Different perspective on fish finders?
Got into kokanee fishing about 3 yrs ago when we purchased our boat. Did not know much about sonar since had only used cheap ones on our fishing kayaks up to that point and had not target kokes. Only used to track bottom contours to that point. We bought a Lowrance Hook 2-7 Tripleshot as outfitted by the boat dealer. Not impressed by the user friendly features as advertised. Liked the mapping and ability to add way points as needed. Did not find it useful for marking schools of fish - maybe my inexperience? During our first season during jigging season late in the summer had problems even seeing the schools. Decided to fix the problem by upgrading the electronics. Added a 10" touch screen Garmin and Livescope transducer which cost quite a bit. Very happy with the purchase. I have the Livescope mounted to a downrod mounted on the side next to the steering wheel. At speeds below 2.5 mph i can put it in the water and see what is in the water in "any direction" around the boat out to 70' or 80'. Great for locating schools out in front before you go over them. Lets you set you DR for that depth if needed. Also can see schools to the side so you can change your trolling path. When looking back you can see you DR balls and lures and how the fish respond real time. For jigging you can search in all directions around the boat to find schools so you can get on top of them and use "spot lock" to anchor your position.
Bottom line: expensive but getting cheaper as more companies develop similar products. (The big 3 companies have these now) Not all fish finders are compatible with this technology so if i were you i would find a cheaper one that was compatible and then in the future you could upgrade to the tranducer as prices come down or you become more familiar with the technology. I predict in the future, with a compatible sonar and electric trolling motor, you will be able to identify a school of fish, mark it and have the trolling motor move over and lock on automatically. I do that now but it is manual.
My 2 cents....