Fishing is an activity of trying to catch fish. Fishing is considered to be a way of living and also as a hobby too. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling, and trapping. Modern technology has put the old rod and reel instinct for fishing in the back of the boat and brought in these handy tools for fishing. Because their popularity is overgrowing, fishing with top quality fish finders has become indispensable these days. No, lets first know what precisely a fishfinder is.

A fish finder is an instrument used to identify the fish underwater by detecting reflected pulses of sound energy. It transmits sound waves downwards and receives echoes from the bottom of the sea, or middle schools of fish. It also indicates the distance from ship to fish. Fishfinder is derived from the word fathometer.

A fathom is a unit of water depth, from which the instrument gets its name. Fishfinders are used both by sport and commercial fishers. With the growing popularity today, we have a vast selection of small cheap devices to absolute high-end models, and each of these devices is justified and has its uses.

Types of fishfinders:

There are many types of fish finders and to know the top quality fish finder let’s first see their types.

There are three significant types of fish finders namely

● regular2D fishfinder

● downscan fishfinder

● side-scan fish finder

Regular 2D fish finder

The 2D device is familiar to most of the fishers from the past. It has a black/white or colour display. It reliably displays the rough texture, soil hardness, and even fish while fishing.

DownScan fish finder

This fish finder gives a photorealistic view from the top down below the device. The detection range is smaller and not adjustable so that you will have only narrow detection areas for very shallow lakes. The picture is almost vivid and provides a perfect representation of whatever is underwater. Fishes are displayed correctly in right visibility conditions, but when the fishes rush it is challenging to trace them. The soil hardness is also usually not shown.

Sidescan fish finder

For a perfect display quality, sidescan fish finder is the perfect one to be chosen. It not only covers a small area under the boat, but the width can almost be freely adjusted. However, SideScan fish finders usually cost more money.

To get a top-quality fishfinder, we need to check specific features of them.

Those features are:

Transducers

Transducers are an essential part of a top-quality fish finder. They send and receive sonar waves which once emitted into the water is bounced off by different objects. These bounced of waves are then picked up by transducers. These waves are processed into a picture and displays, transducers come with different types of mounts.

Transducers material

The transducer material depends upon the boat used by the fishers. For casual a plastic transom mount will do fine. For a transducer with a thru-hull or an in-hull mount requires aluminum, fiberglass or metal housings. When it comes to recreational users, most of the fish finders come equipped with trolling motor transducers. This type works for almost any kind of boat.

Beams and cone angles

When choosing a sensor, we should always consider this cone angle because it tells us the width of the beam emitted into the water. More full the cone broader the area. As the beam goes down, the cone angle expands.

There is always one beam with the transducer but more than one in advanced units. Dual beams are much better than a single beam.

Screen power and water-resistance are also some of the essential features to be noted in a top-quality fish finder.

Top-quality fish finders

Portable/fixed:

Fishfinders are attached permanently on many larger fishing boats. A portable fish finder has many advantages. They allow versatility so that you can enjoy all types of fishing. They are easy to transport and lighter weight and perfect for rental boats. And, you can move the fish finder to your locations to find the fish.

Fixed fish finders also have their advantages. They are generally more high-tech. The screen size is larger than that of the portable ones. If you own a boat, then you can go for a fixed fish finder. So the best quality fish finders depend on the kind of boat you own and fishing you do. If you are an occasional fisher, the best fish finders for you may be portable and straightforward whereas if you are a serious sport fisher or commercial fisher, the best fish finder for you will be the affixed one. To purchase a top quality fish finder, have a clear go through among the mentioned factors.

Screen Size

Buy the fish finder with the biggest screen you can afford od n an excellent mid-range screen size, do not forget to check the pixels because sometimes the quality of the image goes down as the screen goes up.

Lightweight and waterproof screens are also important.

Glare Protection

Sunlight can make the fish finder screen hard to read, especially if you have an open boat. The only correction this is to relocate the fish finder to a shadier spot. Newer fish finders have glare-resistant screens.

GPS Integration

GPS and fish finding detection combos are most common in top quality fish finders. We may want to go cheaper, but the quality will not be the same as the expensive ones. A little more should be spent on GPS, especially for sport and commercial fishing.

Deceiving prices in Buying a Fish Finder

Shopping by price without considering other factors is a mistake most of us commit. It just becomes another device gathering dust. A top-quality fish finder is worth the investment as an indispensable tool for sports fishers. Fishfinders are tech, so they cost more than other accessories. If you want to have a top-quality fish finder, then it is better to go with the branded expensive ones because they last longer and more efficient.

Popular brands of fishfinder

When choosing a fishfinder to try and select a well-known brand instead of fi choosing a cheap one because the famous brand provides much more good service compared to the cheap one.

The most popular fishfinder brands are

⮚ Garmin

⮚ Humminbird

⮚ Lowrance