Looking to Buy a Fish Finder? – Here Are a Few Tips

If you haven’t been working with a fish finder before, I assure you that no matter how basic the unit you’re going to purchase is, it’ll still improve your angling results. I’m saying this because I was a bit skeptic myself about such a device. That’s why I started with a cheap unit.

Anyway, if you would like to have a fish finder on your boat, here are a few tips for buying one.

First of all, if you’re only interested in finding fish, don’t opt for a fish finder that has multiple other options, like GPS, mapping packages etc. Go with a basic one, that focuses on finding fish. To be more specific, you can try the Humminbird 561.

Although it’s only a black and white fish finders, it’s quite a reliable model and it’s quite cheap. Costs around $150 bucks.

If you don’t have your own boat, or you’re frequently using rental boats, a portable fish finder would be a great choice. Most of the portable models from Humminbird that I know, also come with a durable battery and a nice portable case. They are easy to install on basically any boat, and they’re great to use for kayak fishing.

An important aspect that you must take into account if you’re looking for a fish finder, is the fishing type that you’re going to use it for. You should know that the high frequency fishfinders work best for shallow waters and river fishing. On the other hand, low frequency fish finders are best for larger bodies of water. In general, most Hummingbird fish finders, can operate on two frequencies, at 83kHz and at 200kHz.

Also, if you’re going to fish most of the times in bright sunlight, a fishfinder with a LED backlight screen is much better than other models. A LED backlight screen provides a much better readability in bright sunlight and also when it’s dark. Fish finders that don’t have LED backlight might be difficult to read if the light outside is too bright.

Another tip that I’m going to provide here is not a fish finder buying tip, but more of a maintenance tip. Most fish finders specify that they are waterproof. Well, they are not. Just as any electronical device, it’s best to keep them dry. Also, keep in mind that salt water really eats through the components, so if you’re going to use your fish finder unit at sea, keep it dry at all times.

Now, if you’re looking for more info regarding the best fish finders out there, just follow this link: http://hummingbirdfishfinderreviews.com/

Which Fish Finder / Chartplotter Can I Get for Under $1000?

There are quite a few companies that make fish finders which also have excellent chartplotting and GPS capabilities. The top companies that offer these products are Humminbird and Lowrance.

So, if you’re looking for a performant depth finder with GPS and chartplotting capabilities, there are two models, one from each company, that I can recommend here. These marine electronics are both priced under $1000 and have quite a wide variety of options.

Lowrance HDS-5 GEN2 – features a LED backlight, full color screen, 5″ diagonal. Has quite an accurate internal GPS, and comes with the 83/200 kHz transducer for fresh water uses. It has a built in mapping package – Insight™ USA mapping options (Americas models) or Navionics®. It’s also compatible with the HD Navionics Platinum.

Humminbird 798ci HD SI Combo – this is one of the best fish finders that I know. I currently use one as well, and I never had any problems with it. This unit has a 5-inch diagonal screen, full color with LED backlight, which makes it very readable even in direct sunlight. It also has Down Imaging which is a feature that I’m sure you will enjoy especially if you’re going for bottom fish like catfish or sturgeons. Also, it has Side Imaging with is extremely helpful because it allows you to see what’s on each side of your boat. The images provided by the Side Imaging and Down Imaging are quite good for waters up to 100ft. deep.

This fish finder has a 50 channel GPS and has the ContourXD mapping package, being also compatible with the Navionics Platinum and LakeMaster mapping packages. Anyway, to read more about this fish finder, just follow this link: http://hummingbirdfishfinderreviews.com/

I hope this post is useful to you.

A Couple of Useful Tips for Bass Fishing

There are a lot of things that can be said about bass fishing. An experienced fisherman can give you thousands. I don’t have the time to share that many tips here. However, the following bass fishing tips should be useful to you.

1. Especially if you’re going fishing for any kind of predatory fish, like bass for example, it’s a good idea to have a long nose forceps with you. Even if you’re using big treble hooks, sometimes is going to be a pain (literally) to unhook a bass or pike, so a long nose forceps will help you a lot.

2. Many anglers prefer to use lures for bass. I do to. So, has it ever happen to you to catch them only with one type of lure? And if it happens to lose that lure, they just don’t bite anymore. That’s why it’s best to buy your lure 2-3 of a kind. Just in case they happen to like one of your lures, to be sure you’re covered in case you lose it.

3. A side imaging Hummingbird depth finder is not a bad idea to use. You’ll be able to clearly see where they hide. And even if you don’t pick them up right away, you can easily track the bait clouds. Wherever there’s a bait fish cloud, you can be sure the at least a couple of bass are nearby.

4. You should know that bass usually make a push when the flood tide begins, to quickly pick up the crabs, shrimp and other wildlife startled from their shelters by the tide. So, when the flood tide begins, you should be there, casting your lures. I’m sure that if there’s bass in those waters, it’ll be the first thing you’ll catch.

Hummingbird Fish Finders – What’s Best – SI or DI?

I’ll have to say that I’ve always been a big fan of Side Imaging. Well, at least until I got a SI Hummingbird Fish Finder.

I have used three fish finders until now, all of them were Hummingbird Fish Finders. However the first two didn’t have SI, and only one had DI. When I bought the Hummingbird 998c SI Combo, things have changed for me by a lot. And today, I really have to say I feel lost without it!

Anyway, I’m writing this post to put into view the differences between these two types of sonar display, SI and DI, and how can each one of them enhance your angling experience.

Hummingbird Fish Finders – Side Imaging

Sunken Boat

If you have Side Imaging on your Hummingbird Fish Finder, you will benefit from picture-like images, that appear on your screen like they are taken from above.

The sonar takes snapshots of the underwater environment on a high frequency, covering 240ft on each side of your boat.

Therefore you will see on your screen the exact placement of certain objects underwater, trees, structures and of course, fish, which are placed on a 480ft area behind your boat.

Game fish appear like spindles on your screen, and bait fish look like clouds.

However, Side Imaging won’t let you know exactly how deep is a ditch, or how tall the branches of a sunken tree reach. You’ll have to figure that on your own, using the SwitchFire or the DI mode.

Anyway, as a general idea, in Side Imaging, will give you an excellent overview of the underwater environment, and opened in split screen with DI and Switchfire, you will know exactly what’s going on in the water, behind your boat.

Hummingbird Fish Finders – Down Imaging

The best Hummingbird Fish Finders have both DI and SI. However, if you choose a Hummingbird Fish Finder that only has Down Imaging, once you get used to this type of display, it will become as reliable as one that has both features.

Sunken Tree

Down Imaging shows also in photo-like clarity what passes under your boat. You will actually receive a vertical cut of the water under your boat. DI allows you to measure accurately the depth of the water under you and see clearly how deep a certain ditch is or how high does a mound reach.

It’s good to know that all Hummingbird Fish Finders that have Side Imaging, come with Down Imaging as well. A Hummingbird Depth Finder like this usually has GPS possibilities and it’s a very handy accessory to have on your boat. Of course, the ones with both SI and DI are a bit more spicy priced.

But if you want a Hummingbird Fish Finder on a lower price, one that has only Down Imaging and also GPS capabilities will also become an excellent helper for navigation and finding fish.