Fish Locator -- More resolution

[rmitchel]

I currently have a Garmin 160 Dual that I am very happy with. Excellent layout -- shows me the bottom.

Would like to get another fish locator for the bow.

What I am wondering about is resolution. I read the recent post about pixels per inch -- understood about half.

I would kind of like to stay in the Garmin line. Is the Garmin 240 worth it? Will I see more fish? Will it be easier to the differentiate bait fish?

Or should I just stay with another Garmin 160? Or perhaps take the plunge for something like the X-15.

For me, I seem to use the fish locator mostly for the depth -- I never have any confidence that the fish are fish -- I usually just refer to it as that "lieing fishfinder". Will more resolution change my viewpoint?

Thanks.

[Jim Ordway]

The more pixels/inch the better. Scroll back over the last three days posts, tons of info.

[SnellTier]

Get the 240. I have 160's front and back and am going to 240's (the Lowrance X-85's which I got on sale at Gander). Last summer in Canada we ran into TONS of bait fish and the walleyes were on the bottom -- fat, dumb, and happy. We had trouble marking them, even though they were there.

I don't know that the 240's will be dollar-cost effective, but seeing the difference between my 160's and someone else's 240's in the same water during the same period, I am switching to the 240's.

I confess I don't consider dollar-cost effectiveness when I choose my equipment ... I fish for the challenge of it and will take any advantage I can get. I figure since I don't smoke (except cigars on fishing trips ... and as my wife is my partner she sometimes wants to choke me for that) and don't drink (except an occasional beer or scotch ... unless it is a fish fry or we are out with friends) I figure I can indulge myself with my fishing and hunting gear. We all have to have our vices.

I hopt this helps.

By the way, I am originally from Wisconsin Rapids.

Tom

[SnellTier]

Rick,

Here is an addition to my last post. If your locator has the "fish-ID" feature, turn the darn feature OFF. Learn to read the bottom and how fish look when you spot them down there without the ID.

The fish-ID is programmed to consider and display as fish any enigma it cannot diagnose properly. I cannot tell you how much empty water I fished before I got some advice from pros who helped me understand what I was doing wrong. First thing they did was to turn off the fish-ID.

Next thing they did was to explain to me that each new "reading" went into the right-most column of the screen only. That column then, without changing, marches to the left on your screen when the next new column is inserted into the right-most column.

I watched as they marked fish on their bow locators while vertical jigging from the bow. Then they would swing the boat around to drag their jig across where the bow transducer was located. They would MARK and CATCH THAT SINGLE FISH. After 2 years of practice, I was able to start doing that same thing. Now it is second nature.

But, I am still going to 240, up from 160.

And, my major was math, by the way. So, yes, I am exacting.

[rmitchel]

Hey Tomd:

Thanks for the information. I will likely go with the 240. I do turn the fish id off, but I still seem to have trouble identifying fish and bait fish. Hopefully the 240 will help. By staying with the Garmin series, I should be able to switch locators from the console and the bow, as the need arises.

Hey what do you do with your math major now? And where did you go to school?

[Hawgeye]

I would recommend buying a Lowrance X-85 since they are at a great price right now. The Garmin is as good of a product but assuming that the frequency is different slightly between the two, you may be able to run them both at the same time wihtout interference. I don't know for sure what the freq of the Garmin is but I think the Lowrance is 192KHz. Just something to consider. I have two Lowrance units running at the same freq so I have to shut one off to run the other. there are times I would like to run them both...

[rmitchel]

The Garmin is 200 khz and 50 khz. I think that I should be able to run the two Garmins together because of this

[chadk66]

rmitchell,
If your just using your locator for depth you are missing out on the best tool you can use to catch fish. You need to spend some time changing the settings on your locator in an area where you know fish are so that you become accustomed to which settings work best. Then once that is established, you have to have faith in your locator. One thing however, in my own opinion, unless you have a very wide angle transducer, it is very difficult to pick up fish in under eight feet of water on a consistent basis. My vexilar edge does this better than any other one I have owned, however it has two transducers, one narrow beam and one wide angle one.

[rmitchel]

I agree Chad -- the problem has been "knowing that what I am seeing are fish."

What would be a wide angle and what would be a narrow angle transducer?

[chadk66]

I guess they kinda range from 8 degrees being narrow to 20 degrees being considered wide angle. I believe I have seen some up to 45 degrees. but I believe the most popular is the 20. You guys correct me if I'm wrong. The craziest thing I've seen is my worthless old humminbird tcr 101 was the best locator I've ever used in water under 8' deep. But once you get deeper than that, it couldn't pick up a fish to save it's sole. I don't know why that was. To tell you the truth, if you really don't want to spend the time to fiddle with a locator and you just want to turn it on and trust what you see down there, spend a little extra and buy the vexilar edge2. I cannot believe how awesome this thing is. I have ran many different locators in my day and have yet to have one as good. That even includes the Lowrance LMS-350 I had. As good as it was it isn't as good as the Edge. I'm sure some will argue with that but the people on this board that have the vexilar will back me up on it.