Best fish finder for under $1000

[Homebrew454]

A good video on the Garmin UHD 93sv setup and use.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

 

[KsRancher]

Can't argue with this post. For whites, side scan is almost a must.

Another thought is instead of dumping all the money into one unit, what about buying two, one for the console and one for the trolling motor up front and slaving them together?

Side scan on a trolling motor can get things kind of screwy, but the down scan is awesome.

Out of curiosity. Why is side scan so important for whit bass? I have only caught a few bank fishing a local 320 acre lake. I have been told it's loaded with them. Hoping the boat puts me on them better

 

[roadrunner]

Out of curiosity. Why is side scan so important for whit bass? I have only caught a few bank fishing a local 320 acre lake. I have been told it's loaded with them. Hoping the boat puts me on them better

You can see schools of both bait fish and whites subsurface off the sides of your boat without having to wait for a boil as you're cruising shoreline. They look like small clouds. The bait fish a few feet down, the whites underneath them.

Works on stripers as well.

 

[KsRancher]

You can see schools of both bait fish and whites subsurface off the sides of your boat without having to wait for a boil as you're cruising shoreline. They look like small clouds. The bait fish a few feet down, the whites underneath them.

Works on stripers as well.

Thanks I appreciate it. I have a big learning curve with this whole boat thing.

 

[MikeyJG62]

Just purchased a Garmin UHD 94SV on sale at Basspro for $799. Originally sold for $1149. Haven’t installed it yet but the reviews I saw on it were very good.

 

[CCooper]

Another vote for the Garmin 9. It will interface nicely if you ever want to run their autopilot on a kicker or Garmin's Force electric bow mount.

If already had a Minn Kota bow mount Ulterra or Terrova I would be looking at Hummingbird as they interface.

 

[UpTop]

I would like to note IF you do go Garmin, make sure it’s the UHD not a Striker9. Strikers are good units but not in the same league as the 93/94sv units. They are not livescope compatible and the transducers are not up to the same snuff either amongst many other things. Livescope is the undoubted future of fishing. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. roadrunner has the right idea on getting two units. Even if you got one this year and another later down the line.

 

[Red Letters]

I bought a lowrance and don’t like it at all, for fresh water those hummingbirds that show exactly what is under water are pretty amazing

 

[Rich M]

I would like to note IF you do go Garmin, make sure it’s the UHD not a Striker9. Strikers are good units but not in the same league as the 93/94sv units. They are not livescope compatible and the transducers are not up to the same snuff either amongst many other things. Livescope is the undoubted future of fishing. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. roadrunner has the right idea on getting two units. Even if you got one this year and another later down the line.

I just saw this - it is a good buy - if you are thinking about a Garmin 9 - jump!

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/garmin-echomap-uhd-93sv-fishfinderchartplotter-combo?rrec=true

 

[loganwayne]

i have Lowrance on my boat currently. and have been thinking about switching/adding garmin units. i think they have better side scan and down scan than lowrance, lowrance has better mapping.

livescope will be awesome for picking off crappie and walleye but you need something else to see whats not in view of the unit.

IF you had an unlimited budget id have 2 garmins one on the front one on dash, a lowrance on dash for maping, and a hummingbird with 360 on the front. but that is an expensive setup.

 

[hunt1up]

I just saw this - it is a good buy - if you are thinking about a Garmin 9 - jump!

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/garmin-echomap-uhd-93sv-fishfinderchartplotter-combo?rrec=true

Go through Active Junky as well. And go buy some discounted gift cards from Raise.com. The combo there should knock off another 17%.

I've had good luck with Humminbird stuff but I just equipped my newer boat with a Garmin 93 in the dash. The bow unit is a Humminbird with Mega DI that'll tie into the trolling motor. Now I need some proper weather to get out and use them.

 

[WoodDuck]

The Lowrance HDS Carbon 9s for $799 are the best value on the market right now. Scoop one up if you can find one.

Came here to say this. The Carbon 9 has better resolution than other offerings in the same price range and the Active Imaging 3in1 transducer produces very good images. That being said, hard to go wrong with any of the previous suggestions. Humminbird, Garmin, and Lowrance all make good products.

 

[WoodDuck]

Out of curiosity. Why is side scan so important for whit bass? I have only caught a few bank fishing a local 320 acre lake. I have been told it's loaded with them. Hoping the boat puts me on them better

If you are new to the game, YouTube has some very good instructional videos on how to install and adjust settings on your unit (important), and also how to interpret what you are looking at (very important).

Learning to use your electronics is well worth the initial effort. You will spend your time where you KNOW fish are, rather than fishing where you think fish might be.

 

[Outdoormatt]

I know alot of guys love the helix fish finders, but me and my buddy had a hard time with them and didn't seem to like them. We ended up going to Lowrance HDS Carbon. Absolutely love it

 

[Tyrock]

You just can’t go wrong with the Garmin.

 

[OneShot]

Id say the garmin echomap uhd 9. If you target crappie, then at some point you can add livescope. I have 2 on my boat and really like them. I’m on Texoma quite a bit, if you make plans to fish the lake, send me a PM