I just purchased a new 2023 blue wave purebay 2200. I’m trying to get some insight as to what electronics and trolling motor everyone would recommend. I’ve been looking at going with a Garmin setup. I’ve been thinking about the Garmin force kraken, a live scope for the front of the boat (not sure which unit size), and not sure what I wanted for the console unit.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Garmin or any other brand. Thanks.

Just my 2 cents worth. I would go with the same brand trolling motor and depth finder.
Main reason is you get so much better interface between the way points and paths. Meaning if you want to troll to the next spot with the trolling motor it's so simple to do when they are all compatible. With that being said Garmin has the better forward facing sonar, but not by much, Lowrance has come along pretty good recently. I have not used the Garmin Trolling motor so I can't really comment on that. I have used the Lowrance trolling motor and like it. Either way go with a 12" sonar - bigger is better.

My current set up is a Garmin FFS with a Hummingbird Ultrex trolling motor, so the option of going to the next way point doesn't exist. I'll get in an area that has 10 bushes that I have saved on my way points, and can't simply push that feature button go to way point. It's a cool feature that can allow you to piss off the back of the boat while your moving to the next spot, or grab a drink, or eat a snack, or tie another jig on all while the trolling motor is moving you to the next spot.

I have used Lowrance. I’ve used Hummingbird. I now have Garmin. Unless someone gives me one of the other brands, I’ll use Garmin from now on. It’s that much more reliable. Clearer picture. Never had to stop fishing in order to re-start my depth finder.

Period.

JR

I switched from Lowrance and motorguide xi5 to all garmin about 4 months back , I have the kraken and two 126 garmin units.
Everything is connected. This is on a 22ft bluewave . I had lots of problems with the old set up staying connected.

Love the kraken , only minor issue is when I first hook everything up in the morning , sometimes the graphs shows " no trolling motor connected"

It only takes a minute to reconnect, Not sure why this happens .
Overall I am very pleased with the change.

If you can swing it , I would definitely go with 12 inch screens.

good luck

MO

My two cents..... it depends if you focus on Crappie or Bass.... I agree with matching TM to depth finder. I target Crappie so I would go with Garmin because of Live Scope.

Add a dedicated battery to the FFS.

Add Garmin at the Helm and Bow. Also agree bigger the better.

One thing I learned about Garmin (after it was too late).... Networking between Bow and Helm requires a unit that has multiple Ethernet ports. The attachment DOES NOT. Of course Garmin has a solution for 3 or 4 hondo PLUS wires.

LAST ITEM..... Review "Shut Up and Fish". They have a new/improved pole ducer system that attaches to TM shaft.

AND get ready to budget 3 to 5k..... Shut Up in Fish will install it and offer best advice.

PS

I love the cradle system on the 126's. all the cables attach to the cradle and the unit clamps in place. No need to hook up multiple cables each outing.

MO

I don't have any experience with the Garmin TM, I run an ultrex. I know there's a lot more that you can do if the TM matches the graphs. I do run Garmin graphs and live scope. Like above, if someone gave me one of the other brands i'd sell it and buy a garmin with the money. My 2 cents on the live scope....nothing smaller than 12". I ran my LS on a 93SV for a couple of years. I took a guide trip and he had the 126 and the difference in what you can see is staggering! I can see my bait much better on the 126. Plus, the cradle on the 126s is WAY better than the smaller units. I wish I could replace the cradles on my 93s with the same style as the 126s.

I appreciate all the feedback. I figure if I’m spending the money anyway, I might as well get what I actually want. Y’all pretty much convinced me of the Garmin units and most likely the 126.

My only other question is on the Kraken trolling motor that Mo has. Supposedly the black unit has a built in transducer and the white doesn’t, but how important is that if I’m putting on live scope? This might be a dumb question, but I’ve just never had live scope before.

I fish a ton of flooded timber. With built in unit you will have less of a chance to damage the wiring. Once you knick that wiring it can't be fixed, there goes another 1500 dollars

I guess I'll be the odd man out here. I had a TM and graphs that were linked and never used it! I guess if you fish in a bath tub it might be helpful but I fish in timber all day and telling my graph to tell my trolling motor to go to a waypoint so I could laugh at something on my phone while the boat was relocating just resulted in a Ultrex shaft in a 45 degree angle. I guess it would be helpful in open water to troll a course but I don't do that either. I run an Ultrex TM, a lowrance Live for maps and a 126 Garmin for live sonar and the only thing I would change if I could would be the size of the Garmin. I wish I had a 16"

slew

IMO.... if there is a significant PRICE difference between Black & White.... I might go WITHOUT the TM Transducer. With the TM Transducer you're duplicating what Live Scope is already showing. THAT SAID... I DO NOT use Live Scope ALL THE TIME. I have a TM Transducer and use it for strictly depth readings and keep the Live Scope FFS off. (I know... what a waste of $$$ and information) IMO, the catch on the TM Transducer is quality. Garmin offers tons of transducers and will sell a package with one that works vs. the BEST transducer. (I found out that the hard way too !! )

Once again.... recommending Shut Up and Fish for quality advice and installation.... (and I didn't even engage with them) Facebook web link....

https://www.facebook.com/David.at.shut.up.and.fish/

With Mega360 and Livescope there's no need for a transducer on the trolling motor

Give me a call and lets get you the best bang for your buck. I am your authorized dealer, certified installer, and educator for Garmin Marine as well as Lowrance, Humminbird, Minn Kota and MotorGuide.

I'm not putting anybody down by no means, but in my opinion, you really have to look at the people who spend the most time on the water and who really put their equipment to the test. Im talking tournament and full-time fishing guides. The majority of those guys have a 10 to 12" hummingbird on the dash with a 12 to 16" livescope in front with a 10 to 12" hummingbird below it.They prefer the ultrex trolling motor. They generally have power poles and recently are switching to power brakes on the back. They are also running everything on lithium batteries. Just saying

I wonder what the final decision was ???

I ended up going with the 2 garmin 126sv units with livescope and running the garmin Kraken. Felt like it was hard to go wrong with that set up. It’s all so much better than my 8 year old setup that I’ve been running.

Whatever brand you go with, I would get the biggest you can afford. Bigger is always better in my opinion.

The bigger the better in order to see. Your eyes age faster than your body as a whole. If you can't see the screen , it doesn't matter how technical you are !