Humminbird Fishfinder - Upgrading Technology For Better Fishing

By Author: Costa Oliver
Total Articles: 8
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Times sure have changed. As a kid growing up, going fishing meant a worm on a hook and maybe a bobber. Then Dad got serious and bought a 10-horse Johnson outboard, and we would rent fishing boats from the local marina or campground. That added trolling to our fishing arsenal. Bass, walleye, and pike were our targets of choice. Even without a fishfinder, we were almost pros!

Fast forward 35 years, and fishing has almost become a science:.

• Better, quieter motors.
• Dozens of high-tech fishing line choices instead of the jumbo spools of monofilament line we got at K-Mart.
• Better rods and reels.
• Some of the fanciest lures you've ever seen.
• The list goes on.

One of the biggest advancements, and one that has become commonplace in any serious fisherman's bag of tricks, is the depthfinder or fishfinder.

How does the unit work? Both basic and top rated fish finders use SONAR, once only commonly used by the Navy. Through the advent of modern technology, owning a fishfinder has become remarkably affordable to even those with modest means.

Sound waves are sent ...
... from the unit, and the resulting "echo" from those waves bouncing back are received by the unit. Based on the speed of sound in water, the amount of time between when the signal is emitted to when the "echo" is received back tells us how deep any given object is and its relative size.

Of course, the depth of the lake or ocean floor is determined in the same manner. It is these returning signals that indicate the presence of fish and their size, typically shown by a fish "icon" on the screen.

All this data is registered on a LCD or CRT screen, thus providing you with a real time picture of what is below you. These signals are repeated many times a second, so over the course of time you are seeing a remarkably accurate representation.

It takes some time to interpret these findings, but with the more advanced models in recent years, much of the guess work is taken out of it. Newer models come with GPS fish finder capability, making mapping out of coordinates a breeze, creating a virtual record of where you have been, when you have been there, and what you have found. Talk about a fisherman's dream!

There is no longer any need to put out buoys marking "hot spots" or structural features of the bottom. Nor do you have to put an "X" on the side of the boat to mark that "killer spot" (sorry, one of Dad's old jokes that he liked to tell EVERY time we went fishing!).

Fish finders and depthfinders are no longer a luxury item. Electronics are one of the few items that get cheaper over time, so don't feel like you can't afford one. Prices can range from over two thousand dollars for a top of the line Humminbird Fishfinder unit, all the way down to less than a hundred dollars for a bare bones, but functional unit.

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