Humminbird 565, 718 or Garmin 160c

[dicef15]

Need help in choosing a new depthfinder. Most of my fishing is in 1 to 20 feet of water and i need a unit that will function well in shallow water at higher speeds without costing a fortune. The HB 565 and 718 are priced the same as is the Garmin 160c (about 200.00). I'm in South Louisiana with shallow water and lots of structure. I have a Lowrance that came with my boat, but the depth blinks right as you really need it, and it's not much good while trolling either.
Thanks for any info.

[Blue Too]

My wife got me the HB565 for Christmas last year (yay me!) and i love it.  My fair review would tell you that in water less than 3-4 feet i just don't even look at it.  The unit clears up again as soon as i hit 5.1'.  I don't know how well it performs at speed.  I have it mounted on a 12' Jon Boat.  I only go as fast as my 40lb trolling motor gets me

While learning how to read the unit i actually used some of the screen options and that's when i got hooked.  With the HB565 i have an option that turns the bottom all black.  Then "stuff" on the bottom is gray.  This helped me learn to spot structure instead of sandy/rocky bottoms.  I'm not pro enough yet to need to know if i'm fishing rocks or mud.  One day....

the mounting bracket is also well thought-out.  The power and transducer wires connect to the bracket so the only piece to disconnect is the unit itself.  On the Tracker i just bought there is a Lowrance installed.  I dislike having to remove the unit and then also the cable.

Hope this helps..
-Blue