I need a new depth finder and dont know what to get. I would like to have something that shows speed, depth, fish, temp, all the right things to do the job of fishing right. Do I need to go to GPS system. I am so sick of the cheap [PoorWordUsage] that I have only been able to purchase in the past. Still cant afford the best in elects, but would like something. Any advice on what and where to purchase would be great. Maybe a late season sale?!!

If your not looking to spend a fortune, Lowrance has some good mid-range units in the $500-$1,000 dollar range. I think Humminbird has some really cool stuff out there but you'll have to pony up some $$$ if you want the features that are setting them apart right now(side imaging). I have units from both manufacturers and have nothing bad to say about either of them. I would strongly recomend getting a unit with gps. Once you get one(and spend some time learning to use it properly), you'll wonder how you ever got by without one. Any retailer will give you pretty much the same price for specific units, you can keep an eye out for discounts and sales, but they usually don't get seriously marked down until after christmas. Check out there websites for specific features. Do yourself a favor and download the user manuals(and read them) to find out for sure your getting the unit you want. There's no sense in spending oocho dollars for features you don't see yourself using. Hope that helped.

Bak2MN -- I'd love to help you out with your depthfinder and/or gps needs.

Regarding the GPS and if you need one, it really depends on where and how you fish. If you're going to lakes that have maps on the map chips, a gps and map chip would be a huge help for finding structure. Even if your lakes don't have maps for them, with a gps you can mark spots to return to again and again. And if you troll the speed readings and plotter functions are extremely helpful.

Another option to consider is going with a handheld gps, which you could use in the boat, or ice fishing, or hunting, or traveling in your vehicle, etc.

About the depthfinder, there's several models that are really good. It really comes down to how much you want to spend and how big of a screen you want.

Here's a link to my site. My pricing is better than the big bix retailers and shipping is included in my prices. If you have more questions, or want to know about specific units, shoot me an email and I'll do what I can to help. Thanks.

Pro Fishing Supply Product Listings

This is the one I have -- I love it. It was about $1,200.


LCX-27C Sonar/GPS Chartplotter Combo

Special Limited-Time Summer Rebate - Get Up To $300 back on the purchase of a Lowrance LCX Sonar/GPS Chartplotter!

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LCX-27C Sonar/GPS Chartplotter Combo thumbnail #1
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LCX-27C Sonar/GPS Chartplotter Combo thumbnail #2
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LCX-27C Sonar/GPS Chartplotter Combo thumbnail #3

* Precision 12-parallel channel GPS+WAAS receiver
* Lowrance radar compatible
* LowranceNET® networking (NMEA 2000® certification pending)
* High-speed ethernet connection links multiple Lowrance display units and modules to operate independently on shared network data, including sonar

Delivers a brilliant 7” diag. TFT color display, and sonar/GPS chartplotter performance. Features expanded built-in background map of the continental U.S. and Hawaii with over 3,000 lakes with depth contours. Waterproof memory card slots are compatible with a superb variety of high-detail, plug-&-play electronic chart options loaded on MMC/SD cards.

The 27c is a really good unit and very popular. The rebate ended on Aug 30 however (you have until Sept 30 to turn in the rebate but you had to buy the unit before Aug 30).

Just an fyi, my price for the 27c is $949
Pro Fishing Supply Lowrance LCX-27c

I have used the 27c in the past and thought it was great. I am in the process of saving up for one to put on my boat next spring.

Good luck

Cliffy

I too got along with cheapos for quite a long time. A couple of years ago when it was being discontinued, I bought a Lowrance 100 LCX from Cabelas. I also bought the ice fishing package (total ~ $500 at the time) I am very happy with the package. The resolution is great; you can see small split shot on your line when ice fishing and its screen is double the size of the ones packaged for ice fishing. It doesn't have GPS, but I have a hand held Garmin.

My thought is you don't have to have the latest and newest and greatest. The quality is so good now that you can get by with technology that is a couple years old.

A couple of items I would think about are:

TFT screen technology allows you to use an LCR in the winter if you are an ice fisherman. You can use the same unit year round.

Whether you go for the hand held or all in one GPS, purchase one with chip capability. Mine was purchase before chips and I have found that the high quality maps aren't as available if you don't have chip technology.

Get color screens for all your equipment.

Hand held GPS screens are not as large so they are harder to read.
Good Luck

Thanks for the input guys. The 100 LCX sounds good to use year round. The LCX 27C sounds like a good unit but with all the features is it more than what a person needs for the lakes area? I fish all over DL, Mille Lacs, LOW. I am not a real electronic genius, lucky to figure the laptop out to do these posts. So I am a little blown away by the features of the 27. Perchjerker do you have a store somewhere to visit?

I was just in your situation recently. One of the things I decided on was that I wanted a color graph just because of how much more detail you can see (unless you're color blind). Once I started researching color graphs, I found that it's not that much more money to enter the GPS graphs too.

I went with the Hummingbird 595c which is currently on sale at a big box store located in Rogers/Owatonna/GrandForks from their internet sight for $399 with a $50 rebate from Hummingbird. I've been very pleased with its performace thus far, and I don't even have a map chip for it yet.

I have a store in Waconia but I don't stock full lines of electronics there especially at this time of year. I can offer much better selection and pricing this way than if I carried them in stock.

Any unit with a TFT screen will work well for ice fishing. The earlier LCD screens were affected by cold weather and would get cloudy and be slow to update, but TFT screens don't have those cold-weather issues. And TFT screens are much easier to view in sunlight, so a lot of the units sold today have TFT screens ---- and you don't need to get too high up in price to get that feature.

The key if you want a unit that you can also use for ice fishing is to make sure there is an ice-fishing transducer for it, that hangs level in the ice hole.

If you want to shoot me an email I can recommend some options for you, depthfinder or gps or both. Just let me know how you do most of your fishing and if there's any features you really want, or the price range you'd like to be in, and I can go from there. Email is info@profishingsupply.com

The Humminbird 595c is on sale on the big box store's website for $499. I would ship you that unit for $489 (my regular price, not a sale price). beer batter is correct, there is a $50 rebate on that unit from Humminbird that is still in effect.

guys --

for the money the 27C is the way to go.

Hit, the 27c sounds like a real nice unit but thats alot of dough now the 595c sounds more economical and sounds like something that I may be interested in anyone have any more advice? Now does the 595c actually show fish? And do you believe the returns you get from it? I never have been able to believe the fish returns on the cheapos I have used in the past. And is the speed acurate? I have been really useing speed to narrow in on different presentations never have in past but learning some new tricks. Perchjerker what do you recomend? My email is not working!! Thanks guys.

hey hit, I was thinking of getting that one well for next summer.
Tell me, is it a pretty good unit for marking fish on the move while searching for fish. That is one of the problems I am dealing with now with my 2 cheapo eagle units I have right now, heck, I'll fish a waypoint anyway just because I know I have caught fish there before and end up catching MORE fish there and my cheapo Eagles STILL barely pickup on anything, well, atleast I can see the depth.
I used to have an old Lowrance X-87 I believe it was that I really loved but let it go with my last boat, STUPID. Anyway, I am not really that interested in the GPS as I have a handheld but I am wondering if it is REALLY worth the extra money for this unit and will it be my answer in saving time when searching for fish.
HEY ,THANKS!

buy a hummingbird. there clear, reliable and easier to use.. and are right around the same price as the lowrance