Looking to buy a Fishfinder/chart plotter . Any one have any suggestions on the best one to buy based off of what you been using. Using it in big rivers with current (tide).
Thanks

I've had all three, and I prefer Lowrance. I consistently find more fish with it, and they are easier to see on it. The Humminbird I had, I can't tell you the number of times I caught fish I never saw on the unit. It was just too difficult to locate them with. The Garmin I had was not one of the higher end units, it was a Vivid 7SV. Maybe that's why the imaging was not as good as the Lowrance or the Bird, but to me, it just wasn't as crisp. As far as the actual imaging, the bird won hands down. Structure looked amazing on it. But, like I said, finding fish with it was difficult. I paid 900 bucks for my Lowrance Elite TI2 12 inch, and for the money, I feel I have gotten the best bang for the buck with it. As far as the unit crashing, I have never had that problem. Mine has worked flawlessly for almost two years now.

Z, I think this discussion is like Ford vs Chevy vs Ram... To each his own and they all work. That said I agree with you on the Lowrance. I had one on my first boat and just got used to it I guess because I stayed with Lowrance happily on this new rig. I had a TI 7 and an Elite FS 9 on the old boat. On this build, it came with a Hook2 7" and I added a Hook2 12". I still only have the one transducer. I have that hooked to the 12" and I am using the 7" for chart only. I got them set up side by side and I think it's gonna work great...

Yes sir, a lot of it just comes down to personal preference.

Thanks for the help !

While I’m certainly no expert, I’d have to agree with Tim. It’s hard to compare things fairly, be it trucks, shotguns, fish finders or women. I’ve had all three too, but never all three of an equal size and vintage on the same boat for a side by side comparison. That would be the only fair way to compare them. That said, for a non-techie type of guy, (me), I think the Garmin touch screen is easier to use. Good luck with whichever you choose.

Having used all three at one time or another, I prefer Garmin Echo Map ultras. Once you get above the 9". the processor is more powerful and the pixels are greater. Cabelas may still have some of the 106s with the GT54 transducer for 999.00 The 106 with GT56 transducer is over 2100.00. Same chart plotter just different transducer. You can buy the GT56 transducer for 450.00. So, you can have the same thing for 1450.00 vs 2100.00. Personally, the GT54 does all I need. I run a Ultra 93sv for charting and an Ultra 106sv with a GT54 transducer. The units are linked so, the 93 can also make use of the same transducer.