If you are fond of fishing and wonder how to catch your fish successfully, it is the time for you to look for an assistance which can response your needs and fish finder is one of the instruments that you should seek for. Before start choosing your best fish finder for the hunt, let spend a few minutes to get the basic knowledge of this instruments.
What is a fish finder?
For those who are interested in catching and conquering fish, owning a fish finder which is a modern and helpful instrument is one of the important secrets for succeed. Fish finder which is also known as sounder is a type of effective tool which produces a special sound wave then sends it to the water to detect the reflected pulses from sound energy. If the sound wave encounters with any objects underwater, it will turn back to the fish finder, and that is the way fishers can find fish quickly and effectively.
Why would be needed for a fish finder?
A fish finder is extremely necessary to fishers because it plays an important role in helping us get much of achievements as well as supports for an advantageous fish hunting. With a fish finder, our working performance can be enhanced significantly, and we can reach our target quickly with almost no difficulty. Personally, I am interested in this instrument because it is truly a useful tool and efficient assistant by providing a lot of great functions for me and any users.
– The first great thing that a fish finder brings to us is to help everyone to have principle information about the depth of water bottom and characteristic of the area you are angling, whether it is shallow or deep, even or rough, there is any obstacle or not and so on. By understanding these points, we can determine types of fish which inhabit in our fishing area as well as the bottom structures easily.
– Also, thanks to the sound wave sent and received by the transducer, the fish finder can also help us to estimate the number as well as the size of our target. We just decide to stop moving and stay in a stable area if we discover that there is a large amount of fish and vice versa if that place does not meet our need, we have to move and continue looking for. Therefore, to not waste much of time, using a fish finder in every hunt is quite a correct choice.
– Besides, the fish finder can also assist us to move our kayak or boat easily through detecting the depth and structure in the bottom of the water area where we are going to come across. Without having knowledge of the water bottom, we might cope with the unexpected collision with the great reef or unknown object. Also, we can also save lots of time and efforts on guessing and venturing to drive our boat while we do not know what will happen.
– Sometimes, we cannot find our baits on the surface because they might be appended in the column of water. Fortunately, through the sound wave of the fish founder, we can totally locate them.
In general, the best fish finder can bring a lot of amazing benefits for users as well as proves its importance to increase catching effectiveness that other instrument can not do. Because of those reasons, having one is enormously necessary for you.
Top Best Fish Finder Reviews in 2016
Garmin Echo 551dv Worldwide with Transducer
The first fish finder I want to introduce is produced by Garmin brand and is a worth buying product for all fishers. Equipped all advanced and newest features, Garmin Echo 551dv Worldwide with Transducer is a helpful instrument which can improve your angling experience.
With the color display and 480×640 pixel resolution, this product ensures to bring you the clear and bright images with the best quality; this helps you to get the best view and observe the fishing area more easily.
The advanced Downvu and HD-ID transducer is over 500 watts, and can enable the sound wave to reach the deep bottom, even more than 2300 feet for fish detection, then enhance your outcomes effectively.
I like this fish finder because it includes a lot of extra features, owns the powerful sonar and brings the maximal efficiency.
There is only a very small point which people complaint is that they missed having a chart plotter and GPS on this product, but this does not affect much to it.
Lowrance 000-11146-001 Elite-5 HDI Combo
The second top fish finder is one of the modern and advanced products of the Elite series and is a great choice to make your fish hunting not only successful but also joyful. Having an advanced display which is 5 inches and 480×480 pixel resolution, this product promises to show the smallest details of every image with the highest quality, clearness, and brightness.
Furthermore, this great fish finder is also equipped two impressive items to work perfectly; they are a transducer with transom mount and a base-map.
This product always attracts and impresses me because it can work extremely wonderfully both under the sunlight and at different wide angles. The only thing which I do not satisfy is its screen, if possible, I wish the screen will be large instead of 5 inch only.
Garmin Echo 200 Fish Finder
This is one of the wonderful products of Garmin brand that you should not ignore. This fish finder consists of a transducer with dual beam and an Echo 200 which help your to see a large and wide water area easily.
You can use this fish finder for both deep and shallow water, the transmit power is 300 RMS and this is the reason why you can see the image from the depth of 1500 feet. Also, the 2D screen with 320×480 pixel resolution assists you to target your fish simply and clearly.
Besides, it also displays wide angle which is up to 120 degrees so that you can observe everything underwater more clearly and accurately.
Besides, you are also able to know the history of the sound waves, the area you have passed and located though its advanced Smooth Scaling technology; this is also the most fantastic point that makes me enjoy this product.
However, this fish finder does not work well in the dark as well as its screen is not as large as the others.
Humminbird 409620-1 HELIX 5 DI Fish Finder
This fish finder is a product with an awesome price for your consideration. It has Down Imaging and Dual Beam sonar which makes sure to give you as many details as possible.
This fish finder can work best at different types of water areas, both deep and shallow and brings to you the bright, clear and accurate images. Besides, it is also an excellent tool and easy to use whether you are a professional or amateur fisher.
The color display is 480 x 800 pixel resolution, ensures to offer you the clearest, brightest and the most detail images, and this is also the reason makes me fond of this product most. The frequency is relatively high enough so that the transducer can emit and receive the sonar as fast as possible.
However, there are one thing that should be improved to make this product perfect are the chart plotter and the mount.
Garmin echo 300c Dual-Beam Fish Finder
This product is known as one of the most effective and affordable fish finder on the market which a large number of customers believe in using. Like the 200c type, this fish finder is also equipped the Smooth Scaling technology which supports users to see the previous history during the time.
You can easily see the image shown on the color display clearly and brightly even in the dark or in the lack of sunlight condition. It also works effectively, fast and everything is very simple for you to use.
With reasonable price and good quality, it is fitted to fishers who have the limited budget like me. Nevertheless, my biggest concern when using this Garmin fish finder is that without the solar charger, I cannot recharge it when the battery is run out of.
If ignore the minor problem related to battery, this product is quite a worth buying product for its price.
Types of fish finder
On the market, you can easily find a variety of fish sounders which are produced by different brands and divided into various models. Depending your needs, there are three main available options for you to consider, they are standalone, combo and Network fish finder.
Standalone sounder
You can realize its function simply through its name, this type of fish finder does not include any additional or further function except helps you to see what is located below and is suitable for those who have the tight budget as well as just fishing in a small or narrow areas.
To buy this fish finder, you just have to spend a reasonable amount of money, and it still offers you relatively good performance with a big display enough. If you have the expectation to get better results, you should take the two left types into your consideration.
Combo sounder
This type of fish finder is the combination between the main sounder and other additional items such as a chart plotter, GPS sensor, black box, multiple displays… Of course, this type of product often brings more effective achievement for the users and is suitable for those who go fishing on a boat with the medium size.
Network Sounder
This is known as the highest level of a fish finder because when using this product, the users have the chances to make use of huge data from main network providers. The data which we are provided includes radar, raster and vector GPS charts, video, and SiriusXM satellite radio.
Even some suppliers enable both wifi and Bluetooth, which are controlled through a mobile phone equipped advanced operating system. Network fish finder is the product that the owners of big vessels often look for, and the effectiveness of it is truly incredible by the multiple display system, large-sized screen, clear and bright images.
Besides, if basing on the frequency of each sounder, you can realize that there are three main types which correspond to 3 different levels of frequency, they are single, dual and multiple ones. Each type is also appropriate to your various using purposes and if you do not know which one is the best fish finder to choose, five products I am going to share below might be helpful for you.
What Should Be Considered for Choosing The Best Fish Finder?
With innumerable products from a range of brands, styles, prices and models, you might be easy to get lost and confused when starting to look for and select the most suitable fish finder which can be response your inquiry the most or which can bring you the best result. If you do not have experience on choosing this instrument before and be short of knowledge of fish finder, it is not avoidable to buy the wrong one which does not work best for you.
In some lucky cases, you can have the chance to return your purchased product and change to the other one. However, it is also the fact that a lot of customers can not exchange to the other product as well as receive no repayment because they just realize they chose the incorrect product after using it for several times. Hence, taking your decision into consideration carefully before opening your pocket is an excessively prominent thing. And here are some tips that I got from my friends and accumulate by myself for your reference:
Fish finder frequency
Frequency is one of the essential factors that buyers need to determine carefully for several times before deciding on choosing. Fishfinder frequency is divided into three different types: single transducer, dual transducer, and multiple transducers.
Each type of frequency is advantageous for the different purpose, if you want to carry out detecting a shallow water area, the high frequency such as 192 or 200 kHz can work best for you. Conversely, if you need to check the water area which is relatively deep, the fish finders with 50 kHz seems to be more suitable for your needs than the others.
As the suggestions from experienced people, the higher frequency it has, the more details and clearer images you can get because the transducers can produce and receive lots of sound waves.
Supply Power
Like frequency, power is also an indispensable aspect you should pay attention to give the right decision on choosing a fish finder. People use watt as the unit of measurement to determine the power of the fish finder.
Working in the deep area, you will need the assistance of a powerful fish finder which is strong and efficient enough. With high power, information or data is shown more quickly and deeply and vice visa. This happens because after the transducer receives the sound waves sent, the fish finder will analysis and translate these sonar waves then display on the screen. If the power is low, this process cannot take place fast and the final images displayed is unclear and fuzzy.
Conversely, when the power is high, the sound waves are much faster, and the content shown on the screen is clearer and brighter. Therefore, it is recommended that if you catch fish in the shallow area, the low power is much more suitable for you.
Display resolution
Resolution is related to the quantity of pixels on the fish finder screen, the more resolution it has, the clearer and more details your display can show. Each pixel is similar to a little dot on the screen, and each one brings a piece of image, when the number of this dot increase, the content of your discovery is displayed fully and markedly.
Therefore, if you need to get the general image without much of details, you can choose the fish finder which has low resolution and if it is necessary for you to know the detail, precise and exact message from underwater, the high resolution of is the perfect object for your consideration.
Normally, a fish finder which provides relatively good image has a screen with 480×480 pixel resolution and above. Nowadays, the producers often combine large-sized screen with high resolution so that their products can serve customers better, when buying this equipment, don’t forget to check this carefully or ask the seller for your wondering.
Types of screen
On the market nowadays, there is two types of fish finder screen, the color and black/white one. The second one is the classic model and has cheap cost, if you have the limited budget and do not need to use any additional or special function, this is best for you. The first one is the product of new and advanced technology which can not only display colorful and bright images of fish or object underwater but also work well when you catch fish in the dark.
Transducer
The transducer is the most crucial part of a fish finder which plays a major role in sending and receiving sonar waves. Sonar waves are emitted by this unit and then sent to water, when these waves encounter with any objects underwater, they will be reflected and sent back to the transducer.
This fish finder unit can be suitable for different types of boat and made of different kinds of materials such as plastic, wood, bronze, stainless steel and so on. It is extremely necessary for you to take into account the types and materials of transducer if you want your choice to fit your needs and target.
Cost
Price is truly a big concern that many of us often confuse and worry. Because there are numerous kinds of product produced and sold every day, choosing a fish finder which often comes with the reasonable price and high quality is very a difficult task. Basing on different users, needs, places, times, the producers offer various types of fish finder with diverse prices from cheap to expensive.
Normally, for the products with low prices, they often have no extra features and work best for shallow water. If you do not need to have advanced function and accept to use products with black/white and small screen, low pixel resolution, weak power, this cost is suitable for your pocket.
Fortunately, if you can spend time on following and learning special offer program from the websites of products, you might have a chance to buy a cheap fish finder with high quality.
The high-cost product can bring a lot of amazing features and functions to support you efficiently as well as last for a long time. With these fish finder, you can feel nothing is simpler and easier catching fish and enjoying funs. However, not all of us have enough finance to purchase one, and not all expensive fish finder can work perfectly unless it is produced by a genuine brand or company. It is evident that lots of people have to pay a large amount of money but do not receive the corresponding product.
In other words, the cost can affect much on the quality of a fish finder but to be a wise consumer, you should also pay attention to its origin as well.
Conclusion
In general, it can be said that the best fish finder is a great instrument which is both able and affordable to enhance your catching succeed significantly. If you want to make your fishing hunt more efficient but enjoyable, don’t hesitate to supplement this smart tool on your boat. Take these points into account carefully, empty your pocket, and enjoy your achievement.