[clackadrifter]

Hey guys I'm in the market for a new fish finder for the sled & looking for any suggestions on what to purchase.

It s a 20ft inboard NW jet windshield with a full top and only see's big rivers and bays like the Willamette, Columbia & Tillamook. No ocean for me, I do not have the experience.
We fish for the normal, Stugon, Salmon, Steel head & Shad.

I would like to spend as little as possible but 450-500.00 is not out of range for the right one. I just dont know if you really have to spend the big bucks to get one that is accurate and reliable.

Help there are too many choices

 

[fishmanic]

Go with a Garmin or Hummingbird, stay away from Lowrance or Eagle, they seem to to have problems of late, poor quality.

 

[Bent Rod]

The Furuno FCV620 is a great unit. Once you get a unit of this quality you will not be able to go back. Spendy but it kicks Garmin and Lowrance's butts.

http://www.psicompany.com/furuno-fcv620-fishfinder/

You can find it cheaper. Try BOE or google FCV620.

 

[linepeeler]

I'm looking at going with a FCV620 due to reviews, but it is only 600 watts compared to a Lowrance x515c at 4,000 watt.

Safe to assume that the Furuno is still a better unit? The wattage rating tends to make me think that the Furuno will lose bottom at higher speeds???

thoughts????

 

[SeaRanger21]

Go with a Garmin or Hummingbird, stay away from Lowrance or Eagle, they seem to to have problems of late, poor quality.

Could you elaborate on the problems they are having.

 

[joepajamas]

My Lowrance sometimes looses the ability to read the bottom in only a few hundred feet of water. It's an LCX-28 HD it was $1499. I would expect it to function properly and is why I spent that kind of money. It does map nicely and the GPS tracks great. Not sure if I Like the interface its quirky and looses somethings I set into it. I am sure that all units have there flaws.

I have come to expect most things we purchase this day and age to have had little done testing wise and to be slammed on the market for the consumers to deal with. That is just the way things are now, Lowrance has their money, but have lost a future customer. I will just run this thing till it craps out then tie a weight to it and deep six it. I think the failure on this unit will eventually be plug related, the pins are just too small to have any longevity with me pulling it in and out of the boat. I do have the plugs coated in De-ox. The old Lowrance it replaced had big old multil pin plugs that could last 20+ years.

That being said, i caught 20+ salmon last summer using it. And when it's pinging correctly I do find and catch fish with it.
I would go with a BIG screen if you are going to use dual frequencies, and or mapping. My screen is fairly big, but is too small if your not sitting right in front of it.

 

[linepeeler]

I'm looking at going with a FCV620 due to reviews, but it is only 600 watts compared to a Lowrance x515c at 4,000 watt.

Safe to assume that the Furuno is still a better unit? The wattage rating tends to make me think that the Furuno will lose bottom at higher speeds???

thoughts????

 

[AkKings]

I'm looking at going with a FCV620 due to reviews, but it is only 600 watts compared to a Lowrance x515c at 4,000 watts.

The Furuno is 600w RMS which is equal to 4800 peak to peak, the Lowrance is 4000w peak to peak or 500w RMS.

If you can afford the Furuno get it, the $$$ you save on the Lowrance you'll make up in shipping it in for repairs, frustration and replacement within about 5 years. I've been using the same Furuno just about everyday June, July and August for the last 10 summers and love it.
On a budget, go Garmin.

 

[Chasin' Tail]

I know you just said a Sounder/FF, But you may want to look into a entry level Combo GPS/sounder unit. It looks like you will be mostly using the boat inshore, but having a GPS in dense fog is priceless. Especially on the Columbia where there are many sandbars and other navigational hazards. Pretty much all unts now will have a background map showing channel markers and other Nav aids. It also lets you mark where you hit fish, and you can go right back and work the same area very effectively, rather than having to try and line up landmarks(which can be tough on more open water areas)

I dont think I'd ever own another boat without one.

probrably the best bang for the $ would be a Lowrance unit, either a LMS 522 or 525.
For just a FF probrably the best would be a Furuno, but you will be forking out $650-900.

 

[linepeeler]

Thanks Oly I had contemplated going with a combo GPS/sonar unit at one point but I ended up getting a portable Garmin GPS 478C instead. I had been warned about the "what ifs" of one portion of the unit failing and then you would be left without the other feature. So now that I have the GPS with all the maps preloaded on it, I can look to a nice sonar.

I had already decided upon the FCV620 but was uncertain about the wattage rating until that was cleared up.

*
I got to go check out the new boat today. I can't wait to get her in the water!!! Tup:

 

[Ken M]

I'v got the Lowrance LMS 525 And I'm in Love with it untail somthing goes wrong with it

 

[KillerBeee]

I recently got the fcv 620 and haven't used it much yet but already I can tell you it's far above anything I have had before. One great thing is that their customer service is top notch and located in Camas. I couldn't get the speed sensor going and sent in a web tech request and had a rep call me to resolve the issue the very next working day. How can you beat that?
Get it and don't look back. There's a reason almost all commercial boats are running Furuno gear!

 

[Fish Guy Keith]

YEp the lowrance x515c is a great unit , on the other hand hummingbird has some great units also !!!

If your in the area stop by sportsmans warehouse in federal way and I would be happy to show you the units!

Also I think we still have the X515C on sale for 449.99!!

 

[Tiderunner]

I have the Furuno NavNet. GPS Mapping, Fish Finder, and Radar all in one unit, plus its tied into my Furuno Auto pilot, with a 10.5 " screen. I love it. I have been using it for 3 years now, no problems, no defects. the entire system was almost 8K but well worth it.

 

[fishmanic]

I have had to send 2 Eagle 542s back because the screens blacked out. Good thing about Eagle they were fast in getting my replacement units back, I hope they are as good to me if the unit goes out when the warranty expires... Garmin is good for problems, I know others that have had problems out of warranty and Garmin has has replaced the units for free, only having to pay shipping charges, they stand behind their products.