Lowrance
 

After a few trips into ocean, I came to the conclusion that my obsolete Eagle Cuda 168 is only reliable for showing depth:rolleyes:. I was given the go from the War Dept. to up-grade my fish finder, and was going to pull the trigger on the HDS-5. However, I have a few question before I go for broke :doh:

Cabelas sells the freshwater 83/200kHz trasducer for $699 and the saltwater 50/200kHz for $749. Is there any reason why I couldn't get the former? I plan on fishing 80% ocean, 20% lakes. Also, What's the deal with Navionics mapping cartriges? Is there other brands that are better or compatiable as well?

Has anyone seen it cheaper w/transducer? I'm adamant that this won't help me catch anymore fish, but I will sure sleep better at night with one :D

Thanks for your help!!

The saltwater transducer is designed for deeper water.
it is twice the size of the freshwater skimmer. I have had no problem using the smaller transducers in 100ish feet of water. The saltwater one will show you more defined deep fish marks and better bottom detail. If I was spending the money, I'd go with the latter.

That price in Bus Kids 2nd link is for the 5x which has no GPS. TheNerds.net has the HDS5 Base Map w/83/200khz transducer, not remanufactured for $625. I see the 5 with Nautic Insight and the 50/200 ducer for $659 at WMJMarine.com, but none with the Base Map? You can take a copy of these prices from their web pages to West Marine for the price match and buy the extended warranty.

lowrance now has a 5 year service plan!

:iagree:I got mine about a month ago from WM with warranty, which will make you sleep better at night, good luck and enjoy the big screen tv:reeling: