Before the summer fishing season gets into full swing, you might take a look at your current gear and decide that you want to replace your fish finder with a brand-new one.
If it’s been a while since you purchased your last fish finder–or this is your first one–you might be intimidated by all the technical talk and new technology as you’re browsing through the options on the market today. But, you don’t have to sweat it! Continue reading below as we dive into all the questions you’ll need to ask yourself before investing in a new fish finder.
Where Do You Fish?
You should first consider the type of angling you do and where you fish when deciding what fish finder to purchase. In other words, someone who sits on a frozen lake to ice fish will likely require a different fish finder compared to someone who is a deep sea fisherman.
Aside from the extreme temperatures that your fish finder may need to support, you should also take note of the depth of the water where you typically fish. If you find a high-dollar fish finder that can detect fish hundreds of feet down, you won’t get much benefit from it if you’re typically fishing in shallow bodies of water.
Thus, you’ll want to make sure you have a good idea of the conditions that you typically fish in so you can find the fish finder with the right features for your needs.
Are You a Casual or Competitive Fisherman?
Someone who fishes casually will require a much simpler fish finder than someone who goes to tournaments and fishes competitively. Based on your own fishing experiences, you should know which camp you fall into.
A competitive angler will likely want a fish finder that has more advanced features like higher wattage, weather tracking, chart plotting, route saving, integration options, and more. As such, they’ll likely pay a higher price for these features, which a casual fisherman may not necessarily need.
So, assess your level of fishing to determine which features you’ll absolutely need, and which ones you could live without.
How Much Space Do You Have?
An important aspect to keep in mind is how much space you have on your boat to mount the fish finder. Of course, a larger fish finder will have a better display that’s easier to read, but if it doesn’t fit in the budget–or even on your boat–you’ll want to opt for a smaller model.
Thus, if you generally fish from a canoe or smaller rig, you’ll want to keep the sizing a factor when you’re on the market for a new fish finder.
Do You Have Other Devices on Board?
Lastly, you should consider any other devices you have already like a GPS system. If this is the case, you probably don’t need a fish finder/GPS combo as you won’t benefit too much from the combined capabilities if you already have one you like.
Plus, if you do already have some devices that you rely on for fishing, you’ll want to search for a fish finder that is compatible with them or will easily integrate into the new system. This will help you get all the information you need in one place, with seamless navigation between them all.
By asking yourself the above questions, you should have a better idea of what you’re looking for in a fish finder, including which features you need to prioritize and which ones you can skip out on.
