Help me pick a fish/depthfinder

I’ve had Garmin and now on Lowrance. Both are good, I use more for navigation (GPS) and depth (sonar) and think 9-in screen is minimum…running a 12-in currently.

Curious about the Livescope responses but not sure it’s an inshore coastal thing. Plus I have iPilot so that keeps it from being an option for me.

If you have a Minn kota, you are better off with humminbird, at least for navigation. Your navigation units, theoretically one at the helm and one in the bow, should be networked so you can mark a spot on either and see it on either.

If you don’t have an ipilot trolling motor, then get the graph that corresponds with your trolling motor. Honestly, pairing with a trolling motor is not that big of an advantage once you learn to drive with your foot. If you want the trolling motor to automatically follow contours, then it needs to mate with your graph. If you just want to track in a heading or be able to point your remote some direction and have it track that way, it doesn’t need to be linked. It is nice to be able to pull up near a spot from the back, walk to the front and deploy the trolling motor and just click the waypoint and have the trolling motor take you there instead of trying to steer to it.

Your FFS can be any of the options on a separate screen at the bow. I believe the garmin livescope and the active target 2 are the leaders of the pack at the moment with most people simply claiming that the one that they bought is the best.

Which navigation units you buy are very seriously related to which mapping card that you have. I would pick those based on what you want your trolling motor to do and who has the best map for your lake. They are all pretty good and they all have better mapping in some places than others.

Humminbird just released the xplore models, so they are the least likely to be outdated next year. They have really good screens compared to the helix and much easier to navigate with. If you want the clearest, brightest screen, the apex is the top of the line, but you are going to pay for it.

quote:

---

I think some of these sync with your trolling motor somehow and you can pick a path or troll speed or something.

---

You can do this with a Motorguide and a Lowrance.

I do A LOT of inshore fishing, am very obsessive about gear, and do not think the absolute fanciest electronics are necessary. Get a helix 9 and it’s up to you whether you want SI. I only use it to fish bridges but it may be helpful for finding reefs or cover in some of the areas you fish. My favorite thing about the helix other than the map is the autochart feature. Knowing the bottom structure is huge when looking for trout