Fish Finders

Don't know what price range your looking at but I got a Hummingbird 787c2i and I love it. The color  is the way to go and this has a GPS in it so you can mark any spot and it will put you right back on it.  Just like anything the more bells and whistle's you add the more $$$  Just my opinion.
  Treble Hook

No it doesn't have side scan. That price you got is a little high in Bass Pro there going for $649 and you can get a better price in you look around. I got mine out of some shop in Mich. on E-Bay. If your looking at all the maps be careful alot of lakes aren't on the chips.
  Treble Hook

Mine is just the 787c2i the c is for color and i is for internal gps antenna.
  Treble Hook

1197si is best way to go.But 3k is way to much.I say a eagle 320 is very hard to beat.

ORIGINAL: Carpet Bagger

that is quite the gimick hummingbird came up with....

For 3k you could outfit almost any boat with some awesome electronics by furuno, garmin, ray marine si-tex, simrad, ect that are commercial grade and perfect for a sport fishing boat..

Remember when you buy a lowrance or hummingbird your paying for those commercials, endorsements, magazine ads, ect ect.

Furuno makes possibly the best bottom machine in the business.  You can find the very same unit on small boats to huge commercial boats....

Garmin has made more innovative improvments to GPS systems than ANY other company and makes a very solid fishfinder as well.. 

To say the Hummingbird is the best way to go is pretty much BS.

 
I agree with most except the BS remark.Keep on with names?You have yet to name one that has SI besides the bird.I just said best way to go cause of the SI its priceless if your on new water or large bodies of water.
 
But other companys do make good products with different options (except SI) depending on what you wanna spend.
 
I have used good cheapos & bad cheapos.....I have used high $$$ high end......& bad also.I wasnt trying to start no nick picking here.Opinions are like ***holes.....everybody has one

Well I infact sell Garmin, Eagle, Lowrance, Hummingbird, Furuno, Standard Horizon, and Sitex....SO NOT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN, BUT TOOT TOOT!  I think my opinion comes with some expertise in the field.

Ive been dealing with marine electronics for the past 10+ years.  Everyone company has a new kid on the block or a new piece of electronics they try to market.  The fact of the matter is...without Bill Dance or Al Linder telling you how great something is it may never sell.  Bottom Line fishfinders were some of best selling fishfinders on the market while In-Fishermen and the Linders pushed them...but where are they now?  I can probaly count on 1 hand how many people I know who own one...

Furuno is PROVEN as a marine electronics company everything from Radar to GPS.
Ray Marine makes solid electronics
Simrad produces one of the absolute best in auto pilots.
Garmin is the BEST GPS on the market.  Their technology always happens 1st then the rest follow after

Hummingbird now recently purchased by Vexilar is still a company built on junk.  They should have dropped the name and went with Vexilar...Hummingbirds where once the $150 dollar special.  ALL BUDGET Electronics...Now they are producing $3k units...Im not doubting that side imaging is a neat feature, just the credibility of a company that has yet to prove itself as quality in the marine electronics industry.

Pro Fishermen use whatever they are given, or endorsed by.  In most cases they have clauses in their contracts that prevent them from using anything but on their boats no matter what they prefer.  Or recieve bonuses from companies for winning with their electronics.  Fishing shows are nothing more than an infomercial advertising 1 product after another.

So many things factor into what type of fishfinder fits you and your budget.  Depth of water you fish, transducer frequency, transducer type (inhull vs transom mount), color vs mono, and your budget...

To say one fishfinder is the way to go vs another is completly false...and misleading

CB, I hope you didn't think I was bashing your opinion.  We bought the original LCR 1000 when they came out in the early 80's and guess what?  At that time they were AWESOME.  Now they would be considered about like using the knotted rope method to find depth when compared with todays stuff....My dad bought a lowrance gps this winter, and I can say that thier customer service has gone down hill.  I have used eagle, garmin, lowrance and newer humminbirds ALOT.  I have heard about the furuno, but never seen one work on the water, never heard bad things, they have just been out of my price range.
 
On a related note, do you need a garmin finder/gps to run the autopilot you reccomended, I haven't had much time to look into it.