Growing up as a young fisherman in Aroostook County, the only fishfinder I knew about was when a buddy would climb a tree to spot trout. When the sun was just right on certain holding pools, one guy would shimmy up a shoreline tree and direct the other one or two casters exactly where to place their worm, lure, or fly. Success of this tactic was sporadic at best, and being the one up the tree watching the fish was often the most fun.

In later years, I’ve actually had a handful of Canadian and Alaskan guides act as fishfinders. Guides have climbed trees, crawled out on ledges, and hung under bridges to spot salmon for me and direct fly-placement efforts. Again, success of such episodes was spotty. What has proven infinitely beneficial to my everyday trout and salmon fishing consistency from a boat has been an electronic fishfinder.

Most often thought of as a bass angling tool or a proven accessory to deep sea fishing, fish locators have become a terrific benefit to lake and river trollers, live-bait drifters, and deep water, sinking line fly casters. The problem is, like many computers and their programs, there is a new generation of technology each year to update and outdate the previous versions. Add a couple of new models to the mix for each company and suddenly selecting a suitable electronic fishfinder becomes a daunting task.

Basic options

Before reviewing and selecting the highly specialized functions, most of which are a matter of personal need dependent on style, location, and methods of each individual boat angler, let’s discuss basics. Fishfinders are actually miniature sonar units, much like the larger, more sophisticated instruments used to navigate submarines. In 1959 Carl Lowrance developed and distributed the first commercial unit for anglers, touting its prime use as a depth finder.

Old angling traditions are hard to break, so acceptance of a machine to improve fishing was very slow. It took almost 20 years for fishfinders to prove their worth and be fully accepted, but in the last quarter century, technology and therefore effectiveness have improved by leaps and bounds. Now it’s the fishermen without a fishfinder who are limiting their potential.

For the average trolling angler in Maine, a basic fishfinder should offer depth readings, bottom contour and structure mapping, a fish locator, and a water temperature reading. All of this information should be distinct and easily discernible on a crisp, clear display screen with high enough resolution to be seen even in the brightest light conditions. Selecting a model with a backlit screen and adjustable brightness and contrast will assure easy viewing regardless of ambient light conditions.

How crisp and clear the display on a fishfinder screen is depends on the number of pixels built into the liquid crystal display, high definition monitor. Currently some products offer an eye-opening 480 pixels vertical by 854 horizontal screen that resembles a plasma TV for quality, and the price is an eye popper as well. While these might be OK for bass circuit pros, everyday trout trollers will do just fine with a 320-by-240 or 320-by-320 pixels screen.

A few other basic innovations that are sure to benefit regional anglers utilizing a fish locator include audible alarms. I recommend one for being too shallow, with a depth setting that can be adjusted for each outing. Some machines also have a low battery warning tone, which can be a great benefit. My favorite alarm is, of course, a fish alert, which sounds whenever a fish is painted by sonar and displayed on the screen with its current depth.

My current fishfinder also has the ability to recognize the approximate size of a game fish via the sonar return echo compared to the depth. Once estimated, one of four coinciding fish silhouettes will be selected and displayed on the monitor. Knowing your bait is approaching a trophy always adds suspense and extra excitement for a while, a thrill that would be missing without a fish locator. A few units have such advanced sonar that they can actually display an angler’s lure down to depths of 40 feet.

Of course, any fishfinder needs to be fully waterproof and a sealed unit, as well as being fairly shock resistant since boats can take quite a pounding in rough water. A hard, snap-in-place screen cover is a protective asset when the machine’s not in use. Purchase a swivel and tilt mounting platform for viewing convenience from any location in the boat.

Another quality option is a quick disconnect receptacle in the mounting bracket which allows the fishfinder to be removed and taken inside to prevent theft. Finally, before purchase make sure the outfit you’re considering has auto and manual operating modes with simple push button controls and easy to read and understand on-screen menus. Nothing is more frustrating and useless than a machine that’s smarter than the operator.

Fancy features

Although most of the technical innovations on high-end fishfinders are expressly for bass anglers or commercial fishermen, some features can be useful for other styles of fishing. Remember, the more bells and whistles on board, the higher the price tag and the more systems that can have something go wrong. Full-color screens are a big thing the last couple of seasons, and these can be purchased with a zoom function for close-up viewing of structure or fish, as well as a freeze-frame function.

Many units can be purchased with a split screen accessory that allows actual underwater readings on one half, and maps or navigational displays on the other half. Backlighting or a nightlight allows anglers to clearly view all screen displays regardless of darkness. Dual beam sonar utilizes a narrow beam for exact bottom details while a wide-angle beam better locates and visibly displays fish on either side of the boat rather than just under the hull.

With the purchase of special wiring and a sending unit, many fishfinders can be hooked up to display fuel used, fuel remaining, fuel economy, and estimated range. With the current price of gas, I’m not sure if this fuel computer offers good or bad info to know. Perhaps the greatest advancement to date for fish locators is the incorporation of a GPS receiver with slots for media memory cards. Anglers can plot trails, utilize mapping capabilities, save routing directions that allow locating exact fishing spots, or ease navigating home in rain, fog, or complete darkness. Even the smallest and simplest GPS units have amazing capabilities but are far above the price range and requirements of most Pine Tree trollers.

The epitome of machines that find fish would have to be the possible new wave of the future, underwater camera systems with in-boat monitors. Miniature controllable cameras on 100- to 150-foot tethers offer real-time, on-screen displays of all underwater topography and lens-to-eye encounters with fish. From marine research, treasure hunting, and sport fishing to just plain aquatic observation, underwater camera systems are the real fish locators of the next generation of sportsmen.

Portable fishfinders

Anglers who utilize one boat for all-season trolling and casting can install and wire a permanent unit in place. Vagabond anglers like myself who might use a boat one trip, a canoe the next, and go in a friend’s watercraft another time might want to consider a portable fishfinder. My portable outfit is smaller than a car battery, weighs less than 5 pounds and operates all year on a lantern battery. The transducer is quickly and easily placed and removed with a strong suction cup.

Besides open-water fishing, I can take my portable rig on ice fishing outings and easily keep track of fish activity in a certain area. Ice fishermen will find that locating current feeding depths is crucial to cold weather success. Maine is the only state with prolonged winter angling where fishfinders aren’t regular equipment on every outing.

A dependable fish locator with a half-dozen basic readings and functions can be bought for as little as $75. More advanced middle of the road models run $150 to $300, and current top-of-the-line technology will run a breathtaking $2,000. My 10-year-old, $125 portable Humminbird works as well as the day I bought it.

Without exaggeration, a fishfinder will improve results from spring and fall sub-surface trolling, summer deep dredging, and warm weather deep casting to spring holes by at least a third, and will up winter ice fishing catches by 50 percent. If you’re not using a fishfinder, you’re handicapping yourself. On the bright side, even when the fish aren’t biting, you can see where they are and take comfort in at least knowing you’re in the right spot if they get hungry!

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com