needing some locator advice

The wife gave me the green light to upgrade the locator on the boat. Been using a old eagle forever. Been doing some research, so many choices and prices. For ice fishing I use a lowrance x67 ice machine with the graph setting which is user frendly, the easier the better for a ole dog like me. Anyway was wondering if it is better to get a unit that has great structure scan or one that locates fish better. I heard that the dsi works great for structure but is difficult to mark the fish. And it looks like the color graphs do a good job marking fish and hard to read structure. We fish rivers and reservoirs for walleyes,crappies and bass. Will be going with one with gps and hoping to spend $400-$500. Any expert advice would really help this ole dog out. Good fishing to all

Humminbird line is pretty user freindly. To get the most bang for your buck you may want to push your budget up some if you can. A 700 series would get you the most features for your money without breaking the bank.

I’ve been doing some research on the Lowrance elite 7 selling for around $699 GPS and down scan it’s been getting good reveiws

The Lowrance Elite-5 DSI is right in your price range and a nice unit for the $$$$.

Contact Ben Garver here on IDO or go to this link and check it out >>> JollyAnn Marine

I purchased a Lowrance Elite Ice Machine this winter and I’ll have to say this has been a great bang for your buck. I’ve had all kinds of units over the last 25 years, and the Elite Series is a great way to go.

I’m seriously considering upgrading the Pinpoint graph on the bow of my boat to an Elite 7 HDI or I may just pull the Elite 5 out of the portable pack and use it on the boat. I’ve been really impressed with the signal processing and the ability to clearly read fish, structure and bottom detail. I’ve not had one bit of problems reading the display in any light and weather conditions.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, I would also recommend the Elite 7. The screen is big enough that you won’t have problems when using split screen graph/GPS.
The elite 5 DSI is a good unit, but I think it is more of an add-on unit to have in addition to a conventional graph/GPS. The down scan does show things, but not as easy to read as a color sonar.

Remember he was asking for something in the 400 to 500 dollar budget range w/ gps. And including DI or SI might be a stretch?

Gander Mountain now has the Lowrance Elite 5-DSI on sale for $399. That’s $200 off the retail price of $599.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Lowrance-Elite-5-DSI-Fishfinder/Chartplotter-Combo&i=80490&r=view&aID=504E1B&cID=GBING_80490

This is a solid unit if your not a tournament fisherman. Color Display, GPS Chartplotter, (Internal GPS antenna) DownScan Imaging at an unbeatable price right now. I’ve really enjoying ice fishing with the Elite Series this winter. Going to swap the bow graph on my boat this spring with this unit. Should work very well.