Outfitting my new boat

Hey all,

I’ve been lurking this forum for a while now but decided to register and make it official.

Got a question for the fish finder experts in here.

I just bought a new (to me) boat and I’m very excited for the ice to leave the lakes so I can get it out there. I bought a 2002 17′ Misty River with a 115hp Yamaha. I got a very good deal but the fish finders are fairly old and small. There is a Humminbird Matrix 10 on the bow, and a Lowrance x47 on the console.

I want to upgrade but my budget is quite limited (200-400). I’ve already picked up a HB 570 for the bow, reason being the large screen and I got it VERY cheap. Now I’m looking for a gps/sonar combo for the dash.

I’ve been contemplating the 581i HD DI, but I’ve read that colour makes a big difference, especially when trying to differentiate those pesky walleye from the ground. The DI is another neat addition but not sure if it is worth it.

Also, say I was to buy a DI unit for the console, and wanted to bring it to the bow, would it work with the non-DI transducer. I know the DI wouldn’t but would the sonar?

I’d appreciate any advice anyone could give. It seems there is a wealth of knowledge and I’ve searched around but most posts are on the more expensive units I can’t afford.

Thanks

You might try checking out ebay.

You’ll be surprised at what you come across, and you may be able to get more for your money

Welcome to ido

Welcome!

Ya, ebay seems to be more people/companies using Buy it now with rarely any deals that I’ve seen. Also I’m in Canada and when you add on the duty on most of the american sellers I lose any saved money.

Any advice on the models I’m looking at?

Check out the classifieds on Walleye Central. I have The Humminbird 597 on the bow without DI because I run it off my trolling motor, they can be bought on sale for under $500. Mills fleet farm sometimes offers 10% off and 12 months no interest when you open their charge, about $40 per month. Nice boat, enjoy!

4d,
I’m the last person that can be of value for an opinion on HB’s,
I’m using a low -27C, and got that when they were being phased out, but for me a very nice color combo unit.

Welcome to IDO, great site here, and hope to read some up North posts.
Where abouts in Can are you located?

Great looking boat, think you might need a new net too….
Jack

Thanks for all the welcomes.
I’m in Northwestern Ontario, near Dryden, living on Wabigoon Lake.

At this point i’m thinking of keeping the HB 570 monochrome on the bow. But getting maybe a 587ci HD DI or the 597 version for the console. Thing I’m wondering about is that they have the same drop in mounts. So if I was to want the GPS and colour on the bow, could I just quick disconnect, move it to where the 570 is? I would assume due to the transducers the DI wouldn’t work. Anyone else try something like this?

I would think if the screen size is the same the mounting bracket should be the same too, so I would think you should be able to have a couple of ram mounts, or Johnny ray’s positioned throughout your boat and just move it to where you want it