Fish Finder/Chart Plotter Help

[zouavecat]

I know very little to not much about fishing electronics. I recently received a Lowrance HDS-9 Gen3, it's very nice. I'm not sure if this is more than I will need for what I am doing.  Wondering if I would be better off returning it and getting a less expensive model and use the extra money to purchase a Fish Hawk. I fish Lake Michigan on a 24' Slickcraft. Looking for some opinions from people that are much more schooled in electronics then I am. Thank in advance.

[Fake Bait]

That looks like a really nice unit!  I would think you could sell that and get yourself a good finder/gpr and a fish hawk.  

I don't know much about fish finders.  I have been using an old basic lowrance for for about 15 years.  Work fine to tell me the depth and occasionally marks a fish.  I did pick up a fish hawk 840 a number of years ago and that had a positive impact on my fishing.  Being able to find the temp breaks was a big help.

I will be curious what others have to say on the topic.

[Divemaster]

I use an HDS 5 gen 2 and it works great, I imagine it's much cheaper than a 9" gen 3 model. I've never used a fish hawk but am saving up for one, if you can afford one if you downgrade your fish finder then I'd definitely go for it.

[gaulj]

I have had an HDS 7 for the past 7 years or so. (got it right when they came out)  I love it, but... Have had to return them several times for various issues. Lowrance has been great working with, but my backlight is going out, so once the sun is up, I'm basically blind. So, loving the brand, I did just order the new HOOK 7. It is MUCH cheaper and seams to do everything the HDS series does for a LOT less.  They keep coming out with newer, cheaper units that do all the basic things I need. I don't need the device to connect with other devices or such, which I hear is great if you run a trolling motor or anything else off it. I don' t. So... That's my two cents. Love the brand, but chose to go with a less pricey HOOK vs. the HDS series.