Hi, im looking to buy a fish finder , for the first time, and don't no a thing about them, i have 350 dollars. I have been looking at them and theres so manny things to chose, i no i want temp, and mayb down imaging, but the whole transducer thing i have no clue what to get or how to mount it, like i said i dont no a thing about them so any info would be helpfull. Thanks

There are lots of different ways to mount a transducer. Transom, thru-hull, on the trolling motor... It all depends on what you get, where you want to mount it and what you are mounting it on. Most depth finders come with instructions for mounting the transducer. Now you just need to decide where you want it. If you mount the depth finder to the bow, so you can read it when you are fishing, you can mount the transducer on the trolling motor with a hose clamp. If you want the depth finder on the dash, you can mount the transducer to the transom with the included mounting hardware. If you have a fiberglass boat, you can mount the transducer inside the hull with epoxy. Lots of mounting options with different transducers.

Take some time and look back through old posts in this topic as well as Boats, motors and equipment and the Tackle section. You can find a downscan unit under $400, but it will be a grayscale unit without GPS. Color downscans start at around $450, add $100 or more for GPS. Personally, I would vote for GPS first, color second and down imaging third but that is personal preference. The down imageing units are easier to interpret. You need to decide where you are going to mount your transducer before you buy. A trolling motor mount is fine but won't work at speed, where a properly mounted transom unit will. If you fish salt water or REALLY deep lakes, a low frequency transducer gives better depth penetration at the cost of resolution( think high def tv as opposed to standard) My unit has a dual frequency transducer. The last consideration is screen size. I personally feel that a screen smaller than 5" is too small for a unit with GPS, but probably OK for a sonar only unit. PM me if you have any questions. Tom

One question you need to ask and answer is what kind of boat are you going to use it on? This will help you decided on the type of transducer you will use. I have an older Hummingbird unit with a portable which is great for rental boats or jon boats semi-v's. I have used it on pontoon boats and powerboats. On the fore mentioned the only hassle is you can't leave them on during high speed runs so you take them on and off but that's not a big deal depending on placement. Portable transducers are a great choice and easy to use and you do not have any loss of the sensitivity using these types along with proper placement. With that being said if you own you own boat and go with the transom mount it is the same as it works at the highest sensitivity level and it permanent and the transducers look the same as far the puck which it the eye so to speak and has a bolt on mount versus a suction cupp mount. With that type of install you have to be concerned with if something breaks on it you have to take the time to pull it off and repair it which is not really a big deal as long as the boat is not docked in the water and you have no way to get it out of the water at that time, then its in the water you go. Also being mounted is a plus as on some models you can use at higher speeds, but then placement is critcal due to cavitation, this causes interference due to the water churning where the hull meets the water and the wake is formed and the bubbles generated cause interference with the puck and reduces it's ability to see to the bottom. Now with a a thru hull type it does stop some of the interference loss. Shooting through the hull allows for running at higher speeds, but I think again placement and hull design play an important part to allow you to get the most sensitivity and use out of your unit when using this placement. One allowing you to run at higher speeds and seeing the bottom at high speeds will cost more money. So I hope this helps you a little bit. So the few things you need to answer in getting the unit for you is...
Type of boat-Type of mounting desired-Type of fishing( How deep of water will you normally fish so you don't over buy, as some units may go deeper than needed)- Type of features that you will actually use- Type of view- One very important one is ease of use, if its not easy to use then you will never use it or only use part of what the unit offers. Also you mentioned bottom scan great feature which all have but also the question is do you fish deep water all the time or do you fish shoreline structure. Reason for that is side scan which bottomline offered on some models aslo 3 cone bottom shooting and the degree of the cones meaning it give a broader view of the bottom. Also 3-d view a more realistic view. Sorry to give you some much info but price does not buy what you may need or use and for the money saved in getting what you will actually use and enjoy using to get the most out of you fishing is a win win and you get take the money saved to buy other fishing things. For me a portable with the temp and speed feature and depth range I fish in the most and ease of use were key and I did not break the bank and I take it everywhere I go. Good luck if I can provide anything else feel free to ask.