Advice on Sounder

[harrystrybos]

Hi All

I am in the market for a new sounder. My focus has been on a Eagle 320C. As with many people, there are some budgetry contraints in this decision.

Firstly is this a reasonable choice and secondly, is Eagle a synonym for some other brand (as is Tohatsu and Mercury)

Thank you

[fish-n-dive]

Umm, if by sounder, you mean fish finder, maybe give us your budget and we can offer more detailed info..........

If you can afford it, go the Furuno 620 or 585...........

[harrystrybos]

Umm, if by sounder, you mean fish finder, maybe give us your budget and we can offer more detailed info..........

If you can afford it, go the Furuno 620 or 585...........

Yes, I did intend that to mean the same thing. Is there a difference in common terminology?

Essentially, I asked whether the the Eagle 320C was a good sounder/fish finder and whether it represented some other brand.

Thanks for your advice, anyhow.

[fish-n-dive]

Yes, I did intend that to mean the same thing. Is there a difference in common terminology?

Essentially, I asked whether the the Eagle 320C was a good sounder/fish finder and whether it represented some other brand.

Thanks for your advice, anyhow.

No dig intended mate just trying to help...................

[harrystrybos]

No dig intended mate just trying to help...................

My apologies, I did not think you were giving me a "dig"

[Mindi]

My apologies, I did not think you were giving me a "dig"

To answer your original question Eagle were/are made by Lowrance but cheaper product. They are not the same as anything else...Lowrance and Eagle now part of same huge European electronics coy Navico (also Navman)
I think it would be fair to say that Eagle do have some quality issues sometimes as do others so if I bought one I would do it from a place who gave good warranty service as a precaution. Having said that I am sure there are a lot of happy Eagle owners out there. I think you can safely assume Furuno much much better product but much more expensive. Hope this helps...buy it from somewhere who will back it up just in case.

[Local_Guy]

furuno is good, but more suited to blue water. everyone raves about these sounders, but they won't be great up teh creek.

the eagle will be fine. like others have said, it's like a Lowrance by product. nothing bad about them and you hardly ever hear of a problem with them. they are the bee's knee's in america.

i have a lowrance that i can use out in the blue water and up teh creek....

awesome all round sounder.

[BaitThrower]

furuno is good, but more suited to blue water. everyone raves about these sounders, but they won't be great up teh creek.

I'm starting to think my Garmin 300C is not too good for creek or brackish water. Few more tests. On the flip side, the Garmin FF140 I had was excellent for creek and less clear water.

What other fish finders are good for creek, river, or less-clear waters?

[Coontakinta]

Harry have the Eagle 480DF. Similar to the one you are asking about except a few extra features and higher resolution. I think for the money they are a great unit. I used mine for the first time on a recent trip to the Glenelg River in Nelson VIC. I could easily pick out schoolies hanging in and around a deep hole in the river. Not sure how good this unit would be looking for bottom hugging fish such as whiting, the furuno, would be much better at that, but it is also 3 - 4 times the price!

I bought mine on price and suitability. It was required as an update for an aging but useful Lowrance X25. The screen and resolution are small on this unit and everything is blocky. It is mounted in my second boat, a 3.8m stacer used to fish for bream etc in creeks and alike.

Perhaps, I'm biased but as I've already said for the money ($160.00 US) they are a great little unit, They are also easy to use and navigate which has to be a plus in anyones language especially if new to sounders and how to set them up correctly, but I'd suggest trying to find a few extra dollars in the budget to go to the 480 if u can. Although if all you are looking for is structure and little else I'm sure the 320 would be fine also.

Consider also that if buying form the US warranty may be hard to get or non existant so you need to factor this into any decision to go that way, also the AUD not being what it was will make these items less attractive as they were less than 12months ago. Sorry to digress, but its a point worth making

Good luck with your decision, what ever you choose

[freddofrog]

As you’ll hear everyone tell you, go buy the absolute best that you can afford, and then some. A better sounder will actually save you money from wasted fuel and it will definitely help you catch more fish. On the weekend I bought “Depth Sounder Secrets" by Rick Huckstepp ($15). Go get this and you’ll be thanking me for years afterwards. It’ll give you advice on sounder selection, how to set it and the transducer up etc. In order of priority it was (I think), resolution first, then number of colours (or levels of grey) and then possibly transducer power. Better to get a high resolution/high number of grey levels than a low resolution colour setup. Anyway, read the book and you’ll soon work out what’s important and what’s just marketing hype.

And separate units for sounder and gps is my preference though others will prefer them combined, especially if you lack space at the steering helm for two individual units.

[Mossy247]

Ummm I am pretty much in the same boat (no punn intended) as harry and I am looking for advice on a good sounder. I have been told by some that the Humminbird are up there witht the best of them and also the lowrance sounders, I guess my biggest question what would be considered overkill for my alleycraft 3.75?? I am looking at spending about 500 dollars and any advice would be great, please bare in mind I am usually just fishing creeks and rivers no blue water so to speak. Any information or direction would be greatly appreciated.

[harrystrybos]

To answer your original question Eagle were/are made by Lowrance but cheaper product. They are not the same as anything else...Lowrance and Eagle now part of same huge European electronics coy Navico (also Navman)
I think it would be fair to say that Eagle do have some quality issues sometimes as do others so if I bought one I would do it from a place who gave good warranty service as a precaution. Having said that I am sure there are a lot of happy Eagle owners out there. I think you can safely assume Furuno much much better product but much more expensive. Hope this helps...buy it from somewhere who will back it up just in case.

Exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you