Best Bow Depth Finder?

[infishman]

I am looking to put depth finder at bow on new boat. Last boat I had a Lowrance 65 and that worked well, but technology is always changing. Looking for reccomendations - thinking about a Lowrance again, but have also looked at Garmin. I really want something that will give best detail. I am putting this on a MinnKota 65# AutoPilot in case that has any impact. Thanks for any/all help.

[suzuki]

I had a similar situation. First I tried my ice-fishing flasher on the bow mount and that was fine for reading depth but not what I really wanted. I have a X-75 on the transom. This year I put a Garmin 240 on the bow. I chose it because of the resolution (240x240 pixel), reputation and cost. Overall I think a very good value. I have only used it 3 times now and so far it is sweet. It does receive interferance from the Lowrance in deep water but not that bad. You can easily see through the interferance on the screen. I will mess with adjusting the gains on both units next time out and see if that will clear it up even more.

[bigfish1965]

I actually used a Lowrance portable as my bow fish finder. Since it had its own power source, there is never interference from the trolling motor. And I can move the screen to wherever I happen to be on the boat. Works very well.

[Shep]

I'm putting the Lowrance X-51 on the bow, with the Minn Kota AP65 with Universal Sonar. I don't need as much power up front, the unit has 240 vertical pixels, and it is relatively inexpensive. Got mine from Thornes. Hope this helps.


Tight Lines All,

Shep

[Phil T.]

I use flashers at both the bow and stern of my boat. The LCD on the console is very good for its purpose, but when I'm either in the bow using the electric troller, or at the stern using my kicker, I feel I'm on fish so I want the instant display of what's under the boat.
Okay, I'm so old I started with flashers so I'm used to them. No matter how expensive the LCD, the display (except for the extreme right hand single column of pixels) is delayed.

[Slim]

I just installed a Bottomline 1100 on the bow. I have not used it yet. It does not have the best pixel count...but it runs at 455Khz and I can use both my dash mount x-15 and the 1100 at the same time with no interference. That is the theory, time will tell.

Slim

[BRS1]

If you want detail try one of the Humminbird Legend series. They are the old Zercom LPG type and have excellent detail and a real time flasher built in.

No other unit I have seen or used has the detail of the Legend. Reed's had a great price on my Zercom's and I believe they have the new Legends as well.

I'm not a big fan of Humminbird, but the Legend is a different animal.

BRS1

[hgmeyer]

Here's my 2 cents.... I was going to go with a flasher...old habits...then I fished a friends boat...he had a LCD with side finder...I went nuts...The side finder lets me monitor current breaks and contour along river channels...I don't care if it ever shows "fish" it tells me about the shoreline contour...absolutely fantastic... BottomLine 3310

[Walteye]

I currently run a Bottomline Tourney Master as my main sonar on my console, with a Garmin 160 as my bowmount sonar, mounted on my trolling motor. The two units interfere with each other, so I don't use them simultaneously. I really like my Garmin, and it works great in showing structure and bottom, which is what I am looking for while jigging in the bow. The features are great, the price is great, and it is easy to use. The pixels are not the highest, but it does a great job.
Good Luck and Great Fishing.....
Walteye

[NC]

I just put a Pinpoint 7420 on the bow last month. Really like the way it works. So much detail it is amazing! I used the Johnny Ray mount which is a very nice way to go.
Good luck!

[Walleye daddy]

I use a pinpoint 7320 on the bow -- great detail and speed. run it with a garmin 240 on the console-- they will interfere with each other. But I expected that

[Glenn Rengo]

I second the choice for a Lowrance X-51 for your bow depth finder. The x-51 has 240 vertical pixels by 160 horizontal pixels and a 10 color grey scale for unbelievable target (fish) seperation. Although the screen is a little narrower in width than others it has absolutely the best screen out of any unit on the market for under $200. Plus the transducer has a temp sensor built right into it.

[jet&jig?MT]

>I am looking to put depth finder at bow on new boat. Last
>boat I had a Lowrance 65 and that worked well, but
>technology is always changing. Looking for reccomendations -
>thinking about a Lowrance again, but have also looked at
>Garmin. I really want something that will give best detail.
>I am putting this on a MinnKota 65# AutoPilot in case that
>has any impact. Thanks for any/all help.

I have a Garmin 240 on the trolling motor, Great unit!

[Slim]

The verdict is in; I had the Bottomline Tournament 1100 out this weekend and it works great. Again not the best resolution out there but I can run them (X-15 and Bottomline 1100) at the same time. For $69.00 you can't beat it.