Thread: Fish finders

​Simrad, Garmin, Lowrance, Hummingbird. My goal is to buy a bay boat within the next year. Looking at 9 or 10 inch side and down imaging units for it. Those with experience using them, care to share the wisdom as to why you chose what you did. Would you choose it again.

Thanks in advance

I have an old Humminbird 997c and I fish regularly with a friend who had a Garmin and now has a Simrad (I am "navigator" on his boat and operate the plotter/fishfinder). I think the Simrad interface is superior. It does take more learning as the number of options is so great, but the interface is better.

One serious drawback to the Simrad is the lack of portability of recorded data unless you pay them (a monthly fee IIRC). I would not buy one for that reason, I just don't like being "monetized", but it may not bother some people. I can play back recordings of my Humminbird on my computer at home with free software available on the internet. The sidescan images are not easy to see on any of the units on the water. You can get a lot more structural detail on a computer screen. If this matters to you, you may want to have some extensive conversations before you buy.