LlamaLeach Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Any opinions on what fish finder for a belly boat. is best Quote
Tungsten Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 LOL! Fishing buddy i think its called its an all in one unit.You see them for sale used from time to time. Quote
jksnijders Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Humminbird makes a portable battery powered one that might work, hard to say with the space constraints. I've used one, they work good for depth and temp. Quote
Guest tallieho Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 fishing buddy [cheap one],but to clarify that .I only use it to find the bottom ,temp..make yourselve a holder 1 1/2" piece of abs sewer pipe,2 45degree bends,piece of nylon straping with a buckle 3'x 1/2 ".some abs glue[contact].I've used mine for 10+ yrs. Quote
TerryH Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 And don't waste money buying a portable unit. Make yourself a holder, or buy one ( Scotty fish finder mounts ), and then get yourself a gell-cell battery that you can keep in one of the saddlebags on your float tube or pontoon. Terry Quote
Guest 420FLYFISHIN Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 what about a battery pack from an RC car or something! I have a couple 9v-12v with 3500+ mah. would something like that work? Quote
richmia Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Humming bird has one and I am sure that you will be able to find a holder at Bass pro shop in Calgary Richmia Quote
Simpson Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 I have been quite impressed with battery life on my fishin' buddy. 3D's and you are good for 8hrs easy. Then I just charge them in the truck over night. Not sure how the kicking from the belly boat might cloud the signal off the transponder (I think thats what they call it). Also agree with the comment above.."I only use it to find the bottom ,temp" This is true for me also, it is just a tool to find drop off's and other structure. If I wanted to stare at a screen all day I would go to work! Big asset when fishing chronomids Quote
chamebrs03 Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Some people like to use a hummingbird smart cast and just tie the little device to your boat and wear the watch. Its easy and portable. The monitor is a watch and the device its self is about the same size. Designed so you can cast them in to shore or out ot the depths. Ive had guys tell me they tie them on to there belly boat and just let it drag. Wont add any extra weight and they retail for around 150-200 bucks. depending on where you look. Quote
LlamaLeach Posted January 23, 2010 Author Posted January 23, 2010 Thanks you guys Looking to find the bottom, didn't know I could find the temperature as well. What about the Lawrence models ? Quote
TerryH Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Thanks you guys Looking to find the bottom, didn't know I could find the temperature as well. What about the Lawrence models ? Lowrance and Eagle are the same company. Their product lines are very similar, just different names, and I think Eagle are a little less money. I use mine mostly for the bottom, but who knows, every now and then you might see some fish. Terry Quote
DonAndersen Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Llama... I'm now on my fourth depth finder/fish finder. The first Fishing Buddy died over winter. They couldn't tolerate the cold apparently. Bought another Fiishing Buddy and the transducer keeps falling off + battery life is not good. Two friends also have F Buddies. One has his with him all the time and occasionally turns it on. Seems to be OK. The other guy's brand new one crapped. Got replacement that seems OK. Then it was a Apelco Portable that used 2 six volt lantern batteries. Batteries lasted but the head leaked water into it. Occasional water droplets running down the contacts and all of a sudden I was in 500' of water. And now it's a Humminibird Pirahna that was back to the repair shop 'cause the head leaked water. Returned and it still leaked. Removed back and found out that the "tech" had not replaced the "0" rings and 2 were partly gone. New "O" rings and it still leaks. Now I put a sandwich bag over the head when it rains. The battery using a gel battery will last about 80 hours or so between charges. The newest thing is the connection into the head. Anybody know of one that hangs in there? catch ya' Don Quote
monger Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Terry I recognize that spot...I'll be there May 1 Quote
beedhead Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Terry I recognize that spot...I'll be there May 1 Might meet yas there.. .. Cheers...Jeff.. Quote
LlamaLeach Posted January 24, 2010 Author Posted January 24, 2010 terry I was noticeing your reading said 57 degrees, was that the water temperature at the surface or at the boottom. how long have you had your Eagle, and how deep does it read? Some of the lakes in newfound land are said to be very deep and I am courious to find out how deep they are. Quote
Weedy1 Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Anybody know of one that hangs in there? I had the Cuda 168 as shown in Terry's pic for four years. Left it outside all year long. No problems at all. They're cheap in price and provide the basic needs for stillwater fishing. Quote
TerryH Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Anybody know of one that hangs in there? ..........................Don Don, I'd give up on the Fishing Buddy, and get a low end unit like the one in my picture. I keep mine in the saddle bag between trips, and it takes me about a minute to hook it up to the gel cell and mount the transducer. I attach the transducer to the bottom of the pontoon seat, using a rare earth magnet. terry I was noticeing your reading said 57 degrees, was that the water temperature at the surface or at the boottom. how long have you had your Eagle, and how deep does it read? Some of the lakes in newfound land are said to be very deep and I am courious to find out how deep they are. Keith - I've had the Cuda 168 for about 5 years, and it works great as a pontoon or float tube sonar. I've got a jazzier (i.e. more pixels, more power) version (Eagle Fishmark 480) for my fishing boat, but you can't beat the small low end Eagles. Most sonars also do surface temperature, since the thermocouple is in the transducer. The depth capability depends on the power -- in the case of the Cuda 168, it's supposed to be good to 600'. Can't say that I've tried it out at that depth. Terry Quote
Badger Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 DonAndersen said: Anybody know of one that hangs in there? catch ya' Don ... Quote
Simpson Posted January 24, 2010 Posted January 24, 2010 Deadly setup, well done!!!! Don, I'd give up on the Fishing Buddy, and get a low end unit like the one in my picture. I keep mine in the saddle bag between trips, and it takes me about a minute to hook it up to the gel cell and mount the transducer. I attach the transducer to the bottom of the pontoon seat, using a rare earth magnet. Keith - I've had the Cuda 168 for about 5 years, and it works great as a pontoon or float tube sonar. I've got a jazzier (i.e. more pixels, more power) version (Eagle Fishmark 480) for my fishing boat, but you can't beat the small low end Eagles. Most sonars also do surface temperature, since the thermocouple is in the transducer. The depth capability depends on the power -- in the case of the Cuda 168, it's supposed to be good to 600'. Can't say that I've tried it out at that depth. Terry Quote
LlamaLeach Posted January 24, 2010 Author Posted January 24, 2010 Great pictures and lots of ideas, thanks guys. Great set up Terry, Woodworking and Fly fishing go to gether well Quote
DonAndersen Posted January 26, 2010 Posted January 26, 2010 Terry, Have you even packed the head and transducer in the same area. Always been concerned that the rare earth magnets have enough power to drag the brains outta computer chips. catch ya' Don Quote
TerryH Posted January 26, 2010 Posted January 26, 2010 Have you even packed the head and transducer in the same area. Always been concerned that the rare earth magnets have enough power to drag the brains outta computer chips. ............. Don, I've been storing the transducer/magnet setup in the same saddle bag as I store the sonar head. They've been sitting side by side for quite a few years now, and there's been no sign of any problem. I'm not sure why there would be -- a magnetic field shouldn't bother silicon. Terry Quote
DonAndersen Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 Terry, The chip in the head is magnetic - the strong magnets will suck the brains outta most anything. Works well on most mass storage devices. Don Quote
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