Garmin or Humminbird Fishfinders and Trolling motors

[N.ID7803]

I am in the market for a new fish finder and bow mount trolling motor. I am in North Idaho and primarily troll for Kokanee, lake trout and occasionally walleye as well as just pan fish on smaller lakes. I have done a ton of research on the two brands, but I would like to hear some real world advantages/disadvantages to help with my decision.

 

[KurtR]

Are you going to use live scope if so i would go with the garmin trolling motor and mount ducer right on it

 

[N.ID7803]

Are you going to use live scope if so i would go with the garmin trolling motor and mount ducer right on it

That I dont know. Is Livescope worth it? I hear its amazing. I probably go trolling for the above mentioned a dozen times a year, but my kids are getting to the age where I could see us going a lot more often.

 

[wyosteve]

I have, and have used Humminbird and Minnkota motors for a lot of years without issues. Garmin electronics are top notch as well. Not quite as sure on the Garmin branded trolling motors, but believe they are the old Pinpoint brand, just re-done as Garmin's. I don't think you'll go wrong with either, just find which has the features you prefer and get after 'em!

 

[Timplant]

I dont know of any advantages/disadvantages, but my ultrex linked to humminbird is the easiest picture for MY eyes to understand.

I like their colors and layout. I am not using live and for live I will go to a Garmin screen.


I have 2 12'' lowrances on the back of my boat and I love those too, but the layout and color palettes of the Humminbird works better for my eyesight. just my .02

 

[wapitibob]

The only advantage to a Garmin might be their live viewing setup, from a friend that has had both and he now uses Humminbird/Minnkota.
I use a 24V Terrova, mounted my Helix 12 SI transducer to the troll motor and mounted my Helix 8 on the back for passengers.

Kokes


Crappie

 

[KurtR]

That I dont know. Is Livescope worth it? I hear its amazing. I probably go trolling for the above mentioned a dozen times a year, but my kids are getting to the age where I could see us going a lot more often.

It’s worth it. You could put it on a shuttle and use it in front for jigging and then out the back for watching baits while trolling. It really shows how many fish just come and look and how they are reacting to your baits. It’s a rabbit hole go on YouTube and you can see it in action

If you ain’t scoping your hoping

 

[Alpine4x4]

I run 15" Solix's front and rear on my boat with the Ultrex up front. Having it all linked is nice and I love have the 360 transducer. I also run a Garmin at the bow with Livescope mounted to the Ultrex. In all honesty I find no fault in the Garmin other than their mapping options are horrid for WA state and Humminbirds Lakemaster is far superior. The new Garmin trolling motors are a ground up creation, not some rehashed rebuild. They have had reliability issues and some quirks, but are sound motors. A friend runs one and it is quieter than my standard brushed Ultrex. I'd look at the features you want. Do you need mapping and does each brand suffice for your area? Do you want the BEST live (Garmin) or just any live? Whats in budget? Do you have existing electronics at the console and do you want/need them linked? They've all come so far in the last few years its hard to choose unless one just does something the others cant (360 and Lakemaster for me driving my purge of Lowrance and going Humminbird while also having a Garmin for Live as they have the best Live in the game).

 

[N.ID7803]

I run 15" Solix's front and rear on my boat with the Ultrex up front. Having it all linked is nice and I love have the 360 transducer. I also run a Garmin at the bow with Livescope mounted to the Ultrex. In all honesty I find no fault in the Garmin other than their mapping options are horrid for WA state and Humminbirds Lakemaster is far superior. The new Garmin trolling motors are a ground up creation, not some rehashed rebuild. They have had reliability issues and some quirks, but are sound motors. A friend runs one and it is quieter than my standard brushed Ultrex. I'd look at the features you want. Do you need mapping and does each brand suffice for your area? Do you want the BEST live (Garmin) or just any live? Whats in budget? Do you have existing electronics at the console and do you want/need them linked? They've all come so far in the last few years its hard to choose unless one just does something the others cant (360 and Lakemaster for me driving my purge of Lowrance and going Humminbird while also having a Garmin for Live as they have the best Live in the game).

Yeah mapping would be nice as most of the lakes I fish do not have great mapping. Ive looked at Lakemaster and Navionics and not very many of the lakes are on either. I have not used any live, so I imagine starting with any live would be fine for me. I dont have unlimited budget, but I dont mind spending some money to get something that will benefit me for awhile. Currently, the boat has an old Bottomline 5300, so its pretty old and then a Minnkota Powerdrive at the bow. So anything is going to be a major upgrade from what I have now. On my previous boat I had a Helix 5, so I am more familiar with Humminbird somewhat. I appreciate all the suggestions!

 

[Alpine4x4]

Yeah mapping would be nice as most of the lakes I fish do not have great mapping. Ive looked at Lakemaster and Navionics and not very many of the lakes are on either. I have not used any live, so I imagine starting with any live would be fine for me. I dont have unlimited budget, but I dont mind spending some money to get something that will benefit me for awhile. Currently, the boat has an old Bottomline 5300, so its pretty old and then a Minnkota Powerdrive at the bow. So anything is going to be a major upgrade from what I have now. On my previous boat I had a Helix 5, so I am more familiar with Humminbird somewhat. I appreciate all the suggestions!

Note that Humminbird can use Navionics as well as their own Map card so you get the bost of both worlds. being in WA we have piss poor mapping for most lakes. Lakemaster is the most complete, but drops the ball in spots which is where Navionics HD can take over. Most lakes on all cards dont have HD mapping though, just some old contours from years ago that are mostly useless.

 

[fulldraw1972]

If you’re a trolling guy I wouldn’t waste the money on livescope.
Livescope excels in the casting world not so much in the trolling world.
Just look at the pro bass circuits or the pro walleye circuits.
On the walleye side of things the guys trolling are not winning any tourneys anymore. The guys scoping and casting are the ones winning.
Trolling is still very effective at catching fish but you don’t need livescope to do it.

I primarily fish walleyes and smallmouth bass.
95% of the time I am casting but I run birds. With that I run 360 imagery on my bow mount trolling motor. With that I run a Minnkota trolling motor.

 

[Svivian]

If you’re a trolling guy I wouldn’t waste the money on livescope.
Livescope excels in the casting world not so much in the trolling world.
Just look at the pro bass circuits or the pro walleye circuits.
On the walleye side of things the guys trolling are not winning any tourneys anymore. The guys scoping and casting are the ones winning.
Trolling is still very effective at catching fish but you don’t need livescope to do it.

I primarily fish walleyes and smallmouth bass.
95% of the time I am casting but I run birds. With that I run 360 imagery on my bow mount trolling motor. With that I run a Minnkota trolling motor.

Im going to have to disagree with this, but only specifically for the species the OP mentioned he would fish the most, which is Kokanee.

All the outfits I have talked to have said livescope has been an absolute game changer for trolling for salmon. Also several charters ive used for blue fin tuna are all now using livescope to help find schools to troll through.

I do agree however that for walleye or bass that trolling would not make as much sense.

 

[Rich M]

I run an 18 Lund tiller. Use in lakes, inshore salt offshore salt.

Have Minn Kota Terova 55# 12 volt on the bow and love it. Use LiTime 140 ah lipo4 battery. Great combination.

have Garmin electronics and Livescope. Get a 10 or 12 inch screen for livescope. I have Striker 7 & 9 w side scan, a pricey 9 inch w side scan for the live scope, and a 9 inch chartplotter bottom sounder.

Love the fancy setup side scan. The livescope does put more fish in the boat but i havent mastered it for trolling yet. Bottom fishing, shoreline, docks, yes, it works great. Trolling i find more fish w side scan.

Will say i think humminbird might have better resolution and also had a circular setup that shows 360 around the boat. I would live that for bottom fishing.

If you have some money laying around and want the best, look at Furuno. Aint nothing like a Furuno. That’s what the commercial guys and tuna chasers run.

 

[Dakota Dude]

I am a licensed fishing outfitter in CO. I have Humminbird Xplores and a Garmin Livescope. I'll be adding the Humminbird MegaLive 2 soon and use the livescope for ice fishing. It is really hard to beat the Minn Kota/Humminbird combo in my opinion. The new interface on the Xplores is signifiantly better than what Garmin currently offers as well.

Since your lakes aren't mapped well, whichever unit you end up buying you should immediately get familiar with their charting functions. Humminbird for instance has Auto Chart Live, which builds you your own contour map while your fishing. I fish many lakes that aren't mapped well and its an incredible feature. If you can read maps, your fishing experiences will benefit immediately.

Also, based on what you have currently on the boat, anything you get is going to be a major upgrade. Even going from the Minn Kota powerdrive to a ten year old used terrova will make fishing 10x more fun. The basic features that come with the most basic terrova are incredible - spot lock, follow the contour (of your custom map), spotlock jog, go-to waypoints you dropped on fish from your new graph. Its a blast. If you go with a new qwest motor (came out last year) they are significantly more efficient on battery power and have tons more fun features. Since you're a western fisherman and probably troll a lot, I would look at the Ulterra Qwest too.

The other thing to keep in mind is you're going to want to update/upgrade you battery systems. Lithiums are cheap as AGMs now and they are the only way to go.

Whichever route you go, you need to know that it is really easy to get over stimulated with all the new options and functions. Youtube is your friend. Every company has their own patented technology with copywrites for functions that all basically do the same thing. I saw another poster up above too talk about your budget. You should figure that out before you go shopping. You go to any lake now and you'll see boats with $20,000+ in electronics and trolling motors. It is really easy to get out of hand. Unless you are pro tournament fisherman or you won the lottery, you really don't need 5 fish finders, a 360, active target, and two livescopes/MegaLives

One last add, foward facing sonar is the future of fishing, whether we like it or not. Its incredible even for trolling. If you have down riggers for kokes and lakers, you can set the sonar on your downrigger weights, and watch yourself pull through schools of fish and see how they react. You know immediately if you should change your set up. You also know when you are about to get a bite before it even happens. It is very cool to see and good entertainment for the children. Its amazing for jigging lake trout as well, especially when you are chasing big ones in the spring and fall. Start watching Youtube videos because you should definitely add one to your boat.

 

[menhaden_man]

Terrova guy here, on 19’ CC. love it but have a Garmin fish finder. I’ve only had 4 bigger boats but like the Lowrance the best, followed by Garmin. Terrova won’t talk to those two but I don’t think I’m missing out on much.

The fishing guides are always better to listen to since they go hard.

 

[fulldraw1972]

Im going to have to disagree with this, but only specifically for the species the OP mentioned he would fish the most, which is Kokanee.

All the outfits I have talked to have said livescope has been an absolute game changer for trolling for salmon. Also several charters ive used for blue fin tuna are all now using livescope to help find schools to troll through.

I do agree however that for walleye or bass that trolling would not make as much sense.

I can see it being beneficial for those that are scanning looking for fish then dropping a waypoint on them to set up trolling runs through the waypoints.
But to use it while trolling I stand by my statement. It’s not a useful tool.

In the walleye world those big females will suspend out in the basin. In the old days guys would just troll the basins and run into them. Now days they are scanning and then casting on them to catch them.
Some of the bags being caught on the big bodies of water are insane especially in the Aim tourneys where they don’t have to worry about slots.

 

[Svivian]

I can see it being beneficial for those that are scanning looking for fish then dropping a waypoint on them to set up trolling runs through the waypoints.
But to use it while trolling I stand by my statement. It’s not a useful tool.

In the walleye world those big females will suspend out in the basin. In the old days guys would just troll the basins and run into them. Now days they are scanning and then casting on them to catch them.
Some of the bags being caught on the big bodies of water are insane especially in the Aim tourneys where they don’t have to worry about slots.

Have you trolled for schooling fish like salmon, striper, tuna etc… before?

Walleye are apples to oranges

 

[menhaden_man]

Should have mentioned I’ve smashed my share of Kokanee, would have loved this setup on my Hewes 20 ET. Also caught a lot of tuna salmon and rockfish of that setup, some good stripers down south too.

 

[KurtR]

I can see it being beneficial for those that are scanning looking for fish then dropping a waypoint on them to set up trolling runs through the waypoints.
But to use it while trolling I stand by my statement. It’s not a useful tool.

In the walleye world those big females will suspend out in the basin. In the old days guys would just troll the basins and run into them. Now days they are scanning and then casting on them to catch them.
Some of the bags being caught on the big bodies of water are insane especially in the Aim tourneys where they don’t have to worry about slots.

Just got off Oahe using the live scope to pull bottom bouncers and watched fish chasing them. It helps just putting fish in the boat and then you have the option to go scope the trees for big fish. Got to watch a bunch of NWT guys struggle last week.

 

[fulldraw1972]

Just got off Oahe using the live scope to pull bottom bouncers and watched fish chasing them. It helps just putting fish in the boat and then you have the option to go scope the trees for big fish. Got to watch a bunch of NWT guys struggle last week.

I stand corrected. I never thought of watching the baits while running bouncers or down riggers. I was thinking more on the line of pulling cranks while scanning in front of the boat.