Buying a sounder

[marzoe]

I'm in a quandary at the moment trying to figure out what type of sounder to buy.
I am new to fishing and boating (100 hours) and currently have a Humminbird Piranha Max 10 which came with the boat,a Quintrex Freedom Sport 460.
I'm a really keen fisherman and go out at every opportunity.
We fish out of Gladstone and I'm keen to fish the inshore reefs and wrecks as far out as the shoals in good weather.
The depth ranges from 15 to 90 feet I suppose and that's mostly where I'd be fishing.
I am wondering whether to spend up to $400 on a good black and white sounder or save and spend up to a grand on a colour one.
My budget is limited so I'm leaning towards a black and white unit.
I've seen the Furuno LS 4100 on ebay for abou $400, as well as similar priced Garmin and Navman sounders.
Does anyone have any ideas on what is the best thing to do, bearing in mind that the dash layout on the Freedom Sport is not the biggest either.
Hope you can help.
Cheers

[MulletMan]

I would go with the Furuno personally.
This piece of equipment is probably the one you should really try and stretch the budget for if you intend fishing offshore.
The colour does make interpretation of the returns a little easier though you pay for that luxury.
Having said that, you are fishing fairly shallow so whilst I am not a big fan of the Garmins, Hummingbirds (having had a shop that sold this sort of stuff) many Ausfish guys have them and get great result!
All a matter of the dollars!

[alimo88]

I might make an offer for the old one ,once you up grade

Justin

[Sean]

I have just been doing heaps of research on this topic and this is what I found. Everyone told me you need the 200khz transducer in shallow water. After a little research and reading the humminbird Matrix catalogue, i came to the conclusion that both the 200 and the 50khz transducers have their place in shallows.
This is how I came to believe that. The cone angle from the 200khz transducer is around 20degrees. This gives excellent bottom definition however, it will only give you 1/3 depth bottom coverage. ie. if you are fishing in 30ft of water, the reading of the bottom is only a 10ft circle. If you are looking for fish schools they have to be directly under your boat to see them, this cone angle is good for getting a good picture of what is directly under your boat. not great for finding schools of fish.
The 50khz transducer however has a cone angle of around 45 degrees, this means that you will get 30 foot bottom coverage for 30 foot depth, if you are sounding around looking for fish schools like whiting on the bottom this gives you a much better chance of spotting them, but the bottom picture will be a little inaccurate.
So I believe a sounder that you have the potential to have a 50 and 200khz reading side by side simultaneously is a good option, one telling bottom features, the other telling about fish activity.
Now sounders, I only had around $250 to spend here is what I found. If you want the dual beam sounder, for that much there is a New Garmin 140 about to be released in Australia, you will be able to pick them up for $220 in shops with a full warranty. I however went out on a limb and have ordered a Humminbird matrix 17 from USA. These retail in Aus for around the $450 mark, I got mine, $260 delivered and am waiting for it as we speak. The pixel count was much higher on the Humminbird and it has quite a few other features the Garmin doesn't.
Would recommend picking up as many brochures as you can, I found the matrix one quite interesting.
I am no expert, but this Is what I found. Good luck mate, Sean

[2rods]

Marzoe,
If you can save up and go colour.

I got a Lowrance X102C for $850. and $150 dollars more got me 5 years warranty on the unit. I had a Liarbird (hummingbird) 400TX before and the X102C leaves it for dead.

cheers

2rods

[Burley_Boy]

Run the Matrix 37x. Must say i never use the dual screen and never the side view.
Only fish offshore though.
Setting up the bottom and top limit is the key to a good result.
A good B&W will kill a cheap colour (in deeper water in particular) so if you go colour don't bother until you get into enough money to make a difference.
Best thing is to go out with someone who runs a rig you're interested in. Demo screens and specs based on bass fishing in US lakes don't cut it in our offshore conditions.

Power is one thing, how your unit deciphers the returns is another so the specs and what you see can certainly trick you.

just my opinion though.

[marzoe]

After some serious looking around I've pretty much decide on the Furuno LS 4100 from the States.
Landed price about $329 Aud.
Hope I'm doing the right thing although I do feel a bit funny about buying from OS. There is quite a saving involved though.
Anyone got any better ideas.
Cheers
Tim

[Sean]

I just received my sounder from usa yesterday all as described...only problem is the Warranty.....and some of the USA models only have Imperial mesurements. Sean

[Lucky_Phill]

Tim, without going into details, I think you have done the right thing.

The water depth you are targeting directly relates to the type of sounder you want.

As alluded to hereabouts, interpreting what you see is the key.

Features like bottom zoom, bottom lock, a-scope are a must and your ability to adjust the ' gain ' will allow you to see exactly what's down there.

RRP in the USA is $210 US dollars

Cheers Phill

[bushbeachboy]

Don't buy a Furuno LS 4100 off ebay for $400. Look at Bias or your local boat shop, it shouldn't be that much dearer. If you can afford it go colour.