I’m an avid hunter and fisherman. I do both as much as possible. Both of them give me the kind of enjoyment no other sports do. But they're as different as night and day. For example, fishing is a perplexing sport. There’s more mystery in it than any type of hunting. While hunting, you can spy your quarry and watch their habits. Visually you can be in touch with the sign and habitat -- but fishing is another world. I have little, or no understanding of what it looks like under that surface. Even in clear water, where you can see the bottom at varying depths, there is so much left unexplored.

When I was younger I used to wish I had the magic power to snap my fingers and instantly remove all of the water, leaving the fish on the bottom. Hence, revealing all of their hiding places and secrets. It’s rather unfeasible, but a desperate fisherman has plenty of time to get creative when he sits in a boat all day.

Modern times are doing a lot to dispel the secrets of the fish’s haunt. Although magically removing all of the water is unrealistic, looking through it isn’t. My eye isn’t capable, but sound waves certainly are. Fish finders are not new to fishing. They’ve been around for some time, and like most things they’ve had the advantage of redesign and innovation. Today’s fish-finding units are almost magical in their ability to teach you a lesson in fish scouting.

After several fishless trips, a lesson was something I badly needed. With a little searching at Bass Pro Shops and a little spending I was able to provide myself with one of the most fabulous purchases of my fishing equipment, an Eagle FishMark 240 Fishfinder.

In the past I’d owned several different units and didn’t have a lot of faith in their fish-finding ability. I used them solely for depth finding purposes. The Eagle made me a believer in no time. It paints a real picture of the aquatic world – something your eyes can make your brain understand. It has the technical data to back it up, too.

The FishMark has 1,500 watts peak-to-peak power for depths to 800 feet. It comes in two versions; one with a display of 160X160 pixels and the other is 240x240. Both of these use Eagle's Film SuperTwist display, which provides excellent contrast and readability in direct sunlight and virtually any viewing angle. To help put fish in the boat it also comes with Fish I.D. This feature automatically interprets sonar echos and displays them as fish symbols. The fish symbols are displayed in up to four different sizes to match the relative size of the target echo. With Fish I.D. off, and showing actual sonar returns, targets are displayed as fish arches.

Tons of other features are packed into the FishMark, but my favorite would have to be FasTrack. This allows you to speed your boat over the water and watch the bottom contours and depths while you hunt out the perfect spot. It has screen and keypad backlighting all in a sealed and waterproof unit. On the outside resides the 200 kHz Skimmer transducer with built-in temp sensor. The temperature readings are priceless for the angler who is conscious of fish habits in relation to water conditions.

Rarely do I find myself trolling from cove to cove and not eyeing my Eagle closely. It’s opened a new world of underwater secrets to me. Since I’ve mounted it on my boat, I know I’m in the right spots and fish are seeing my lures. It’s more than helped me to put fish in the boat and better understand how to do it again.

Getting It Mounted

Installing a great-quality fish finder does little good if it’s not readable from everywhere in your boat. When you’re behind the wheel of your boat or on the pedal of your trolling motor, you want it to be seen. Often times when there is more than one angler in the boat, everyone wants to get a peek at what’s below. A good swivel mount makes those good electronics perfect. The RAM mounts for marine electronics are perfect for this. They have solid construction and have enough mounting hardware to get almost anything mounted on your boat within handy reach.

The RAM kits are easily mounted to any area you please. The installation is quick and simple. Once your electronics are mounted to them, you have an infinite number of positioning styles at your disposal. It’s the cheapest way to really increase the effectiveness of everything from depthfinders to GPS systems.

* You can purchase the Eagle FishMark Fishfinder by clicking here.

The product review is courtesy of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Site. For great fishing gear, shop their store today