If you want to purchase your first fish finder device, you might probably get lost in all the technical talk. Scrutinizing the diverse features and functions in order to determine the most appropriate fish finder can be discouraging as a first-time buyer. Between several categories of flashers, echoes, sonars, transducers, etc., it’s difficult to understand it all.

That’s the reason why we went ahead and assembled this fish finder guide to give you an insight on how to determine the best and appropriate fish finder to use out there.

How To Determine The Most Appropriate Fish Finder?

The question “How do you determine what fish finder is most appropriate” is a question you find on the lips of most anglers, be it professional anglers or novice anglers. Every angler aims to get an enormous yield when fishing, and they are quite sure that to accomplish that, they would need the best fishing gears, and to a great extent, an appropriate fish finder.

Learn more on how to connect fish finder to the battery.

To determine which fish finder is appropriate for you, there are certain features you’d have to look after. These features make these fish finders stand out from the rest; it also gives them an edge over others.

Transducers:

A transducer is a very important factor in determining the most appropriate fish finder to adopt. They are regarded as one of the most significant parts of a fish finder. Transducers sends out and receive sonar waves. These sonar waves once sent out, reflects off diverse objects. Afterwards, they get picked up by a transducer. When the data returns, it goes back into the central unit, which is where the signals get processed into a picture on the screen of the fish finder which you can view and comprehend.

These transducers come with diverse types of mounts. In choosing an appropriate fish finder to adopt, you will have to consider that which comes with an easy to install transducer, such as the transom mount. But if you own a larger boat or you require something more intense, you can consider another type, like the thru-hull mount.

Learn more about fish finder transducers.

Transducer Material:

Depending on the type of boat you’ll be utilizing, you’ll need a fish finder that comes with the best transducer material. For casual anglers and enthusiasts, a plastic transom mount is appropriate. They work well with all kinds of boats.

A transducer with an in-hull mount or a thru-hull, fiberglass or metal hulls require plastic enclosures. Steel or aluminum hulls require stainless steel enclosures. Bronze housing are required for boats with wood hulls or fiberglass. For recreational users, the appropriate fish finder to adopt is that which comes with a trolling motor transducer or transducers with transom mounts. They work with almost all kinds of boats; all you have to do is to follow the installation instructions. If you cherish the concept of a fish finder that comes with a thru-hull transducer, the choice is between bronze and plastic.

Beams And Cone Angles:

Another important factor to consider when determining the most appropriate fish finder to adopt, is the cone angle. Put differently, the cone angle informs you of the width of the beam sent out into the water from your boat. A fish finder that comes with a wider cone is appropriate because it enables you to cover an extensive area. As the beam sinks, the cone angle widens, but at the cost of sensitivity in deeper water.

Transducers are equipped with cones which ranges from 9 degrees to over 60 degrees. Most devices you will encounter tend to be around 16 and 20 degrees. If you are a novice and you wish to fish in diverse water depths, it’s best to go for a fish finder with a 20-degree cone.

An absorbing feature when it comes to transducers is that they have the ability to emit more than one cone from a single point. There exists one beam that comes with a conventional transducer, but with more enhanced units you can acquire multiple. Some transducers have dual beams, some have triple, etc. With each new beam, you can cover greater areas. Therefore, if you going for the best fish finders, go for those whose transducers are equipped more beams.

The number of beams determines the cost of a certain fish finder. If you are an angler who prefers to fish in shallow water, it’s paramount you go for a fish finder that comes with dual beams, simply because they are capable of covering more areas.

Screen Color:

Another factor to consider in selecting an appropriate fish finder is the screen color. Color displays are known to be a standard in all electronics, not just fish finders. They have the ability to provide several categories of colors and details, while screens that comes in black and white have just 265 shades of gray.

A fish finder with a color screen will enable you to clearly read and understand the displayed information. With more than one colors, you are likely to better understand what is going on. Aside that, fish finders with black and white displays are difficult to read in direct sunlight. During periods of cloudy or dark weather fish finders with black and white screens fall short again with restricted readability.

If you want to purchase the best and appropriate fish finder, it’s recommended that you consider those with color display. Amongst the different types of fish finders out there, the best are those that comes with this type of displays.

Power:

One of the most important factors you should consider when selecting an appropriate fish finder is the power. If you are in need of a unit with faster and deeper readings, you will need to go for a fish finder with a high wattage unit. Fish finders with a reduced wattage will be slower but more useful for shallow water fishing, this is because a fish finder converts sonar waves from its transducer. When the power is less, the waves are dull, and the reading isn’t also trustworthy. When there is adequate power, the waves are quicker and the readings are correct.

Water Resistance:

An appropriate fish finder must be water resistant, that’s if you are going to mount your device in a smaller, open vessel. Always check the JIS or IPX ratings of your device, they are more or less similar, but each ascertains a particular device’s level of water resistance. A fish finder that comes with a JIS or IPX rating of 4 denotes that the unit is completely safe from splashing water, such a device wouldn’t fare well on a kayak, for example.

A rating of 5 or 6 denotes that the device can stand low to high-pressure jets of water.  While a rating of 7 denotes that you can immerse your device in water of around 10 feet for half an hour. Ultimately, a fish finder that comes with a JIS/IPX rating of 8 means that the device can be submerged for a long period of time. The rating of a fish finder makes the difference and gives the fish finder that edge. So, to determine the fish finder that is appropriate for you, ensure you consider the JIS/IPX rating.