Color fishfinders - is it hype?

[Chris1956]

I saw a color FF on a charter boat. The color display made it easy to determine what was structure, bottom and fish. Of course this was an expensive commercial device. Color FF have come down in price to $600 (more or less). The ones I have looked at in stores (in simulation mode) seem to color everything on the bottom one color, everything above the bottom another color, stuff above that another color etc. It appears to be just a "stratified color display". Is there more "intellegence" in the unit than that?

 

[JB]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

It's a lot easier to interpret the returns. To some folks that's worth the extra bux.

 

[tprice]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

Nope, kinda like comparing black and white tv to color.<br /><br />Once you get used to it you would never consider monochrome again.

 

[PAkev]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

I've got a color fishfinder and feel it helps to identify both fish and structure better than B & W. <br /><br />Color is also another means for a rookie to understand the info that took veteran fisherman years to learn how to read their B & W fishfinders.

 

[ziemann]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

Prices have come down dramatically as well. I purchased a color Eagle Fisheasy 320C from Bass Pro for $199. It has a pretty small display. On the plus side I have used it in bright sunlight twice and the display did not wash out like I expected it to. I use an Eagle Cuda 168EX (black and white) for navigation and the color unit on the bow as I troll. The definition of what I am seeing using color tells me much more than what I can discern using the black and white. <br /><br />I originally had second thoughts right after I bought the color unit. But now that I have used it a few times, I am hooked...<br /><br />BTW, I am using the Eagle 320C in conjuntion with a Minn Kota 55PD/US unit.

 

[Stumpknocker]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

Not to really start anything here, but I've seen the cheap color units, the $2000+ units in action and the B+W units in action. I've talked to the owners about it and nobody can tell me how the color can "tell u more" than the black and white. They all have lots to say, but it doesn't mean anything.... they can't tell me "how" its better. I say, give me a bigger screen and the best resolution I can get. If the color tells me more.... I should be able to understand "HOW" it tells me more and exactly "what" it tells me the B+W can't. I have compared B+W to color in the Gulf on several occasions with different brands. Other than the color..... fish is fish. Bottom is bottom. I have heard all the stories about different kinds of bottom ect.. ect.... Just doesn't hold up in the real world. Just my opinion.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

The difference.. Color helps indicated density, better... Makes life much easier, IMHO..<br /><br />And bottom ain't always bottom...

 

[Stumpknocker]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

Yeah, right. What exactly does that mean in color vs black and white. Here we go again...<br /><br />lol...<br /><br />Of course in snapmans defense.... theres is a theory of physics that states that the inverse relationship between color and B+W is affected adversely by plankton.... so there u go. A straight answer from science.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

I think the color is worth it but it is not going to tell you if it is a fish a tree branch or a bush up off the bottom. <br /><br />Biggest difference I see is how easy it is to see. With mono unit I see mounted in front of the driver the driver see it fine. Ask the passanger what he thinks about stopping on this group of targets and he will not know what your are talking about because he can not see anything until he gets in front of unit. Color unit the passanger can see it and the guy in the back can see it. Maybe newer mono unit have a wider viewing angle as well but I have not seen them. <br /><br />I do not have a color unit as I am still useing a 1981 Lowrance unit that has features the post menu type units do not have. Still I have rode on a few Party boats and have been inpressed that even fishing from the back I could see fish and bottom on the unit up front.<br /><br />Color unit do not add anything you can not get with a mono unit by making adjustments. They do display different strength returns in different colors so set properly eaiser to tell the difference between a big rock with strong returns and soft mud with weak returns.<br /><br />When I do buy a new Unit it will be color and likely a combo with GPS mapping where the color makes it so much eaiser to read.

 

[whiteman]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

If you look at mono and colour of the same base units with the same pixel count (eg compare the Lowrance X135 with the new colour X102C), you will get more info from colour. Colour will give you better separation of fish close to the bottom. However, most of the colour units on the market have low pixel counts. For instance, a colour screen with 320x320 pixels has a total of 102,400 pixels. A mono unit with 480x480 has 230,400 pixels - more than twice the screen density!

 

[tengals123]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

you should be using your sounder/finder to identify bottom and habitats, not fish. Speak to any pro fisher and they'll tell you they sound for fish not find them. Identify a likley environment that will hold fish, don't just look for fish on your fishfinder. IMHO<br /><br />cheers

 

[whiteman]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

Most pros up my way don't even have sounders as they use nets!<br /><br />For the rest of us, using the sounder to find structure AND (most importantly) bait schools and larger fish is the difference between a good and bad day. What's the point of fishing "structure" when the sounder doesn't show fish activity? Bait schools move around so you need to keep in touch with them.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

tengals, I fish freshwater lakes for white and striped bass, and I catch fish that I mark on the graph all the time. I also catch fish that are holding so close to the bottom that they don't graph, but the schools of baitfish are there. No bait, I'm not wasting my time. Or, if the bait is there but strung out, vs. balled up like when they're under attack, I move on.<br /><br />I also like to fish for largemouth bass in shallow water where you can't graph 'em because they're not under the boat, which is like the situation you described.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

jtexas nailed the most important issue, whether it be color or grey. I have 2 Garmin units, a 240 and a 250C, both on the dash...I don't see anything on the color unit that doesn't show on the 240. I can't run them at the same time, but going back and forth doesn't reveal some "Un-seen" objects. Got an old Lowrance on the nose and it ain't doing too bad compared to the Color 250C, which I can run both of those at the same time due to different freqs. The color does show better when not directly behind it (see it better)....

 

[jtexas]

Re: Color fishfinders - is it hype?

One nuther question: sometimes when I'm standing up looking down at the graph on the bow through polarized sunglasses, the screen looks black. Are color screens any different?