FunFlatsFishing Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I am in the market for a new GPS/Fishfinder and am considering the Garmin echomap 74sv & 74dv with CHIRP. I have a 22 pathy and fish Tampa Bay. My question is should I get the unit with CHIRP and DownVu or should I get the unit without CHIRP and has SideVu. I know you can buy a unit with all of the above but it is out of my price range. The idea of being able to scan the skyway bays for Tarpon with the SideVu feature seems intriguing to me. Let me know whatcha think?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Side but all the way There is a lot more to find to the side of you than just under you especially if the water is shallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fptalbert Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Simrad Go7xse with Total Scan transducer - $750ish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION - if you can afford a side scan unit, dont' walk - RUN to the store. l just switched this year from an Elite 5 to an HDS Gen 3 with a side scan transducer. I fish shallow water (>4') and downscan does virtually nothing for me. Side scan is unbelievable. The water here is murkier than Florida, but even so, the ability to find bait schools stacked on a point, or oyster bars/ledges, etc is pretty spectacular. If the pics below don't convince you, I don't know what will! For those not familiar with how to read these things, do this: Get a piece of paper. Fold it in half lengthwise. Now, fold it again, this time about an inch on either side of the first fold, but in the opposite direction. You should end up with a piece of paper that, when laid on your desk is completely flat on the sides but with a middle that points upward. That's what you are looking at in these pics. The flat part of the paper is the bottom on either side of the transducer, shown as whitish in the pics below. The point is the cone of the transducer, shown as the blue/black in the middle of the images below. And all those little white streaks? FISH. Easier to spot if you look for the black "shadows" behind them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 2 hours ago, fptalbert said: Simrad Go7xse with Total Scan transducer - $750ish... Do you like this unit? How well does the touchscreen work and can it process the map quickly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulligan Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 I sure hope those screens shots are old. Water temp 40! Buurr! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Yeah, got those back in Jan/Feb I think. Up here in NC, though, 40 is prime striper temps! We did pretty well that day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Here are some humminbird shots Tarpon on the beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichwaysup Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Hey Linesider, which 'Bird are you using. Had a buddy who bought one (helix, I think) and was having a hard time getting crisp returns. Those look pretty crisp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipTide Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 21 hours ago, fptalbert said: Simrad Go7xse with Total Scan transducer - $750ish... For the price, it can't be beaten considering it's capabilities. They have a rebate promo going on right now on the EVO2 series. Beware, it'll be 3-4 months before you see that rebate regardless what the advertisements say of 8-11 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fptalbert Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 From what little I have been able to play with it so far I do like the Simrad Go7XSE FunFlatsFishing. The touch screen works amazingly well and the set up was a breeze. I haven't tested it as much as I would like but the map renders very quickly. That said I have not added any additional maps yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 I just ordered the Simrad GO7 XSE about 5 minutes ago. Thanks for the advice everyone. I will let you know how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 12 hours ago, whichwaysup said: Hey Linesider, which 'Bird are you using. Had a buddy who bought one (helix, I think) and was having a hard time getting crisp returns. Those look pretty crisp! First photo is an onix, the other 2 photos are an 1199 hdsi. It took a bit playing with settings. Personally, lowrance imaging seems more crisp, but maybe I just don't know what I'm doing lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ksayles44 Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 I have a Lowrance and I have gotten some really nice images but sometimes it just seems a little off. Still need more time figuring it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 On May 11, 2016 at 11:53 AM, fptalbert said: Simrad Go7xse with Total Scan transducer - $750ish... Thanks so much for the recommendation. Bought it, installed it and love it. The GoFree capabilities are my favorite part. I can add waypoints from my couch. What chart are you running with it? Mine came with insight mapping but I may pick up a navionics card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fptalbert Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 I'm still debating that myself. Most of what I fish is either in the panhandle around St. Joe Bay / Apalach or over in the marshes of LA for redfish. What about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 2 minutes ago, fptalbert said: I'm still debating that myself. Most of what I fish is either in the panhandle around St. Joe Bay / Apalach or over in the marshes of LA for redfish. What about you? I mostly fish the flats in upper Tampa Bay however I occasionally Tarpon fish the skyway & bean point as well as tow the boat to Crystal River, Boca Grande and the keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fptalbert Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 How has the insight map been with regards to flats fishing so far? I haven't been able to test mine yet. Not getting back to Florida until late June. May try and take it out this weekend to just see what it does in lakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 It was pretty good. There is some detail that my navionics plus map had and vice versa. I am still getting used to the map. I do like how clearly all the public wrecks are shown along with narrative. The navionics fish n chip setting I used to have on my Lowrance was pretty impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkinley17 Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 I'm in the same boat looking to up grade. Trying to figure out the big difference between the lowance Gen 3 vs the ones you guys are talking about other than a thousand dollars. Is there something I'm missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunFlatsFishing Posted May 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Looks to me like the difference is the ability to have StructureScan 3D vs. just traditional StructureScan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkinley17 Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Thanks not sure I realy need the 3D. Might just have to pull the trigger then. A friend of mine has the hummingbird and I've seen it in action on blue gill beds and it's unbelievable what you can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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