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Echo sounder

Christian Tyroll

Christian Tyroll

Senior Member
Afternoon all

Please could someone recommend an echosounder for using on a proper boat?

Budget of about £200 and just want it to show depths, weed, snags etc. It would be good if could show streamer weed as well as thicker stuff.

If it was possible to download data off it and produce maps on the pc that would be great but I’ve never used one so not sure how common this is.

Thank you
 
I have had a few over the years. I would recommend Lawrence or Raymarine 7" screen or bigger, sidescan on a river ( but this at a price ) .You will no doubt get someone saying Deeper, don't do it , signal issues , chop on water , little phone screen etc will get you pulling your hair out.
First step is to look at each manufacturers website and read about the models in your price range and what they can do. You can then make your mind up. I go for a unit with a plotter /GPS system and memory. You don't need to print stuff out as you go to a previous trip and replay what appeared on the screen. You can add your own data to mark snags drop offs etc.
for £200 new you are getting a basic model, £200 second hand gets you a better machine. Word of warning, they are addictive and once you see what they do you will want a better model so spend as much as you can get away with now or you will be spending money twice.
 
Mine is a Garmin Striker Plus 4. Basic, small and cheap (£120 ish a year ago). It’s light years better than my old Eagle x96 (20+ years old and a similar price back then). It’s really good for solo boat trip when all I need is depth control and bottom make up info.

That is entry level stuff, but much better than a Deeper. The next level is £400 ish.

I bought it from Force 4 chandlers -they sell a wide range and are competitive on price. You could ask them about downloading information as I have no idea. There are lots of different Garmin models -that may well relate to the relative connectivity.

Great advice from ‘Dave Will 2’ above.

There are loads of threads about ‘fish finders’ on ‘Pikers pit’ website and a few anglers eg Andy Black and Paul Garner have helpful stuff on their personal websites…..

I have a more expensive again, Hummingbird Helix machine (shared with a mate) for the big reservoirs and we had a day with a Hummingbird rep to get advice before we bought our kit. I also know one or two top pike/zander boys so I picked their brains too. Be aware you could spend £250+ just on a fancy transducer!
 
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