Hello everyone,

I am about to buy a panga or other inshore boat here in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and was wondering if you any experienced salty guys here on the TFF can offer me some electronics advice please? I have been away from the pro bass fishing game for a few years now and would like to have the choose the best salt water fishing electronics for my new boat. I will be chasing mahi, jacks, pompano, bonita. I usually fish within 5 miles of the shoreline in water between 1-60 foot depths. Typically I catch most fish on shallow submerged rocky areas/points/islands, around the long and dense lines of surface drifting leaves/grass, or whenever I can locate schools of birds feeding from the surface.

When guiding for largemouth bass I found Humminbirds Side Imaging to be a very valuable tool for locating areas of feeding bass offshore. For me it was nearly if not a better tool to use than simple 2D sonar as I could see shadows from balls of baitfish near the bottom when bass were feeding on them which was always a guarantee that there were catchable bass below. Side Imaging was a very helpful tool in those circumstances but since it seems saltwater species move a lot more in the ocean rather than relating more closely to a certain bottom depth contour like largemouth I am not sure if Side Imaging Technology would be nearly as helpful as perhaps Garmins Panoptix which I am not very familiar with but open to if its recommended.

Any help offered regarding the best unit/model for my new style of fishing is much appreciated!

*Also appreciate any suggestions for a great saltwater fishing boat between 20-25 feet long with casting decks, lockable rod storage, etc as I am not familiar with saltwater boat manufactures. Thank you gents!