Fish finder or finder of fish

[Ralph463]

I bought a Baby Whaler (130 Sport) last fall, I have not had it in the water so I am really ready for warmer temps. I need a little advice about a fish finding unit. Round Lake is only 500 acres and I really don't plan on fishing anywhere else. Do I need GPS/mapping? I want a unit which will give me the best bottom views and actually show fish. I hope someone can give me an idea.

Thanks to all

[Bucket Rump]

The newer units that use CHIRP technologiy provide some impressive detail of what's under the boat - or off to the side if you opt for a side scan unit.  Many have the GPS with lake contour maps built in which can give you some idea of where the flats and drop offs are located, plus the GPS can help with monitoring trolling speed if that is a technique you use and hot spot locations can be saved on the unit. I use the Garmin echoMap CHIRP model and it has proved to be a very helpful tool, but the Humminbird and Lowrance brands are excellent choices, too.

[Muggsy]

Absolutely get the GPS option; ability to create your own map is not so important. But to be able to mark all the structure, dropoffs, weed lines, etc. the GPS is a must have in my book. 500 acres is still a good sized puddle and if you ice fish it, you'll have tons of good info on where to look for them during ice season.  I would choose a side imaging unit over a down imaging unit based on my experience with both.

[Ralph463]

Thanks to both of you for the information. I will take that along with the other info I have come up with. I am ready!

[skibumm100]

A quick comment on mapping. If there are no good maps of your lake that you can get access to, the mapping feature is really handy. The lake I fish has a poor map and I was able to collect data while fishing and have a map stored on my fish finder. I use the same fish finder for ice fishing and it has GPS so I know exactly how deep it is and how close to a drop off I am just by looking at the map on the fish finder. No poke and hope with the drill so I hit a drop off. For me, the mapping is important. If the lake already has a good map available on a purchased chip, it may be less important.