Fish Locator

Lets talk about all aspects of camping & Fishing... location, gear, tips & tricks, ect... (credit for this section goes to backlash)

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REPETE
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Fish Locator

#1 Post by REPETE » Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:43 am

So my locater got ripped off this fall. I'm not overly pissed because it was pretty old and I've wanted to replace it with a GPS unit.

Looking for a little help. I don't need amazing graphics by any means. I'm mainly interested in GPS so I can start pin pointing my hot spots.

I found this for $300. Anyone have this? Suggestions for others?
Humminbird® Helix 5 DI Sonar/GPS Combo with Navionics
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TDJ2591
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Re: Fish Locator

#2 Post by TDJ2591 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:57 am

At $169 after rebate, this is an incredible deal on a fishfinder. Make sure it includes the transducer. It's last year's model but is full featured. Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. I think I paid $25 just for the same sun cover that is included in this package.

It may be a today only deal, however.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product ... r&i=922116
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wwind3
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Re: Fish Locator

#3 Post by wwind3 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:07 am

I bought the Humminbird--like it so far altho it appears to be smarter than I am.... Major concern is knocking the transducer off on a stump--new one is around 200 bucks. Lost two off my earlier Bird--they were around 80 bucks.......
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RcgTexas
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Re: Fish Locator

#4 Post by RcgTexas » Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:31 am

There may be better ones pete but you would have to pay a lot more. I have a humminbyrd and I use it all summer to find crappie spots and go back to them. The GPS is a great tool. the down imaging on mine is also good.

Good luck with it!
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Re: Fish Locator

#5 Post by Gonefishing » Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:12 am

I had the lowrance didn't care much for it only because I am a simple guy and it had to many options on it. I sold it and purchased the hummingbird and love it. It also has a lot of features however, to me is easier to use. Not knocking the lowrance it just had more features then I needed and for me wasn't user friendly.
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REPETE
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Re: Fish Locator

#6 Post by REPETE » Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:52 am

[quote="TDJ2591"]At $169 after rebate, this is an incredible deal on a fishfinder. Make sure it includes the transducer. It's last year's model but is full featured. Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. I think I paid $25 just for the same sun cover that is included in this package.

It may be a today only deal, however.

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product ... r&i=922116[/quote]

Thanks for the link! Just read one review there that said you have to buy an antenna also?: Number two is that the g.p.s. can not be used without buying an antenna that costs minimum of 65 dollars plus shipping if you look around. Three it doesn't have the chirp sonar. This is a 150 dollar unit not 300 , and no way a 499 dollar as suggested by the retail price. There is a elite 4 hdi chirp model that comes with a map pack , cover , built in gps antenna for under 300 and the only bad thing is its 1 inch smaller of a screen, I suggest that model.
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TDJ2591
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Re: Fish Locator

#7 Post by TDJ2591 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:03 am

I didn't explore all the options and accessories. I'd verify it on Lowrance site. I believe the Elite series has been replaced by the Hook series which is available with Chirp, GPS and transducer. I have a Hook but have only used it a couple of times. They have almost too many options which make them a bit challenging to learn and to remember how to change the settings. It all depends on what you will use it for.
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ron nh
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Re: Fish Locator

#8 Post by ron nh » Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:29 am

I have that exact one, Though I do not have it mastered, you can save a spot with out gps, for the price I don't think you'll find a better one. It's great for night riding, just stick to the course you took earlier. It has to be using GPS and I don't have an antenna.
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Jim in Alabama
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Re: Fish Locator

#9 Post by Jim in Alabama » Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:02 pm

My next door neighbor has had the Helix for 2 years and likes it a lot. Great screen, easy to see. And you don't need a separate antenna to use GPS. There'll be a learning curve involved with any of them but I have a little Lawrence GPS/Sonar combo on my bass boat and don't like it, the menu system isn't very intuitive at all. We have a new pontoon coming and it will have the Helix 5.
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joe20toon
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Re: Fish Locator

#10 Post by joe20toon » Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:37 pm

[quote="REPETE"]....
I found this for $300. Anyone have this? Suggestions for others?
Humminbird® Helix 5 DI Sonar/GPS Combo with Navionics[/quote]

I think you would like a slightly larger screen of the Helix 7. The extra $100 is worth it.

$400 at Amazon:

Humminbird 409820-1 Helix 7 Fishfinder/GPS with Dual Beam Plus Sonar

Here's a link with some comparisons of the 7 vs. 5:

http://www.sonarwars.com/humminbird-helix-7-review/

The Helix 7 has a glass screen where the Helix 5 is plastic.
Helix 7 is brighter.
The 7 has double the memory for faster GPS map screen refresh rates when compared to the Helix 5.
The screen image will be clearer with the Helix 7.
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REPETE
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Re: Fish Locator

#11 Post by REPETE » Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:11 am

WOW... lots of great info! Thanks gents! I'm going to take a look at that HELIX 7 Joe.
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jeffh129
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Re: Fish Locator

#12 Post by jeffh129 » Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:54 pm

The Raymarine Dragonfly series looks good too. Raymarine has long been in bigger boats , and has recently moved into small fishing and pontoon boats.

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MH Hawker
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Re: Fish Locator

#13 Post by MH Hawker » Sat Jun 03, 2017 2:52 am

while a bit more expensive this works simple and is easy to use. i am just getting used to this one, i wanted one with lake maps and chart plotting to find my way home in the nasty fogs we get here, i found out yesterday that it records the tracks
you drive and allows you to store them as a route so one full run of the lake should do it


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