Questions regarding Fish Finder
 

I was hoping you all could share your experiences with different fish finders as I am new to the game. Could you please add personal experiences as well as cost? Thanks!

Lowrance HDS-5. Last one you will ever need. Does it all, including setting the hook!

Hds5 is only 600 at west marine now

I agree the HDS5 is a great unit for the money. I have the Elite 4x and like it just fine for a basic unit for fishing La Jolla. There are things you can do to get better performance at a good cost if $600 isn't in your budget. Mounting the transducer directly in the water made a huge difference. Not trying to contradict myself but if you're getting into the sport, it can pay to just go for the better unit from the get go. I can't tell you how much money I wasted starting out kayak fishing because I wanted to save a few bucks on some cheaper gear and then upgraded later. Hope this helps.

I started off with the Eagle Cuda 350, it was only $175 out the door. It's a pretty basic unit but it has what you'll need (GPS & Sonar). If you're just getting into the sport I would start off with something basic, this way if you decide kayak fishing is not for you you're not going to lose much.

After a year or so I went ahead and purchsed a Gen2 HDS-5, If I remember I believe I paid roughly $800 out the door including a two year warranty from WestMarine.......its an awesome unit. If you decide to pay a top notch unit buy it from a reputable store like WestMarine. If you decide to buy from WM get yourself on their mailing list and wait for a sale, a coupon or manufacturer rebate.

Don't know if it helps, but the HDS-5 + Lake insight is slightly cheaper on the digital oasis website for $569. Free ship & no tax to CA. You can use the extra 50 bucks to add 3 years warranty if you like.

Jorge nailed it, start with something that provides FF/GPS capabilities. Once you've decided this is a sport your going to stick with you can upgrade to a higher end lowrance or humminbird unit. As far as specific units it comes down to personal preference. I love my h-bird 597hd/di but the new raymarine dragonfly will be my next unit

I am pretty new myself. I went with the elite 5 gold. It was $300 from West Marine. So far so good. I have not had any issue with it. Standard sonar and GPS. I am still learning the features and how to use it properly.

If you want to go super basic, just buy the Garmin Echo 100. $80 at West Marine. I've used it for 3 years now, works pretty well for me.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to school a newcomer. I decided to go basic and bought a Lowrance x-4 black and white unit. Have to figure out how its going to be mounted (transducer as well) but I'm sure I'll figure something out!

nice, I used the x4 for a while and liked it. had a good picture and could see squid marks at 100ft. I used a suction cup so the transducer could be in the water.

I went very basic too with the Garmin Echo 150 $99 from West Marine - mounted the transducer in the scupper. Seems that I am FF challenged as I don't catch as much (or any) fish when I'm using it. But it is cool to see the changes in depth.

FF suggestions
 

I would start basic as most of us did, but having GPS with the FF is highly recommended. That being said, I would recommend starting off with either of these systems.
Lowrance:
http://www.basspro.com/Lowrance-Elit...ct/1311111421/

Humminbird:
http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird-38...uct/381964237/

I have had both of the units and they are very nice. I currently have the step up from the 386 and love it. I personally like Humminbird but there are some features that I liked that Lowrance had as well. Start small and work your way up.

I mounted my transducer to shoot thru the hull using electrical putty. About 2 dollars at home depot. Nice thing about using the putty is that you don't have to worry about bubbles and it remains pliable so if you want to move it, it is extremely easy to do. Highly commend for thru hull mounting. Just flatten a small amount, place in hull, press in transducer and kinda squish it around the 'ducer.