New vs Old Lowrance fish finder?

[fisherx]

Hey anglers,

Newbie here with 500 bucks to drop on a fish finder. Eyeing Lowrance - good stuff, right? Wondering if I should snag an old Lowrance model or shell out for a new one.

Mostly hitting lakes and rivers, chasing bass and trout. Need something solid but not crazy techy. Old Lowrance still good for the job? Or is the new tech worth the extra cash?

Would love some tips on key features to look out for and if anyone's got a favorite model, shout out!

[Finnagain]

Hi ,I thought you would get some response after so many with more experience than me read your post but I was in the same shoes as you I had Lowerace x70a i loved simple to construct digital intrument box to read surface spd /temp

easy to zoom /set alarms ext.

I ended up with different boat and started fresh with everything at christmas time I went with lowerance hds7 live and it is a nice unit but quite a bit more advanced than what I had .I only get on water big enough to really play with maybe 2 times a year (were i live boat is always in a state of turning bc lakes tiny) That said its has a million features I will probably never use .The factory cmap gps is not to my liking and requires a $150 upgrage to navionics chip .loading and marking waypoints is easy but watching little boat on screen to get back to waypoint is terrible , a simple compass heading and distance to waypoint is better in my old eyes . Maybe I’m to stupid to get the machine there not sure but I use my handheld garmin gps to run back to port with when on lake o its just easier .side scan , down scan cook for looking for bait machine is very crisp and powerful but I’m usually the guy setting lines ,netting and just dont have much screen time . Many different ways to do things touch screen long touches , buttons , color palletes.I guess lucky I’m catching instead of playing with graph . My advice would be to reach out to capt Rich Heyjecki from crazy yankee sportfishing he lives it and works for I believe krauser marine . They have booth at Niagara fishing expo , but He is a nice guy and answered sime questions for me a few years ago . All electronics are techy today I think he sells several brands and knows what units and price points would serve you well . I hope to learn mine need more time in boat instead of work , a lot of words about nothing but good luck . Ps the guys at my bass pro shop were useless

 

[sherman brown]

On 1/15/2024 at 6:41 AM, fisherx said:

Hey anglers,

Newbie here with 500 bucks to drop on a fish finder. Eyeing Lowrance - good stuff, right? Wondering if I should snag an old Lowrance model or shell out for a new one.

Mostly hitting lakes and rivers, chasing bass and trout. Need something solid but not crazy techy. Old Lowrance still good for the job? Or is the new tech worth the extra cash?

Would love some tips on key features to look out for and if anyone's got a favorite model, shout out!

 

 

many, many years ago I bought an LCX 38C HD fish finder/GPS combo unit that has been a great unit for all my fishing needs including Lake Erie. it was still working great so I really can't explain why I did it, but I just wanted to try a newer unit. I bought an HDS 9 GEN 3 which I haven't even used yet. I paid 860.00 for this unit with a 3-D structure scan box and transducer. but I kept looking at other used models. I ended up getting an HDS 12 LIVE or the carbon unit I just can't remember which unit I ended up buying, with the 3 in 1 transducer for 1090.00. if you want to check on these types of units just send me a message. they have many of the HDS 9 GEN 3 or you might find a good deal on a smaller live or carbon unit you want.