/8094462-mono...-free-shipping




with the plus 2 year plan
if the finder is over 400.00 at west marine
and past the 1 year manufacture warranty
they will want (you/them not sure yet)to send the unit back to the manufacture
rather than just replace in store
its in the small print at the back of the brochure
and what I'm in the process of dealing with

also
register the unit as soon as u can after purchase
they could not find my upc item no.
because I waited to0 long and they had puter issues since my purchase
year and a few months ago

there was some confusion with my issue
now I have to wait a few days for a call back
after making two trips to west marine
emailing them copies of my receipts
and a lengthy phone call to Texas

ugg

P

oh yeah
the issue was it loosing bottom while in auto mode
supposedly a firmware flash should fix
but I was having probs getting the card slot in the finder to see the card
and thinking that the corrosion it got might be the cause