FishFinder Tutorial
Fishfinder Components
Fishfinders are made up of three basic components: The fishfinder mounting bracket, the fishfinder display and the fishfinder transducer. Each unit comes with all you need to install and operate the fishfinder, unless otherwise specified. Options to transducers and mounting systems are available in the accessory sections of each of the fishfinder manufactures.
Fishfinder Transducers
FishFinder transducers come in several flavors including Portable Suction Cup Transducers so you can take the fishfinder from boat to boat or reposition it on the same boat; Shoot Through Hull for mounting in plastic and fiberglass hulls, (the signal shoots right through the hull); Through Hull fishfinder transducers which have to be mounted in a hole through the bottom of the hull; and Transom Mount Transducers which come as standard issue with most fishfinders. Other variations include transducer floats for some of the radio frequency handheld units from Humminbird.
Water Temperature Sensor
Many fishfinders include a transducer which has a Temperature Sensor to tell you the surface water temperature. Other fishfinder transducers have a built-in Speed Sensor, or you can purchase a separate speed sensor if you need it. The GPS combination units will give you GPS speed but it will not be as accurate as the speeds sensors if you want it for trolling speeds.
Single and Dual Frequency Transducers
Another issue with transducers is the number of frequencies. Some fishfinder transducers come with more than one frequency. With Lowrance and Eagle fish finders, dual frequency transducers are for deeper water fishing. See the transducer information page for more information about how these frequencies effect a fishfinders operation. In general, for shallow water fishing you want a Single Frequency Transducer, and for deeper watern (great lakes or coastal ocean fishing), you want a Dual Frequency Transducer.
FishFinders for Kayaks
Portable fishfinders work well for kayak installation. Because the shape is awkward for portable suction cup use, most people epoxy the transom mount transducer into the bottom of the kayak, assuming it is plastic or fiberglass. This works well and I have many customers that have done this.
Single or Multiple Beam
Most fishfinders come with a single sonar beam, but some fishfinders come with a dual signal or multiple beams. These are useful for fishing in shallow water, such as for bass.
Side Imaging Sonar
Side imaging sonar shoots a sonar beam off to the side of the boat, which is great for shallow water fishing. However, it can be a little expensive for the weekend fisherman.
Fishfinder Mounting Brackets
Fishfinder usually come with a Transom Mount Bracket, but mounting bracket options including Gimbal Mounts, Flush Mounts(in dash), Swivel Mounts and some offer Quick Disconnect Mounts.
Fishfinder Displays
Fishfinder displays come in two forms, LCD and Color. The LCD screens are less expensive but do not have as high of separation or contrast, especially in poor lighting or glare. If you have the budget, the color fishfinder displays are worth the money.
Fishfinder Transducer Extensions
Most fishfinders and transducers come with a twenty foot cable, but you can purchase extensions for your transducers if your boat requires a longer cable. You can also get GPS receiver extensions for GPS systems or models with built in GPS capability, as well as additional cables for boats with multiple displays
Fishfinder Brands
electrafish,com carries the most popular brands of fishfinders at some of the best prices available anywhere.
Humminbird Fishfinders
Humminbird Fish Finders come in Humminbird Fish Finder only models, Humminbird portable fishfinders, and Humminbird GPS Fish Finders. Check out the comparison chart to review the Humminbird fish finder side by side with other models. All Humminbird products come with a standard, transom-mounted transducer unless otherwise noted. However, we also offer optional transducers including Puck, Angled Puck, Trolling Motor, Portable and Thru-Hull (plastic or bronze). (Check out the Humminbird Transducer Exchange Program.)
Lowrance Fishfinders
Lowrance Electronics, Inc., has been the leading designer and marketer of high-quality sportfishing Lowrance Fishfinder SONAR and Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping instruments. That's why 4 out of 5 freshwater tournament fishermen today rely on Lowrance Fishfinder products.
Eagle Fishfinders
Eagle Fish Finders are made by Lowrance with the same quality and most of the features but a low price tag. Eagle Fish finders are the best price performance fish finders on the market. Eagle Fish Finders sport big price features at an affordable price. Eagle Fish Finders and Eagle GPS come in several models. Click on Eagle Fish Finders if you are looking for Eagle Fish Finders without GPS. Click on Eagle GPS Fish Finders if you are looking for combination fishfinder and GPS units and Click on Eagle GPS Chartplotter if you are looking for a stand alonge chartplotter.
Furuno Fishfinders
Since its inception in 1948, when the world's first fish finder was commercialized, Furuno Electric Company, Ltd has been responding to the needs of the maritime industry through developing various types of marine electronics. Today, Furuno is a total marine electronics manufacturer operating on a global scale with a great many loyal customers.
Garmin Fishfinders
Garmin International Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets navigation and communications equipment for the aviation and consumer markets. Garmin products serve aviation, marine, automotive, wireless, OEM, and general recreation applications. Garmin aims to enrich the lives of customers by providing the very best products that offer superior quality, safety, and operational features at affordable prices.
Raymarine Fishfinders
With headquarters in Merrimack, New Hampshire, Raymarine Inc. is dedicated to the design, manufacture and distribution of the highest quality marine electronic products and services to the worldwide recreational and light commercial markets.
Interphase Fishfinders
Interphase Technologies, Inc. is committed to providing the highest quality, innovative technology to the recreational and light commercial marine market. For the first time, Interphase offers the cruiser, sailor, fisherman, search and rescue team, and mainstream boater a virtual image of the underwater area ahead of the boat. No other sonar technology discovery can boast this transducer size, ease of installation, in a completely solid state, high-tech package. Aside from the elements of bottom scanning, fishing, navigation, and discovery fun, the one word that stands out is safety!
Northstar Fishfinders
Northstar has been in the Marine Navigation business for over 37 years, and in that time the Northstar name has always been synonymous with best-in-class, high performance navigation solutions. Last year Northstar joined the Navico group, the world leader in marine electronics. Now the combined strength of Navico and Northstar provides the drive for continuous improvement and preservation of our Northstar values.
Si-Tex Fishfinders
SI-TEX offers a full line of premium quality marine electronics systems including radars, navigation systems, VHF radios, fishfinders, autopilots, AIS and more.
Hawkeye Fishfinders
Hawkeye Fishfinders are manufactured by Norcross Marine Products, Inc. NorCross Marine Products (NorCross) designs, engineers, and manufactures products primarily for the consumer outdoor market.
Fish Finders Categories
Fishfinders come in three basic classes: Standard FishFinders, with the options as outlined above; GPS FishFinder which includes a built in GPS unit with either a built-in antenna or an external antenna; and Portable FishFinders, which include a suction cup transducer and a portable carry case allowing the fishfinder to operate on batteries.
Standard Fishfinders
Standard Fishfinders come with a fixed Transom Mount Transducer, cable, and everything you need to operate your fishfinder.
Portable Fishfinder
Portable fishfinders come in two flavors, packaged and component. If your needs include a second boat or a rental boat you can purchase a separate power pack and suction cup transducer to use the same display in two boats. This is very useful for use on vacation or for ice fishing. See accessories for the finder you purchase.
GPS Fishfinder
GPS Fish Finders are combination or combo units that have both a fish finder sonar or depth finder as they are often called, and a Marine GPS Chartplotter or Trackplotter. On a Marine Chartplotter your position is superimposed over a moving map so that you can see your position at all times. A Marine GPS Fish Finder with a track plotter only shows your course. Both the Marine Chartplotter and the Marine Trackplotter will allow you to save your position (waypoint) for recall by name so you can get back to a particular position.
Fish Finder Review
Here is how review, compare and rate works: Click on the "Compare by Price Range" link on the left menu bar (click on the sample above to see the rate meter detail). Once at the compare screen pick a price range to rate. Once you are at the list of fishfinders in that price range simply view the charts next to each fishfinder photo. You can move from finder to finder by using the back arrow on your browser. 
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