Need opinions here....looking at purchasing new fish finders for the boat. Want something with decent amount of pixels, easy to learn (dont need a lot of extra settings), and <$200. Looking at Humminbird's new Matrix line up or the Pirahna MAX. Anyone have any experience with these?

Fishless,

I recently purchased a boat that already had electronics on it and it is the Matrix 27. I believe that they sell for about 299.00 I don't have a manual so I am trying to figure it out by being on the water. However I don't think it is better than the Eagle or Lowrance products.

From what I have seen for your price you should look at the the Eagle 320 or 480. Both under 200 from Bass Pro and most people love them.
Ask jignpig, he works for BPS and has a pretty good feel for the fishfinders.

By special request...jignpig...your opinion on Matrix?

By special request...jignpig...your opinion on Matrix?

Whoa...how did that happen?

Have owned Hummingbird and Garmin finders of different models. Now have two Eagle 320's on my boat. Best yet. Not the latest color and high pixel, but for the money they are the best. Really worth the money with the BPS 20 % off.

Garmin 240. Easy to use. great pix.

Fishless, I like the new Humminbirds alright, but for the money, you still can't beat Lowrance/ Eagle. I might be biased a bit, since I own Lowrance products and have had nothing but good luck with them, but the Matrix's picture just doesn't compare to the Eagle Fishmark 320.

If you are looking at the Eagle 320, be sure and look at the Eagle 480 as well. I just go the 480 to replace an older Hummingbird Wide View. The resolution is very good and the picture easy to understand.

Shadboy,

You should be able to download a pdf file of the Matrix 27 operations manual off the Humminbird web site.

Greg Walters at Humminbird

I have to put in a vote for Eagle.

I am a crappie guide and have always used the Humminbirds since they have the wide view transducers. I can be in 12 feet of water and see a 12 foot circle of area. All I am trying to do is find the brush. I don't know if the Lowrance's have that wide of transducers or not. I have had clients with the most expensive Lowrances that money can buy and take them in my boat with my unit. The next time I see them, they would have a Humminbird mounted on their boat. When I was getting my new boat and needed a sonar, I was having trouble getting in contact with Larry Colombo at Humminbird to get a unit at a reduced rate. The operator told me I had to call long distance to get to him. When I told her that I just as well get a Lowrance and that they had a toll free line, she patched me through to him immediately. I still use them. I use a 300TX and don't know much about the Matrix models but if they send me one, I will try it out.

Can anyone give me advice on how to better interpret what is shown on the screen. I have used several different finders over the years. I have no problem locating suspended fish, bottom detail and drop offs ect. I just feel that I am missing out on a lot of the potential of my electronics. I presently have a Lowrance X65 on the trolling motor and a Lowrance X97 at the console. I have checked out the tutorials on the Lowrance website and they provide the basics but what I am looking for is help to fine tune my ability to read the graphs display. I don't use the little fish symbols and have learned a great deal over the years just from experience. Are there any books or videos available that will assist me in interpretation?

Try this one, Zert:

http://www.iovino.com/sonar.html

Best video made on how to use, how to interpret, etc.

I use a trifinder 2 on the bow, it has the advantage of being able to switch between a wide angle or a 50 degree cone.