fish finders school me

[jeeppurz]

wow, theirs alot of choices.
My needs are find me lake trout, in fresh water.
Budget <$200

My thoughts are either 560 or 561 humminbird or 200 garmin.

Whats better and why.

[Half Fast]

I have an old Eagle from the early 1990's. Probably a Kmart special. It works great so I'm sure either of your choices is much better. Probably in that price range there isn't much difference. Mine shows large fish like walleye etc. and also schools of perch. I mostly like it just for depth and seeing the shape of the lake bottom. I'd get the one that looks harder to break and has greater ease of operation.

My buddies have, in a 16' open boat, two or three (I know one is a Garmin). They use all at the same time. One is like a laptop and records each drift with a red line and they store points where they have hooked up in the past. That is a real nice feature to find a trough again. They hunt Stripers in the upper Chesapeake.

Here's a "small one" I caught last spring with them:



Bottom line, they fish like crazy and the fancy finders don't seem to factor in that much. Time in the boat makes a bigger difference. Staring at the screen does make you feel like you are doing something when it's slow.

I know this does not help but I like to talk about fishing.

So how are you going after these lake trout and how big is the water?

[gazoo]

Originally Posted by jeeppurz

wow, theirs alot of choices.
My needs are find me lake trout, in fresh water.
Budget <$200

My thoughts are either 560 or 561 humminbird or 200 garmin.

Whats better and why.

What are you going to be using it in? Aluminum or fiberglass hull boat? Kayak? Canoe? Innertube?

[jeeppurz]

So how are you going after these lake trout and how big is the water?

This is a new way of fishing for me, I'm use to small lakes. I've paid for a seasonal trailer sight on Manitoulin Island. The lake is Lake Manitou, Largest fresh water inland lake on the island. I haven't tried fishing it yet. The locals say the trout are 40' to 60' deep. Looks like I'll need a down rigger as well?

What are you going to be using it in? Aluminum or fiberglass hull boat? Kayak? Canoe? Innertube?

The boat a 16' lund rebel. (aluminum)

[Sniper X]

I catch more fish whilst not using a fish finder....I am paying attention to the line, not the screen.....

[Squidward]

fish finders school me".

Clever...

[Fishizl]

Originally Posted by jeeppurz

wow, theirs alot of choices.
My needs are find me lake trout, in fresh water.
Budget <$200

My thoughts are either 560 or 561 humminbird or 200 garmin.

Whats better and why.

I have the 561 and it has worked fine since I bought it a few years back. I fish trout as well and use it more for lake depth, than finding fish....trout like a certain temp and that's where I run my lines.