# Best fish finder under $200



## rustyolddad (Aug 12, 2014)

I have an older Eagle HT finder which I think is on the way out. Really just want to mark fish I have a gps on my phone. What works best and is EASY to use. Its me and the kids. Thanks for all the help on this site!


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

The Cabela's flyer I got in the mail has a Humminbird 571 HD DI Sonar marked down from $259 to $129. I had a lower end Hbird and it did depth and temp just fine.


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

My experience with the low end FF's is they do depth & temp but if you want to see fish you need at least a mid range.


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I had a small boat and fished primarily smaller lakes that don't get much deeper than 10-11 feet. At those depths the cone foot print from the transducer is so small it's not going to show much bottom contour either. The only positive fish marked was the one that swam under the trolling motor while I has reeling it in.


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## OldSchool (Oct 18, 2006)

For $200 you could get into the base model of the Humminbird Helix 5 -- I don't own a Helix but I see a lot of guys saying good things about them. (I am sure that Lowrance guys and/or Garmin guys all say good things about their units as well!) ducman491 is spot on with his advice... Sonar only units do give you much more than depth (and temp?) -- I don't call these units "fish finders" since they don't do much to find you a fish. You have to basically run over top of a fish for them to "find" it. 
The best advice I can give you in your price range is to go with a color unit. Color is able to give you a little bit more (easily understood) info in regards to bottom hardness and strength of return for any objects you go over.


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## rustyolddad (Aug 12, 2014)

Thanks to all. So are we saying spend more than 200 or stay with the black and white unit? If so I was confused with the advice from ducman and oldskool, the unit is basically a depth finder ( not good at finding fish ) unless it is a sonar? Can you please calrify...I really appreciate and honor the comments.


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

The units for under $200 will do a fine job of showing you depth and bottom structure on deeper water but don't expect them to be great at finding fish. Basically you will see where fish "should" be. Drop offs, humps etc. I can't speak to their ability to show schools of perch for example because I never did that with mine. Mine was a piranha max 150 I think it would mark fish at depths and I couldn't get them to bite. When I turned off the fish marking and fished structure I caught fish. Hope that helps.


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

Ducman is right. I have an HDS 5 & an Elite 7 on my lake erie boat. They both have the ability to let me distinguish walleye & perch vs bait pods. I have used them in 10 to 70 fow & they work fine. I also have 3 low end units i take on canadian trips & they will mark bottom & structure in similar depths but they really dont have the discrimination to mark fish. Problem with taking the higher end units to canada is power consumption where i have no way to recharge the batteries. IMO if you want to see fish there are some pretty good deals on Elite 7 but you will need to spend about $500 for the ability to see fish. Hope this helps.


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## OldSchool (Oct 18, 2006)

What we are trying to clue you into is something they call "area of coverage". In traditional - or 2D - sonar this area of coverage is somewhat limited. Sonar is a cone shaped signal (sound) that is emitted by the transducer. The traditional sonar signal only give a max coverage area of 1/3 of depth. So, say for example you are in 6ft of water... your sonar is only covering at a 2ft circle on the bottom (that is less than the width of your boat)... for a fish to show up on your display it has to be within this 2ft cone. If you typically fish deeper water this limitation isn't as bad -- in 30ft of water you are going to be covering 10ft of the bottom and therefore a much greater chance of seeing a fish (arch) on your display.
Watch the first minute and 20 seconds of this video to better understand this coverage for traditional (200 kHz) sonar. Don't get me wrong, 2D is better than no sonar. Also my point is color makes it easier to interpret the display data on a 2D unit. (The Helix I mentioned is color and is about $200 for the base -- 2D only -- unit.) 2D is good at telling you about depth, showing you drop-offs, rocks and other bottom structure... it just doesn't excel at "finding" fish.


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## rustyolddad (Aug 12, 2014)

Ok so still trying to make a wise decision: today Gander Mountain put the Lowrance Elite 4 Chirp on sale for $249. Any comments?


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## CPK (Jan 31, 2015)

I'm not sure about the chirp but I have a 4hdi with the chip that everyone is selling for $200 and I really like it. FWIW


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## Skip2myalou (Apr 2, 2013)

hit up ebay and buy a used. i have seen Lowrance LCX-25 oe 27 go for not much more than that. great units


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