Good Sonar / Finder - Ocean Fishing

[anathema]

I know this is a cruisers forum, but I've been around a while and this is the only group I'm a part of that I would think would know such a thing!

I've only got a small fiberglass fishing boat so far, so still a CLOD if anything, but I would like to do more fishing and spearfishing freediving etc from the boat.

I would like to spend a good bit on a fishfinder etc, 15-1600 ish is fine.

My primary focus will be seeing details of how the bottom looks etc. What kind of rock structures there are, bottom composition, etc.

It has to work well in the ocean and in using some of the lesser units, I've noticed the depth reading sucks past a couple hundred feet, and the sonar picture basically becomes useless when the motor is running and the boat is moving.

Anyone have any recommendations on fishfinder/sonar in the $1500 price range that has great bottom definition, decent depth ability, warranty all that jazz?

Thanks everyone you guys are always helpful.

[Sheriff]

for FURUNO
Product List - GPS & Chart Plotters : Fish Finder / Chart Plotter Combos

SIMRAD
SIMRAD Marine Navigation | Fishfinder | Chartplotter | Echosounder



to learn how it works

How A Fish Finder Works

[r.furborough]

It would help to know more about the boat i.e how small? Do you want a chart ploteer with a black box sounder or do you want a stand-a-lone fish-finder?

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by anathema

I know this is a cruisers forum, but ....

Don't worry. Sometimes it gets confusing as to just what it really is....

[anathema]

Haha thanks guys. It is about a 16 foot fiberglass fishing boat. Plotter functionality isn't really neccesary as I have the charts I need on my GPS.

Basically looking for something to give be good images of how the bottom looks under the boat. The hummingbird downward scanning sonar stuff looks nice, but not sure how well it would work in the ocean or at anything past 50 feet etc.

Ideas like that. Thanks again guys.

[r.furborough]

The other thing to consider with the 'side scan' style sounder is that the boat actually needs to be moving to create the image, also they only can do this effectively from a stable platform (lake) and only 240 feet either side of the boat or 250 feet below depending on the whether 'side scan' or 'down scan'. The other downside of these units is that the transom mount transducer is very long and iff you trailer the boat or use a dry-stack facility at a marina it is likely to be damaged easily.

Another manufacturer that makes a good sounder/fish-finder is SiTex / Koden, they are known for their commercial units, I think the SiTex SVS-650 would probably be an excellent unit for that size of boat, with the right transducer you should be good for 600 feet of water.