Fishfinder: mono or color?

[gregtobin]

In buying a low to mid end fishfinder, 'm trying to decide whether it is better to get a high res mono or a lower res color (yes, I'd like to get a great big hi res color, but can't get it in the budget!).

For example:
Hummingbird 727 monochrome 640x320 5" dual beam for $240 vs.
Hummingbird 141c color 320x240 3" for $220
or
Hummingbird 343c color 320x240 3.5" dual beam for $280

Does the color feature add a lot more information to the display other than looking nicer?

Thanks
Greg

 

[sc_shane]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

I'm no expert, but after a lot of research, I just bought an Eagle FishMark 320 (mono) for $130 from ****'s Sporting Goods. This unit was recommended by a ton of people. A good buddy of mine (who is an everyday fisherman) has the 480, and he said if I wasn't happy with the 320, he'd buy it from me as a backup to his any day. Just something to consider!

 

[Boatist]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

A Color Fish Finder add no more information in my opinion. It does make it Easier to determine the density of a target. Is it mud or a hard rock?
However keep in mind a good brand Fish finder will last you a very long time if you take care of it. Example is Lowrance X50 I bought in 1981 still works perfect. Color units in general can be seen from more angles, you do not have to be right in front of the unit. Also if you get Mono today you may want to upgrade next year.

Buying your first fish finder you first need to know how your going to use it. Fishing for Black Bass in waters 10 to 40 feet then you do not need high power or high resolution and want a 200KHZ unit 20 degree transducer. If your fishing for bottom fish in the ocean at 450 feet then Power and resoultion is very important and you also want a dual frequency unit with a narrow cone angle.

Do not belive what they tell you in the spec. Example: depth up to 800 feet, what that really means is you can see a big flat rock if fresh clear water down to 800 feet, but to see a fish built like a stealth fighter max is more like 100 feet. In muddy water, or water with lot of air in like below a dam, or in ocean water with Salt, plankton and alge in it is more like 50 feet. I devide the clame by 8 and I think it is pretty close to how deep you can see Game fish. Know that Peak to Peak power divided by 8 = RMS power, so 800 watts PEP equals 100 watts RMS. Lowrance and Eagle like to say cone angle up to 60 degrees with ASP but it the industry standard 20 degree 200 khz transducer. They just mesure it at the -10 DB instead of the insdustry standard of -3 DB half power point. While the above is misleading in some condition it can be true it just depends if you measure in ways that people use the product.

Do some Brand research. For salt water on the west coast 80 percent of the commerical fisherman use Furuno, followed by Lowrance and Garmin.

Fresh Water I like Lowrance, then Garmin, then Furuno.

Humming Bird about 5 years ago had a problem where there was 3 to 4 threads running all the time saying I can not see bottom above trolling speed. Have not seen many threads since they came out with the matrix but for me would be my last choice of brands.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

color or not, go for the highest resolution and screen size you can afford.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

The new color units are nice and most are bright and easy to read. For a new project boat, I went the cheaper route and bought a new, but discontinued hbird matrix 17 (mono). I have to say that the hbird unit is easier to read at times than my much more expensive Raymarine A series color unit. While installation typically determines how well a unit reads bottom while running, the hbird unit does hold bottom better than my Raymarine unit on my other boat. Too many variables to identify why, but my point is that one can get a very serviceable unit for cheap money these days. The hbird on my 20' Penn Yan holds bottom at all speeds (up to 42mph). The Ray unit is very good, but in full auto mode it switches bottom scale a lot in response to stuff that it sees. It is very sensitive.

However, it is easier for a first timer to learn to read a color unit compared to a mono-unit.

 

[gregtobin]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Thanks for the advice.
I'll be fishing in under 50 feet freshwater (lakes/rivers) and also under 50 feet salt (Chesapeake Bay). I'm leaning towards the mono, but I've seen a lot of posters who don't seem to think much of the Hummingbird fishfinders. I'll keep looking!
Greg

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Lowrance or Eagle (made by Lowrance anyway) color. And you don't need a dual cone for 50 ft as already explained. If you can go somewhere where you can see them side by side while in a demo mode and you will immediately see why I say color. Plus they are much easier to see in bright sunlight.

 

[whofan]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

The Eagle 320 is the best budget fishfinder. In mono for a high end the Lowrance x135 is good. At speed Lowrance brand fishfinders don`t go blank.
I had a cheap Humminbird that would blank out when boat was on plane.
Color is the in thing now. It looks cool but I can`t see any advantage over mono in sonar.
I have an older X75. I bought a global map 4800 in mono to go with it.
I can see where color will have more advantage in a mapping unit.
Good deals can be had right now in mono graphs.

 

[gregtobin]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

I see that the Eagle 320 is a 320x320 mono display with "800* foot depth" and 60d egree cone.
I figure that most of my fishing will be in done in under 25 feet of water. Would this be the appropriate kind of power/cone to use?
The price seems pretty good.
Thanks!

 

[whofan]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

I see that the Eagle 320 is a 320x320 mono display with "800* foot depth" and 60d egree cone.
I figure that most of my fishing will be in done in under 25 feet of water. Would this be the appropriate kind of power/cone to use?
The price seems pretty good.
Thanks!

I not sure about cone degrees. I thought most single frequency transducers were 20 degree cones. I will tell you that the shallower the depth the smaller the circle you project on bottom (viewing area).
Sonars will find fish but the primary reason to have one is for depth and structure. Many times I catch fish where I wont mark any on my graph.
A single frequency transducer is reconmened for shallow water fishing.
You wiill have more than enough power with the 320. The 480 is worth a look too if you want a higher resolution. Slighty more detail.
Important; Make sure you get one one with a temperature senser. Water temp even if its only surface temp it will give you a measure of conditions favorable of a good fish bite.

 

[Rancherlee]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

if your looking into humminbird check out the 565 for under 200$, 640 line of vertical resolution and its has a dualbeam 20/60 transducer. I have the 580 (same as 565 but has built in GPS chartplotter) and I have no issues with seeing the Mono screen in direct sunlight or at an angle.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Eagle 320 is a fine unit but it has a 20 dergee 200 KHZ transducer. You will note that it does not say it has a 60 degree transducer. It will say something like UP to 60 degrees. This is what I was talking about. The Transducer is a 20 degree 200 Khz unit the same as everyone else.

If you do not belive it is a 20 degree transducer then go to the accessories and see if you can find a 60 degree transducer. You can rate tranducers many ways and the industry standard is to rate the cone angle at the halfpower point -3DB. Take the same transducer and rate it at -10 db and it would be about 60 degrees but then so would every other 20 degree transducer. Problem is if you turn the sensitivy up so you could use it at 60 degrees the entire screen would be black due to the extreamly strong returns of the transducer in the 20 degree range. Still the 320 in a good unit for shallow water operation in fresh water.

 

[gregtobin]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

I'm going to pull the trigger on this one. I've found some very competitive prices on the Eagle fishfinders:

Eagle 320 $150
Eagle 480 $202
Eagle 480DF $220 This one comes with dual power, speed, and distance features. Are they worth the extra $ for shallow water (under 50 feet) fishing in mostly fresh, but occasionally salt water?

Thanks!
Greg

 

[Boatist]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

If you really are going to limit your fishing to 50 feet then the
SeaFinder 480DF is not worth the difference. However I never seen a fisherman that will do that. The first time you go out in the salt and are fishing 50 and then here there jumping in the boat before they get caught out at 200 foot your going to go out to 200 feet.

Big difference between the FishMark 320 and 480 compared to the SeaFinder 480. The FishMark units only have 187 watts RMS power. Saltwater requires more power to get a good return as the water is a lot more dense. It would work at 50 feet but not much more with a 20 degree transducer.

The SeaFinder 480DF has 500 watts of RMS power or 4000 watts PeP. So it has 2.7 times as much power that means better returns in deeper water. In addition it has a 12 degree 200khz transducer which will also help see fish in deeper water. also the SeaFinder 480 DF has a 35 degree 50 khz transducer. 50 KHZ transducer will get returns much deeper than the 200 khz transducer in salt water but the return will not be as detailed.

The 12 degree 200khz transducer you probably will not like as well as the 20 degree in shallow fresh water.

With the SeaFinder 480DF will work with the 20 degree 200khz as well but it is extra cost. Then fishing Salterwater you plug in the Dual Frequency transducer. Fishing shallow Fresh water you plug in the 20 degree Single frequency transducer.

 

[Scout Sport Fish]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Didnt want to clutter the forums so I'll ask here. If I got a new fishfinder would I need to install a new transducer? I would imagine I would have to if the angles where different and yada yada yada.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Scout
Most of the time you will need to install a new transducer. While many of the transducer are the same from one brand to another most will have a different plug to hook it to your fish finder. Also transducer go bad and fail. I seen more than one fellow buy a new fish finder and try to use the old transducer only to find out that the problem with the old fish finder was just a bad transducer.

 

[jammer]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Thanks for the advice.
I'll be fishing in under 50 feet freshwater (lakes/rivers) and also under 50 feet salt (Chesapeake Bay). I'm leaning towards the mono, but I've seen a lot of posters who don't seem to think much of the Hummingbird fishfinders. I'll keep looking!
Greg

Greg, tell us what you think after you install it. I have a new Hummingbird mono myself. I honestly got it just for gadgets. Even to this day it says there are fish there when they're not hooking But it looks good on the dash.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Myself, I prefer monochrome, but I have trouble seeing the color screens in strong sunlight. It's a matter of personal preference there I guess. Like mentioned above, resolution is the most important feature.

 

[jammer]

Re: Fishfinder: mono or color?

Myself, I prefer monochrome, but I have trouble seeing the color screens in strong sunlight. It's a matter of personal preference there I guess. Like mentioned above, resolution is the most important feature.

Agreed...I personally like monochrome.