I have been thinking about getting a fishfinder I will be using it to find cod fish in the north atlantic. I have been looking at some inexpensive models $100-$250 at wal-mart and canadian tire the 4 I saw were Eagle Cuda 168, Humminbird 525, Humminbird piranahmax 210, and the Eagle 245 DS.
I'm new to finders so i have gathered that more power peak-peak is better, lcd resilution 240x240 is good, low khz better for deep water. Leaning towards 245ds or the 525 as they have more power better resilution.
Anyone have experiance with either of these I appreciate any helpful input. Do I need any accessory wires to connect it to the boat battery?

thanks

 

I dont think the Hummingbird model on my 14' jon boat would be any comparison, so not much help there. Can tell you that I ran the supplied wiring that came with the unit straight to a hot source.

 

You want to use this fish finder in the ocean and you're looking at wal-mart at low end units? I have never fished cod but since they are in the ocean, I would assume that the fish could/might be deep. Deeper then what low end fresh water fishing units are made for.

I would think that for a quality unit, you are going to have to up your price limit. I have a humminbird 797 for fishing on lakes in N. wis and I love it. I would look into something that has at least GPS, maping software, and a range that will show the water collum that you expect to fish.

I would save my money and get the hummingbird 1197 si (about 3000). It has a big screen, side imaging, and can take the map cards to get you home again.

 

thanks for the reply I got the humminbird 525 says good for 800 feet we only fish on the shallow areas about 150 feet or less most times less. As for mapping its only 3-20km form the house so I don't need that feature I just want to see where the fish are because sometimes the are off the bottom. The guys with the finders pull up next to you and drop a line and instantly get a fish.
The boats we use are only 16'-18' 40hp not much room for "big" electronics
this is the boat we use
http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...set-72157601133179699/

 

200khz is good for 200' or less
smaller beamwidth for better definition/discretion and it "searches" a smaller area

50khz for deep water, penetrates more water....has a wider angle and schools of fish will lump together more often than not. Good for general search for good bottom then switch to 200khz to pinpoint area better.

Most of the depth ratings are given in freshwater. Saltwater is more dense, therefore something that says will go to 800' may only do 650' in salt water. That said, most units go deeper than what they say. Bottom may break up, though.

I fish offshore of Charleston, SC and have a Furuno 1650df for my fishfinder. Only 600 watts RMS, but can easily see fish in 5-600 feet on the bottom.
Fish on buddies with 1k transducer and Garmin sounder and read bottom 1600' and deeper (swordfishing).


That Humminbird should do you well. Their newer units are pretty good. I just like Furuno/JRC/Si-Tex with rotary ***** for easy adjusting. No hunting menus or dropdown boxes.