Garmin
Fishfinder 140 Review
It’s been said that 95% of the fish live in 5% of the water, and so the challenge for any fisherman (or woman) is to find that 5% of the lake where the fish are hanging out.
You can spend your
time guessing, or you can use a sonar device like the Garmin 140
to locate the best spots and spend more time hauling in those
sweet-sized bass or oversized lake trout.
What It Is
Garmin is a company that’s well known for their GPS devices, but
they’re also very involved with marine electronics like fish
finders, 2-way radios, chartplotters, street navigators, cell
phones and more.
The Garmin Fishfinder 140 is considered an “entry-level” fish
finder at around $100. But to me, this fish finder is
entry-level in price only, as it performs as well as sonars
costing twice as much or more. It’s also relatiely small, and so
works well on a canoe or kayak where space is at a premium.
Despite the price, the
Garmin Fishfinder 140 is a full-featured unit with a 4.7
inch greyscale display. I know, I know, some of the pricier fish
finders have color displays, but personally I’ve never had a
problem with the greyscale display on the 140. It’s bright and
easy to read, and it shows me what I need to know, then gets out
of the way and lets me get at those fish I'm after :)
In case you're not familiar with how they work, fishfinders are sonar devices that allow you to see what’s under
the water beneath your canoe or kayak (or any other boat for
that matter). The sonar measures distance between your boat and
any solid objects beneath it. The Garmin 140 uses a dual-beam
transducer that projects a sound wave down into the water, and
when that sound hits something, it sends back an echo. This echo
allows the device to tell how far away that object is.
The results are displayed as a profile of the lake bottom on the
140's display panel. The dual-beam transducer works well even in
shallow water, and gives a wide viewing angle that allows you to
spot fish even off the sides of your boat.
Another nice feature of the fishfinder 140 is it’s ability to “ultrascroll,”
which refreshes the display screen very quickly, so you’re
always seeing the most up-to-date information. You can also
adjust the gain manually, or use the Auto Gain feature which
automatically adjusts the detail on the screen as you’re using
it.
Why You Need One
As I mentioned earlier, most of the fish you’re trying to catch spend their
time in certain sections of any lake. Sort of the fish version of home sweet
home. And unless you’ve been fishing the same lake for years and have found
all the best spots through trial and error, you’re better off using a sonar
device like the
Garmin Fishfinder 140 to help locate those “sweet spots” in much less
time.
If you like to fish for lake trout like I do, you’re probably aware that
they typically like to hang out in deeper water, usually 80 feet or more in
depth. And a fish finder allows you to find those holes and deeper sections
of the lake where you have a better chance of trout and other deep-water
fish.
The Best Place To Buy One
The Garmin Fishfinder 140 is available in most of the major outdoor recreation stores like REI or Dicks Sporting Goods. You can also buy one online, and the best price that I've found on this particular item is on Amazon.com.
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