• Becoming a member is completely free!

    • Join the community and start contributing to a large source of sea angling information.
    • Members who are regular contributors and have posted more than 25 times, have the option to turn off adverts.
    • Become an active member and you can enter member exclusive competitions.

    REGISTER FOR FREE HERE

Garmin plotter - fishfinder question

Skutter

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2024
Messages
28
Reaction score
81
Points
13
Location
Sweden
Favourite Fishing
Lure
Considering an upgrade - have an old Garmin fish finder - (must be nearly 20 years old) on the boat I recently bought. It works but doesn't have a plotter.

A trip out on a mates boat where we started out in thick fog and then when drifting over a sandbank for flatties my mate could take us back to the exact spot where we started landing the bigger fish each time has convinced me a plotter and probably ability to have maps is a good idea.

Considering A Garmin Echomap UHD2 but being quite new to this game I don't really know what the difference is with the transducers eg gt24 vs gt56 except prices.

Trying to go through YouTube videos on the subject but all the videos seem very American and lake / bass fishing based.

Any info / advice much appreciated.
 
Not sure I'm the most knowledgable to reply. But as you've not had other replies so far here goes.

I 'think' the Garmin UHD2 comes in different models. Some (more expensive ) have side view so you can 'see' underwater structures to the sides. The cheaper models just have the 'down' view. The GT56 transducer has the side view where as the GT24 doesn't support it. Therefore match the transducer to the unit you're buying.

I'm happy to be corrected by the more informed forum members on these matters. Hopefully someone can confirm or refute my thoughts.
 
Have spoken to the guys in the local tackle shop as well as friends who have fish finders and it seems quite personal choice.
The guys in the tackle shop are basically of the mind of buy the biggest and best you can afford. They have owned several different makes and currently both use Garmins and have they different thoughts on side view.

The guy I bough my boat off has the small 4" Garmin echomap but he uses it just as depth finder and plotter if he needs to - he doesn't like fish finders too much - says you spend more time looking at a screen than just enjoying being out on the water, but a plotter is must have for finding marks and getting back safe if the visibility turns bad.

IM not sure if I will even use side view - Im sure if I have it I will use it. And it's a fair enough difference in price to consider going with out. But considering the echo locator I have is from 2006, and has no plotter, it's not going to be difficult to get something better.
 
To be honest the whole subject of angling sonar is a minefield with much of the information being concentrated on the biggest market - US freshwater black bass fishing, where the pros will have multiple units and screens on their boats. I chat to one MLF bass pro angler and he has $80,000 worth on one of his tournament boats! Side vision (and the reultant ability to display in 3D) are very useful for me as I'm in shallow waters. I use my set up of gps and bathymapping to navigate tricky waters subject to big 10m plus tidal range. I use the sonar to find features rather than specifically hunt fish. Many charter skippers insist on turning off sonar when sitting on the fish, particularly cod species, as they believe the ping is detrimental to catches. My best advice is to buy a mid priced unit that has the functions you need and learn to use it fully rather than just relying on the factory default settings. We spend enough time staring at screens as it is😉
 
Ive just ordered a heavily reduced the Garmin uhd9sv with the GT56 transducer - It cost a bit more than the 7cv models but figure why not try side view and a bigger screen is always good and ive yet to find much in the way of negative reviews, and has the options to add upgrade to things like a gps trolling motor and live scope should one feel inclined, Probably much more tech than I need.

Hopefully will get it installed and tested on the water soon.
 
Have spoken to the guys in the local tackle shop as well as friends who have fish finders and it seems quite personal choice.
The guys in the tackle shop are basically of the mind of buy the biggest and best you can afford. They have owned several different makes and currently both use Garmins and have they different thoughts on side view.

The guy I bough my boat off has the small 4" Garmin echomap but he uses it just as depth finder and plotter if he needs to - he doesn't like fish finders too much - says you spend more time looking at a screen than just enjoying being out on the water, but a plotter is must have for finding marks and getting back safe if the visibility turns bad.

IM not sure if I will even use side view - Im sure if I have it I will use it. And it's a fair enough difference in price to consider going with out. But considering the echo locator I have is from 2006, and has no plotter, it's not going to be difficult to get something better.
This^. On the kayak in fresh water not only do I not have a fish-finder, I really don't want one. I want to work out the likelihood of fish activity by looking at the wind direction, and depth of water. Most of all I want to enjoy the time I have on the water. Not catching doesn't spoil my enjoyment in the slightest, but being fixated on needing to catch to the extent of using a fish-finder would. I do appreciate that a plotter would be very useful in the sea.
 
Only a total fukwhit with death wish would venture near the marks we fish without some sort of sonar. How's that kayaker quoted above going to be "looking at the wind direction and depth of water" without one? Marker floats? Leadline? I wish him luck
 
Only a total fukwhit with death wish would venture near the marks we fish without some sort of sonar. How's that kayaker quoted above going to be "looking at the wind direction and depth of water" without one? Marker floats? Leadline? I wish him luck
Fresh water mate. Not the sea...
 
I got that DaveH but II'm still intrigued as to how you "look at the depth of the water" without sonar unless youre always fishing in shallow, crystal clear and well lit water?
 
I got that DaveH but II'm still intrigued as to how you "look at the depth of the water" without sonar unless youre always fishing in shallow, crystal clear and well lit water?
I fish mostly in Llangorse. I have a map of the contours of the lake - it's shallow apart from three deep holes. I take your point though - when I fished out of Sunderland on the NE coast (on a boat, not a kayak) I would have killed for a plotter. Then it was a question of "through the harbour, over the bar, turn right and aim for the ballast buoys. We knew there were other good marks we didn't have a hope of finding.
 
Well back when I was kid fishing you plumbed for depth at a new spot. After a while you learned the depths of different spots.

On the sea - you aren't going to find the herring ball when its 30 - 40m deep with out a fish finder - unless you just sneak along side the big charter boats --- and even then you have to hit the right depth.
 

Support Us

Support from our members means we don't need to plaster advertisements around the website! Keeping it clean and fresh! Maintaining a website such as this takes time and money, and your support helps to keep the lights on, provide new features for the website and, hopefully, make you feel warm and fuzzy!

Thank you for considering to help support our work.
Back
Top