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Looking for new GPS/Fishfinder

D

DWester

Regular Contributor
I've been running my old stuff for many years now so it's time to upgrade and was wondering what's out there that's been tested and approved by you guys in the $6-700 price range? I spend most of my time fishing the ocean in 50-300 ft. of water. Occasionally deeper. Mostly Salmon, halibut and bottom fish. I've done lots of reading, but would like to hear from the ones that use them regularly with likes and dislikes.​
 
Personally, I have a Garmin 4210 GPSMAP at the cabin helm networked to a Garmin 3205 GPSMAP at the outside helm. These are networked with to a Garmin GDS 22 dual signal digital fishfinder and a Garmin GDL 30A Siris XM weather receiver. I'm very pleased with this plug and play Garmin network. However, I believe that there are several fishfinder systems that have better functionality. They can be interfaced with the Garmin network through an NMEA 2000 connection. I advise avoiding the touchscreen GPSMAP consoles - they just don't seem to be as rugged and as easy to use as they should be, but maybe that's because I suffer from fat fingers and prefer real buttons. The only tricky part on the installation is the DSC interface between the 4210 GPSMAP and the West Marine DSC enabled VHF radio. Essentially, that is an NMEA 0183 network connection. I used a piece of CAT 5 cable wire to make that connection. I think Garmin now supplies that wiring. The Garmin software is easy to use, and generally very intuitive. Their support is excellent. So, I'm very please with the investment. I installed this system in the spring of 2006, and it is still going strong.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks chawk. I did check them out and they look like a sweet setup. Wish I could afford something like that. Unfortnatley, at present time, I'll have to settle for something in the price range mentioned above.

Thanks for the help,

Darol
 
Okay - sorry 'bout that. Didn't read you original message thoroughly. Don't know if you can get both in your price range. Would consider a Garmin hand-held GPSMAP and a Lowrance fishfinder. Hopefully others will chime in on this thread.
 
I've had a Lowrance X85 for maybe 8-10 years and haven't really had any problems with it. I just figured that with technology moving like it has, it would be time to upgrade. Someone mentioned that a color chart is better for reading what's down there than black and white. How does that work and is something I should go for?
 
In my opinion, a color chart is far superior. It helps distinguish betweeen bait and bigger fish, and also helps better identify any thermocline that you may be cruising over. On my Garmin, fish show up in orange, debris in light blue, and thermoclines in blue/grey.
 
OK. I decided on the Garmin 541s. I'm sure I'll be learning some new things with the color, which I'm looking forward to.

Many thanks to you guys for the helpful info. I really appreciate it.
 
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