My apologies if this turns in to a fire storm ,looking for recommendations for a good EASY TO USE depth/fish finder with good quality images under $400 max ,thank you for recommendations from individuals who actually used said make and model

I just have a cheap Humminbird, something. Depth is all I care about. Perhaps I should be more sophisticated?

No ,not at all ,depth is most important but with some of the features on the market it would be nice to enjoy them

Here’s some to check out.

Units, $250 to $500


I have Humminbird, and Lowrance on my boat, and like the Lowrance a little better.

My partner abnd I both outfitted our boats with Lowrance every year for 3 years as none of them ever survived
one week of lake trout fishing.......all were replaced for $100 every year......WTH?

We both doubled up with a Garmin and a Humminbird each and have been running for three years without failure.

I just bought the Lowrance Hook2 TripleShot for $399 direct from Lowrance with free shipping. This unit has GPS, inland maps, standard sonar, detailed bottom view sonar, and side view sonar. Hummingbird with the same features was more money and I didn't like the display as well when I was looking at them at the sporting goods store. The detail of the graphics on the new units is amazing.

Lowrance Hook2 5" Tripleshot

I have a Humminbird Helix 5 that has been very good. I usually look no further than either Humminbird or Garmin when looking.

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PM sent. powdr

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Any other input ?

Pulled the trigger on a helix 5 g2 with side sonar and all the latest advancements

Rick, I hope it works well for you.

Thank you ,I'll let everyone know

I have this one Humminbird® Helix 7 CHIRP Sonar/GPS G2 Combo. It has a lot of features for the money. Also has an ice fishing mode too.
There are lots of menu options so you can set this up just about any way you want. I am very pleased with this unit and would buy it again.

I just replaced a very old Uniden unit that had a very narrow cone transducer that gave me great bottom images. I bought a Humminbird Helix 5 DI because In so many places I want more info about the bottom to know more about why those fish are there. Tomorrow will be the first time on the water with this unit and I will mainly be putting it through it.s paces and seeing what I can learn from/with it. I spent five days with a Humminbird helix 7 (no DI) a weeks or so back and liked it quite a bit too. After checking out the field I think the Helix 5 is the best combination of features, size (like with the fish, bigger is always better, but even the helix 7 gets to be more footprint than I like.) compared to other units and price. I like the GPS because I go to some dangerous places where navigation is critical.

Curious as to why they never survived a week of lake trout fishing?

I would prefer to stay away from Hummingbird. I was very upset with them when my 597 ci di unit needed fixing and there. Ustomer service let me down. Will never buy a Hummingbird product again, still pissed!

Chinook3

My experience exactly with a $1,600. Humminbird, Chinook3. Their “customer dis-servive” told me to put it in the junk after it went blind two years later.

Thanks Windfall, it's surprising that their customer service gets such great reviews because I think they suck!

Chinook3

Yeah, I had a Lowrance early 3D unit do pretty much the same thing. I forget the exact model number of that Humminbird, but it was an early fairly large screen side scan model. Where we used those was a lot up in Canada on a temporary mount in a S14 or S16' flat bottom Lund and they took quite a pounding when we went out in bigger waves. It turns out that what illuminates the screen isn't just a light bulb, but a circuit board that becomes obsolete and no longer available. I still have that Humminbird on the work bench up north and the bottom image is still there, but the only way I can see it is with a strong flashlight. The little lakes that I fish up there are just bowl shaped with weedy edges, so I haven't needed a depth finder there. I've found that the best way to fish walleye structure in Canada is to go with other guys who own depth finders that want to drive the boat.

I had great luck with Garmin. Have one with a 9 inch screen on my Alumacraft. Just ordered this one for my jon boat and it should be here by Monday:
https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Trans...ish+finder&qid=1587218666&sr=8-4

I have a nice unit for sale if your interested. It's a Lowrance 5X Elite color graph. It's 6 or 7 years old and still in the box. I bought it to put on my Ranger 360 but never did. I paid over $500 for it new. Will sell for $250 w/all paper work, wiring and transducer. powdr

I run Garmin on my boats w robust usage. Images and features and very easy to learn. They have worked well and never blinked.