Fish-Hawk.Net

I'm looking into getting a fish finder for the boat in the spring but I don't know much about them, I'm hoping that you folks can provide a rough overview of what to look for in a unit that will help me get my research started.

What would be the best affordable (cheaper end) fish finder?

What are the features to look for?
What does it need to be ready for future upgrades/features?
Best brand name?
Must haves?
What to stay away from?

Would be going on a 16' aluminum boat.
Thanks!

I've had Humminbirds on all my boats. Ease of use is the key for me.

Reality is for 99% of anglers including myself is you need two things. Sonar and GPS. Everything else is cool but a fraction of people ever use the other features they paid for, if they know how to use it at all.

I'd suggest a Helix 5 or if you wanted to bump your budget to a Helix 7 for a bigger screen.

Pirate Cove Marina has some on sale and rebates on top of that at the moment, should be a decent deal.

RJ

Thanks! Great info to get me started.

We have them at Paddletales as well. I of course would recommend my own place but the reality is Pirate Cove are good too. Same rebate applies.

Ed

I settled on a gently used humminbird piranhamax di. Seems a solid unit to start off with and was quite affordable.