BBC Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 I'm going to be buying a boat in the near future and was wondering if anybody would be willing to recommend a fish finder for it. I'd like to put a unit on the front to start. I was looking at the Lowrance x96 and I think it'll do what I want it to do but I figured I ask the pros before I make my decision. Has anybody used this unit? Do you like it? Are there other units I should consider? I'd like to keep this at or under $200 but I'm willing to consider other options. As always, thanks for your help, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster1974 Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I have to tell you that you will be MUCH happier now and down the road if you get a gps/sonar combo like the LMS units from Lowrance.You can get one now and put a regular sonar on the front.Then later down the road,you can buy another gps/sonar for the front for less since you will not need to buy another $200 gps antenna. But I know not everyone needs a gps.But with my career on the water,I cant believe I ever fished without gps and mapping cards.If you just need a sonar,I would think the X96 would be a good one to start out with.The X 135 offers 480X480 pixels over the 96 that has 320x320.The x135 has 4000 watts of power where the 96 has 1500 watts.The higher watts do make a difference in grass and deep water,but it is not a must have. You can also look at the Eagle units made by Lowrance.They dont have all the bells and whistles the Lowrance units do,but they also average $100 cheaper per unit and I know a lot of guys who run them and have no major complaints other than some of the Eagles do not have the lowrance style turn and lock cables.But if you are not constantly removing the unit from the boat I dont think that would matter at all. I have been running Lowrance units since 99 and I am happy with them.They are a bit more complicated to use than some of the others,but If you ever want to use more of the sonar features,Lowrance really lets you fine tune.The cheapest place I know of to buy Sonar/gps units is Three River Marine.I cant remember their web address,but I have a card somewhere and I will post it when I locate it.Just my .02.Hope it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millsryno Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 I have the X-135 and honestly wouldn't recommend anything lesser than that. it has a larger screen and greater signal strength. I can actually see my bait below me if I drop shot straight down. I already want to upgrade to a color unit. I know price is an issue and I see the X-135 for sale quite a bit on the used market because it comes with boats stock a lot of times and people take them off to put on gps/color units. Look on eBay, Bass Fishing Home Page and other bass fishing forum's classfied section to find them. It's a good unit, but I want to upgrade to color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBC Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 thanks guys. That's exactly the type of advice I'm looking for!!! Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Reel Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 I like the the Eagle Fishmark 480 they are 480x480 and they work great you can buy them from Bass Pro or Cabela's for $199.00 and eagle told me they are the same as the Lowrance 480 with a few less options. Work great for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac10 Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Consider a black and white, wide angle fishfinder. It has a 20 degree cone inside of a 60 degree cone. The wide angle feature helps you greatly in spotting structure/cover that you would otherwise miss. This is not to be confused with the side to side views of some Fish Finders, just a wider picture in the normal downward sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
