REVIEW: Humminbird 408120-1 Fishfinder (DI Combo)

Since I was a young girl, I went fishing often with my family. We went fishing off the coastal waters of Florida and also in local lakes and waters. I went fishing up north in Virginia and North Carolina as well. One of my favorite tools was the fish finder. Back then, fishermen really had to save up to get a device like this and they didn’t have color displays. They looked a bit more like an old handheld GameBoy with 2-bit fishies swimming across your screen but boy did I think they were cool.

Fishfinders have come a long way over the years and are now an ultimate piece of high tech equipment for the fisherman. Humminbird is one of the top names in fish finders and the Humminbird 408120-1 is one great model.

About the Product

This Humminbird 408120-1 Fishfinder is an amazing product. It has all of the great features that technology has to offer, making it a fisherman’s dream. The SwitchFire technology is so sensitive that you can even keep track of your jig up to 70 feet deep and you can distinguish two fish from one even when they’re only a few inches apart.

The full color 5-inch display makes it easy to see everything that the sonar picks up. All of the shapes are clear and the screen is large enough to actually see what you’re looking at without straining. The two types of mounting system gives you the option of mounting the device permanently in the dash or you can use the Tilt and Swivel Disconnect Mounting System so you can remove the device.

It has a 20-degree narrow beam and a 60-degree wide beam. You can view each one separately or at the same time to get the whole picture. The sonar technology gives you two viewing modes that allow you to adjust to the conditions of the water. The freeze frames feature is great because it allows you to inspect the underwater structures, fish, bait, etc. All of these features make the Humminbird 408120-1 a great product.

Why You Need It

If you’re a serious angler, the Humminbird fishfinder can help you catch more fish, greatly enhancing your overall experience. Being able to separate the fish even when they’re close together gives you a better idea of how many fish are in the area. This way, you know if you’ve hit a hot spot where you’ll want to hang out for awhile or if you just ran up on a few straggler fish.

Being able to tell where your jig is in relation to the fish will make it easier for you to get the bait in the strike zone so you can get more bites.

Some lakes have an abundance of rocks, timber and brush underneath the surface of the water that can tangle up your line and cause a lot of headaches. The Humminbird 408120-1 allows you to distinguish the different things you’re viewing. As a result, you can keep your bait on the outside of the structures where the fish will see it and strike, without getting too close where your line can get tangled up.

What it Does

This Humminbird Fishfinder tells you the temperature and the depth of the water. The down imaging design helps you see what is below your boat so you can find drop offs, holes and other structures where fish can hide waiting for baitfish to swim by. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of fishing by giving you a close up view of what’s under the water, which makes your fishing trips even more productive.

Product Features

• Chartplotter/fishfinder with high-resolution, 5-inch, LED-backlit color display, DualBeam sonar with 2400 Watts PTP power output
• Dual-beam Switchfire Sonar with precision 20-degree beam and wider 60-degree beam, Down Imaging for seeing below the boat
• Real-time Sonar always updates at the fastest rate possible, shows returns from the bottom, structure, and fish that are within the transducer beam
• Included UniMap covers the continental U.S. coastline, inland lakes, and rivers at 30 meters per pixel resolution
• Includes ContourXD by Navionics, an enhanced, professional mapping package with over 3,000 U.S. lake maps in the database

Technical Details

• Freeze Frame with ability to Mark Structure on Sonar, Real Time Sonar RTS Window, Selective Fish ID, Sonar Echo Enhancement, Split Screen Zoom

What People are Saying

Matthew S Platter from Amazon: I did a lot of research before buying this unit, I couldnt decide between this and the almost identical Lowrance Elite5 chartplotter unit. After reading countless reviews I chose the Hummingbird. The Lowrance has more color palete choices but the hummingbird had the old style sonar ability otherwise they seem the same to me. I am soo glad I chose this one! The downscan is awesome, truly showing great detail of structure and bottom, but its really hard to see fish and baitfish on it. The old style (seems like an updated version)shows fish and baitfish great and will mark them on the screen. This unit allows you to split the screen and use both sonar types at the same time, and its freaking awesome.

newts53 from Amazon: I just finished installing the fish finder and took it out on the lake for the first time. Installation was pretty easy. I had to read and follow the instructions but I had no problems. I will say I found it very hard to drill holes in a perfectly good boat. On the lake, the GPS was great. The fish finder was very good also. It put me on fish, just not the right ones. The only complaint I have is the fish alarm won't go off unless I show the fish icon. Maybe I just haven't figured that out yet. Overall, it is everything I wanted and I am very satisfied.