In order to "see" the lure going down, you have to have a good quality finder. Also important if jigging, you must just about be stationary over the fish, otherwise your jig will move out of the cone of sound the finder is sending out. So, if you are drifting, you will not have the lure under the boat and will not see it. If trolling with downriggers, you will see the rigger weight tracking across the screen and can set it at the level of the fish. Look for a finder with 6 inches or better resolution. I have a Lowrance LCX model and it is very good with a good sized 8 inch screen and can see the lures under the right conditions. Lastly, you can have two displays you can have both read off one transducer and have one placed close to your father so he will not have to ask if you see fish all the time. Remember, fish finders only show what is under your boat and then only that which is in the cone of sound. In say 30ft of water you may only have a 6-8ft circle of sound on the bottom,at 10-15 ft in that water you may be in the 2-3 ft sound cone so the fish must be in it to be seen. Better to move slowly and track them at their depths then drift with your lures at that depth. You will not see the fish you catch but you will know they are there.