Can anyone recommend a nice portable fish finder? I have a kevlar canoe so I assume I could set the transducer on the floor and get decent readings. I want to stay under $150. Thanks

Get the Marcum Tech LXI. Portable handheld unit that shoots through the bottom of your canoe ( no suction cup needed) It basically looks like a flashlight. Accurate up to 200 ft. It floats also, sells for about $125.00 but Scheels in Iowa City has them on sale for $90.00.

Hey Fishnfreak,

I heard that the Marcum Tech LXI puts out an anoying beep when it finds fish... and you can't turn it off. Is that true? I'm sold except I don't want a crazy beeping flashlight in the tranquil wilderness.

I use a Lowrance X67c and it works great! It is very light with a portable case that runs on 8AA batteries and uses a suction ducer. Have used it on Aluminum, Kevlar and Royalex with no trouble letting loose. It has both graph and flasher modes. Flasher mode is great when you find a school of crappie! I also have the winter kit and use it ice fishing. Year around use for around $300.

OK, read the WHOLE post. More than $150 but still worth every penny.

Bromel- Yes, the beeping is annoying. Wish Marcum would listen to my complaints. Even the rhythmic transducer clicking gets to you after a while... distracts from the whole quiet wilderness thing. But there is no getting around the fact that it's a nifty gadget for its size - very easy to bring along - and works like a charm.

Cuda 128, It isn't too bad for 88 bucks at Super walmart Outdoors ...

I use a pirhanamax 210 portable, It works great but you have to unplug everything if you stick it in your pack. The wires are easily crimped when all folded up and I had to replace the power wire.

Thanks Schweady. What's up with the ziploc bag?

ok....heres my rig (my version of a portable). i shortened the `ducer cable, per Eagles instructions (nice NOT to have a 25' cable along). that little anchor-hocking container holds 2, 8 cell aa holders (wish they were 10's tho), wired to two seperate sets of banana recepticles. with smart use that will last a week plus easy. i "bdb" the finder to a wood thwart. and, you can disable the beep.:) Jan

Bromel- This unit can read through kevlar or aluminum no problem, you just need a little water to make sure the transducer isn't trying to shoot through any air. Sometimes I would use a ziploc with barely a little water in it... but usually just a wet canoe bottom would be plenty. Stands up by itself and displays a new reading every 10 seconds or so while you troll along.

Jan- Yay! We FINALLY get to see the Eagle FishEasy. (Was wondering how long this thread would run before you mentioned your "real" finder.) I will continue to go with my more compact solution, but truthfully do sometimes lust after the full graph picture of what's down there. Nice mod.

Hawkeye Portable Fish Finder. Had to use plumber's putty and 4" piece of 3"pvc to shoot thru, but worked ok to 100'. On muddy bottom, the bottom weeds are a bit fuzzy. Transducer also screws on telescopic broom hanle. (I used telecsopic duster handle from wallmart 16-48" and mounted on bow at 40 degree angle. Lost a bit of depth range but scoped out ahead of us. Clear and 4- AAA's for 20 hrs. down to around $70. I suppose you get what you pay for but worked for me.

Nice rig Jan. I expected a reply from you, but thought for sure you were going to show us a 5lb rock and rope with 12" colored increments.

Seriously, did Eagle really tell you how to shorten your cable? Was there any shielding in that cable for noise reduction?

yes, Eagle sent me a sheet of instructions. and yes again, it is a shielded cable....and still is. i used tinfoil to bridge the gap per instructions.

Jan, doesn't eagle make a portable version of your finder? What's the advantage to taking a "non portable" and making it portable? I like the idea of having the full graph like yours tho.

less weight and bulk. i believe the portables run on 2 six volt lantern batts, i may be out of date on this though.

I have the Eagle fish easy 2 "portable" from factory. Nice unit but big and uses 8 D cell batts. Hefty. I am nervous about slicing the 'ducer cable, but if I can get instructions, would like to make like K's set up. Much smaller and portable. Love the unit in the field thou.

K, did you have to ask for those directions or are they web findable? Haven't looked yet on to do list.

Buz how long is the transducer cable on the portable?

(from eagle)
Thank you for your inquiry.

We do not recommend cutting and slicing of transducer cables. The connector ends are injection molded onto the cables and the transducer body housings are potted with an epoxy material to make this accessory completely waterproof. Water infiltration in this cable can cause delaminating, internal corrosion, and cable damage, which can result in poor performance at the least - and sounder malfunction or damage at the worst. If a cable is cut or broken we do provide some accessory connectors which are preferable to splicing if the cable remains long enough to reach. However if the cable is too short or a connector kit does not exist then you should follow these instruction to splice the cable. This procedure is best performed by a reputable and skilled electronics repair facility or technician.

Cut the cable in a location that will place the splice in a protected area in the vessel. It should not be exposed to rain or spray, nor be allowed to lay in the Bilge or other area which will allow it to be submerged in water. If using a ?heat shrink? insulating material, for either the center conductor connection, shield connection, overall splice, or all of the above, place over the cut ends now.

Carefully strip approximately 1? of the outer insulation or jacket from the ends to be spliced. Unwrap the shield and twist it.

Strip approximately 3/8? of the inner insulation (center conductor) from each end to be spliced.
Twist the center conductors of the two ends together, then solder the connection. Use special care to allow full flow of solder without damaging or melting the insulator around the center conductors. This can result in a shorted connection and damage to the sounder. Wrap the solder joint in good quality electrical tape or heat shrink as appropriate.

Twist the shield wires together and solder this connection. Wrap a small piece of Aluminum Foil over the entire splice. Make certain the foil makes a good contact with the shield wires to prevent, reduce, or eliminate electrical noise or interference.

Finally wrap the entire splice with electrical tape or use the Heat shrink material previously installed to completely seal and insulate the splice connection. The transducer is now ready to use.

Thank you for choosing Eagle Electronics.

Eagle Customer Service
12000 E. Skelly Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74128

Customer Service: 1-800-324-1354

I'm don't use a fish finder oftern, but I do carry a Hummingbird Smartcast system. Extremely light and portable. No need to shoot through the hull, just tie some mono to it and tow it behind the canoe. The display isn't much, but it helps with finding depths, dropoffs, and reefs.

I received a Humminbird 230 Portable as a gift, and am excited to learn how to use it. I borrowed a similar model a few years ago and did not know what I was looking at. Okay, here is the deal... I borrowed it from my brother and lost it between the canoe and my place, we were supposed to drop it back in Minneapolis. I bought this exact fish finder as his replacement two years ago, and got the same one for christmas this year. Something "fishy' you would suspect, but he (eghum scott) say's it's all up-and-up. Anyway, I can't wait to get it up there in May.

AE, the cable is 25', made for boats, not canoes. The portable unit has a place to stow it and its not a big deal as used like I bought it. The screen sits on the box and is very nice, easy to angle and read, etc. But if I am going to change the power, get rid of the D cells, convert to AA's and not use the box, might as well go all the way and get rid of about 20' of cable. Just very nervous about cutting, as I know @$$#@ about splicing and soldering.

Kanoes, thanks for the information. Appreciate it, don't know if I will use it, lol the unit works fine now, want to keep it that way!

I am using a hummingbird pirahna max. It is small and uses AA batteries. I have a kevlar canoe and I just stick the transducer on the hull. It works great. I think the value is more in finding structure and depth than finding fish. I always get a kick out of seeing all those fish under the boat and not one of them is biting!

Buz i feel ya. thats why i am aprehensive about doing Kanoe's mods to one.

youre welcome buz. i do that type of work everyday so i wasnt afraid to cut the cable in the least. i wouldnt have done it either if i had never done something like that before. :)

Fishnfreak,

I am intrigued by the Marcum as I do not want to haul along a larger unit but would love to at least ger depth readings. Norcross Marine sells a Hawkeye Handheld Sonar system that looks similar to what you use... have you ever seen one? I am wondering if that unit does not have the beeping....

An add to my last question... the Marcum and the Norcross say only alum or fiberglass boats, as kevlar and other composites have pockets of air that mess up the reading. But, fishnfreak, looks like you are using it through kevlar. Any problems?

used it through royalex with no problems.

mntentman - Oh, yeah... this part I forgot about. That year we were using a friend's kevlar Wenonah (I think...) that has a diamond shaped foam mat down the middle of the hull for stiffener. The LX-i would not read through that so I just moved it over to the side a bit and it was fine. The unit is nice and bottom heavy for stability, but being at that slight angle meant that it would still tip over once in a while so I just propped it a bit with my day pack. The angle wasn't so much that we felt the need to get out our trigonometry tables to figure the adjustment to the depth reading. :) Another reason to go with Souris River kevlars?

Thanks, schweady. I will be in a Souris River. Tempting to get one of these things.... a lot easier than dragging along a bigger one...

Everyone has their opinions on what works best... I happened to get my LX-i a few years ago for ice fishing use and this is a huge bonus. Other models have a similar shape but two things stand out in the Marcum: 1) the 2,500 watts of power allows for consistent readings while shooting through a lot of material (I just used mine through 18 in. of ice last week to check out the shape of an inside break before I needed to drill my first hole.) and 2) the digital reading is on top when taking a reading... no need to pick it up or move it around to see where you're at.

Down sides: 1) the sounds it makes - already outlined above, and 2) the price, although since it's marketed toward ice fishermen there might be some sale prices soon.

For a battery you could try a 12v trailer break-away battery, small light-weight and rechargable with your trk or car if you are creative. run bout 12-20 bucks at a trlr dealership or try fleet farm stores. battery is bout 4" x 2" by 4" high.

As far as the Norcross Hawkeye: Use it through kevlar with a short (3-4" length) of thin (schedule 20 ) pvc pipe 4" diameter. Press this on a "donut" of plumber's putty or silicone caulk or "plumbers GOOP" to seal to bottom of hull to make a cup. fill with water and drop transducer in. Factory recommends 1" over top of ducer. Worked as well as in water. Tied up slack of 25' cable into a roll and taped to a few feet long to avoid splicing. Small screen, but ID'd well. under $70. Worked for me. oth

that trailer breakaway batt could double as an anchor. :)

i like to save as much weight as possible... i am the fish-finder...

Hey Q152,

Reports are that your trip mates want u to get a mechanical unit of some sort. They are tired of fish breading and potato meals!!!!

i understand that my oldschool fish finding techniques tend to upset people, but if it aint broke dont fix it...
maybe theyre mad cause i dont help...

Years ago I bought a cheap hummingbird with a suction cup to stick on the side of the boat. It takes 2,6 volt batteries. It isn't great but it was cheap,it works good enough, and is fairly light. I've seen similar models at Walmart and most sporting goods stores.

I've used the Fishin Buddy for years. I know many don't like it because of the post design. It slides easily into the side of a Duluth pack for portaging, is light wt and runs all week on 3 C batteries. The only complaint is it can tend to "wobble" if you have a good paddling speed going. But you don't have to keep looking at the floor to see it. Also very inexpensive.

Basser
Take a thin piece of plastic ( I use mylar or clear covers for a piece of 3 ring note book paper about $.18 at the office supply store) slip folded and creased sheet over the shaft of your fish detector. Take a stapler and put about 3 staples near enough to the shaft to make it stay on the shaft. Presto no more wobble.
MagicPaddler

I'll try it - thanks. Do you slide the plastic up under the "ring" that you drop the post into?

(shhhh. buy a permanent unit...fashion a battery pack...modify a suction cup transducer mount...shorten the cable) hey, its still winter. makes for a nice project. :)

Basser
When I want the unit out of the water I just tip it up. To remove the unit from the mounting device I slide the plastic off the bottom. To stop the wobble you need to hide the round surfaces. It only needs to go from near the bottom to the water surface. My water foil is the length of a 8&1/2 X 11 sheet of paper The leading edge needs to be the crease

Anyone know if the suction cup transducer attachments will stick properly to royalex canoes?

it sticks fine. infact, it sticks so well that it can be a pain to take off.

minneapolis craigs list has a vexilar boundry waters edition for 85 bucks right now. Its a pretty good deal they usually go for about 300$

Antone used the Humminbird PiranhaMAX 215 or 230?

I am lost without my little canoe Vexilar.

The $85 for the Vexilar is an amazing price, especially if it's a color display. I have the CLC 200 and love it. I paid over $400 for mine new and that's part of the reason Vexilar discontinued them--too pricey. But they'll still service them and send replacement parts if necessary (my transducer developed a short in it). And even with batteries, it only weighs about 3 lbs and takes up virtually no room in your pack.

thlipsis29

I have a Lowrance X67C for ice fishing. It works great.

I was thinking of brining it to the BW. Has anyone tried to use it or another flasher with the floating ice transducer? I know there is a suction cup transducer but I am wondering if I can live without it. It seems that the floating ice transducer might work for the slower speeds of a canoe...

I don't seem to be able to make any sense of Vexilar's website or see anything that's recognizeable as a fishfinder. Maybe they have discontinued them? I do see the CLC 200 elsewhere. Does the transducer come with suction cup mount?

Can anyone give me an idea as to the importance of having the 60 degree option as opposed to just 20 degree?

Mad Angler

I have the x67c....both the ice pack, and the portable case with suction ducer for canoe trips. Have not used the float transducer in open water. The suction ducer works great! The other nice thing about the x67c is you can switch to flasher mode when fishing vertical and it is just like through the ice. I would highly recommend getting the portable case (runs on 8AA batteries) and the suction ducer. I bought my case and ducer at Cabela's, but you can get them other places....check them out at www.lei-extras.com

Sirbill,

Vexilar doesn't make this depth finder any more, but the transducer is a suction cup mount specifically designed for a canoe. It may not be listed on Vexilar's website, but if you call they will help.

thlipsis29

Being a solo paddler I sit on an Old Town drop in center seat and want something I can just set next to me or on something right at my feet that is reasonably stable and not tipsy. The small footprint and low profile of the Vexilar and portable fold up style is pretty appealing. I'm not overly handy or a gearhead so something where I can slap on a suction cup, plug in a wire, open and fire up is pretty necessary or its probably gonna sit in my apartment instead of on my canoe. Operating the unit itself is more up my alley. So I think I might check one of these out.

Thlipsis29 is the clc 200 a flasher type or a graph? most vexilar's I have seen are flashers I found one for sale and the guy wants 45.00 for it ...deal?

flatandpaddler,

the clc is a graph display. The color model is a five color display with a couple of different screen displays. Probably the only drawback to this model is that the screen needs ambient light to work; it won't work after dark unless you shine a light on it. I guess I've never understood why Vexilar didn't make this model with a backlight, but the truth is I don't do a lot fishing in the canoe after dark while up there so it's never really been a problem.

As for the $45, that's a steal even if it is the original grayscale display.

thlipsis29

thanks hlipsis29, it is the 5 color and the night thing is not important one more question? will I need 12volts?

The clc-200 uses 8 aa batteries that are stored n the case the screen flips up from. here is a link to Vexilar's user guide for the clc-200 that will propably tell you anything you want to know. By the way be sure it is the Boundary Waters version not the gimbal version both which are displayed in the user guide.

http://vexilar.com/pages/support/pdf/vexilar_clc-200.pdf

thanks sirbill it is the boundary waters version, well it looks like it would be a good unit to pick up at that price

Since they are still available new online from the Red Rock store for $399 I'd say a working unit for $45 would be a steal.

For what it's worth, I usually take a five day trip and never run down a new set of Duracells during a trip. I think the manual says you can get about 40 hours out of a set of batteries and I'd say that is a conservative estimate. I do bring in an extra pack just in case, but never had to use them.

I've never seen a used one even close to that price ($150 is what I've seen) so I'd jump on that a.s.a.p. Even if you have to order a few replacement parts along the way, you can't go wrong.

thlipsis29

will i glad i found you guys been trying all night to reach the guy! im going to tell him i will take it a.s.a.p ! i know it has some hours on it but he says it still works great he went with a new one .......says the only thing he didnt like about, it was hard to read in bright sun if not looking at it just right

Can you read the display when you are wearing your polarized glasses? I know I have trouble looking at some screen, like my cell phone, with mine on. Not to worry, I don't bring my phone to the BW!

One more question...how do you who have the clc-200 mount it in/on your boat? If it's on the outside with the suction cup, do you have any trouble in shallow water or when pulling up to a portage/camp site? Does anybody have pictures of their unit in action?

I don't have any problem reading the display with polarized lenses on, and I really haven't had any issues in bright light either. As for the transducer, two things: 1) just remember which side it's on when you come ashore 2) make sure you use the safety cord to tie the transducer onto the canoe if for any reason the suction cup comes loose.

I just set the unit on the floor of the canoe between my feet and have never had a problem reading it. The really nice thing about this unit is that it can be removed from the portable base and placed in a regular gimbal mount on my fishing boat and run on a 12 volt marine battery. You have to pay like $75 for the mount and a high speed transducer, but I wasn't about to spend $400 for a depth finder that I could use only once or twice a year. Like most other Vexilar products, it's a quality machine and I don't regret spending the money on it.

thlipsis29

thlipsis29 thanks for all your info I got the clc200 from the guy and it was in better shape then I thought it would be for the price!
Cup mount never used (he did the through the hull mount ) and trans cable has been shortened....so over all im very happy!

FOR Sale clc200 great buy!! Yours for only 150.00 cheep!!!! (joking)

Well if there are any other doofuses out there with one for $45 in working condition I'm your man! Guess he never heard of EBAY to your benefit. Congratulations!

Flatlandpaddler,

I'm glad it worked out. Still can't believe that you got it so cheap, but that just means you have more money to spend on additional gear. Good fishing this spring and summer.

thlipsis29

yep.........just added 100.00 bucks back to the gear budget !!!!!
and I was checking it out today and its working great

I have a zebco (yeah, that's right ZEBCO) model zf200 I got new for about $50. runs on 2AA bats. Not too exotic but does give you depth, bottom definition somewhat, and marks fish. Really light, simple, but I had to shorten the transducer cable to cut down the clutter in the canoe.

If you think that $45 price For the Vexilar was good before, one just sold today on EBAY for $188 plus $20 shipping. On top of that the person selling it responded to a question from me and indicated he had never tried it himself. He also has the Gimbal version new for sale in the same box with the exact text copied that he bought it for fishing this summer then bought something else instead which kind of makes the story pretty obviously false which makes me nervous. I bid on tithe BW version but would rather pay full price for a new one than over $200 for one that might be iffy. Flatlandpaddler if you get a chance after firing up that Vexilar on the water come back and update us on how you like it.

Just bought my first fish finder, a Cuda 168. Will it read through Kevlar, and do I need to fasten it in anyway to the floor?
Thanks
Breezsr

I bought a Lowrance X67C for ice fishing. It comes with a battery and water-resistant case.

I just spoke with ThorneBrothers. He suggested taking the X67C with the ice transducer mounted to a stick and then using a C-clamp to attach the stick to the side of the canoe.

So, I'll take my ice machine over labor day and see how it works...

Does the transducer have to be pointing any certain direction as long as it is level?

Anything inexpensive. I just use it to find depth. Trolling at 17' really produced last August.

Would it be possible for anyone to post some links to the above mentioned fish finders? I tried looking online and my head started to spin. so many different options and I never know if I am looking at the right ones. Thanks in advance.

I just purchased the 168 cuda like breeszr (onsale for 69$ at scheels), and got the ram mounts for it. I picked up a kit that had all but the right base plate, like this sorta: Mount Kit and then ordered the base plate (to replace the diamond base). With these I can easily rig it to the thwarts, one of my friends has a very similar setup with the piranha. Also, for power, you go to radio shack and buy the 8 AA battery holder, as well as the 9v cable attachment thing (attaches to battery pack). Powered up fine with the wiring setup. Was gonna try to do the ducer siliconed to the hull idea (kevlar canoe). But in the meantime gonna do the ducer in back with a lil bit of water. Putting it on the canoe today, gonna test it in the Mississippi River a lil. In the past i had the hummingbird lil wrist watch, waste of my time imo. the ducer only worked when we were still, and it frequently powered off or was not readable in daylight, so i decided to pimp my canoe a lil this year. Just need a waterproofbox to stick the batteries + some of the wiring in and possibly a shortened ducer cable and ill have it down and ready to rock.

I have a Fishing Buddy made by BottomLine. I have the 2250 model, it's the high end one. It's great and show bottom detail very well. I use it up on the lakes in the Gunflint trail region and would never leave it at home.

This is a Boundary Waters/Quetico website, right? Why on earth would you bring a fishfinder into the wild?

Why wouldn't you bring one :D well... to each his/her own. As long as you aren't bothering other people or leaving some sort of impact with it i say why not. But like I said, to each his/her own. No sense in worrying what others are doing, unless it somehow directly affects your trip.

Has anyone done the silicone the ducer to the hull thing? I understand you can only go through one layer of fiberglass and should mount it where the "ribs" of a MN II are not. If you have had success with mounting your ducer using silcone (no need for water in the back to get a sounding), I would like to hear bout it.

Wild32,
For the same reason we bring fresh food, canoe seats, hammocks, sleeping pads, beer and liquor, lots of fishing rods and tackle, rod holders, fire arms, live bait, etc, etc.
Because we want to.

wild,

Everyone goes to the BW with different goals. Just because some folks' goals are not the same as your goals doesn't make them wrong...

I am bringing a depth finder because I want to find underwater structure and see how fish are relating to that structure.

I didn't mean to come off all high and mighty. Hard to get tone-of-voice over a message board. My group tried a portable fish finder twice. We never found it to be that much of a help. We found we ended up doing more fiddlin' than fishin'. That and it was more weight and gear to haul. I guess I'm a 'less is more' kind of a guy. Don't get too frazzled with me. Maybe my hide is still a little bit tanned from shelling out some dough for something I found less than useful. We've all been there. And with all those economic stimulus checks coming out, who knows what I'll buy next.

Canoe Dude
Let me know how it works. Still trying to decide how to mount mine.

breezsr

Canoe Dude

I bought a through hull ducer for my humminbird piranha and it is mounted inside hull in the bow.They provide you with an epoxy.It works awesome.Don't need to carry the ducer-no suction cup to fall off & it is right in the nose of the boat,where it will do the most good.I still need to set the cable somehow and build a lightweight cover over the top.If I can manage to find one of my kids' digital cameras that works,I will post a pic.I have a fiberglass tuffweave prism.I see no reason why it wouldn't work with a kevlar boat.

Yeah, I am kinda thinking i should have gone with the through hull model, however, in the instructions of the cuda 168 it says something about how you set it up for a through hull setup. I have already taken it out on the mississippi twice and it works just as good through the hull as it does directly in the water. Of course, water must be present in the back (for the through hull setup). In the instructions, it said to sand the surface of the transducer before you silicone it to the hull. Also, the hull could only be one layer thick of fiberglass or kevlar or what have you. I am going to try to silicone it to the front of the canoe where the "ribs" are not (MN II). If you silicone around the sides half way up, i believe it should work (with no excess water in the canoe). I will post pics when i am all done with my setup, got an old cd player cover holder for the batteries, although, I still might try some tuperware thing to hold the battery pack. Just need a good way to secure everything for portaging and avoid getting rain in stuff that shouldnt get it.

Have you seen the new silicone based cup/bowl in the Piragis catalog from Ely? They fold flat and weigh next to nothing. Dave

I am looking at gettng a Cuda 168 Portable cost is $108.00 just to use in my canoe. I have a hummingbird 851i for my fishing boat and don't want to do the portable kit with it as it uses two 6volt batteries and is heavy!

Bruce

dmcc445465
Couldn't find that item in there catalog. Can you give more info?
Thanks--breezsr

I am using a Cuda 168 Portable. I believe that it cost appr. $100. I believe, for canoeing, that its the best out there for the price. I used it for depth and finding level of ciscos. Its light weight. It has a self contained battery compartment (8 AA). Only problem is suction cup loss suction sometimes. A little lube will prevent this.

breezsr,
http://www.eaglenav.com/en/Products/Fishfinders/CUDA-168-Portable/
will get you the specs on it.
I also just bought one this spring off ebay for $75 and have only had it out on the boat to test. Seems like a good deal for the price. Really only need it for depth and bottom content. Interested on how long 8 aa's will last, guess I'll find out on my trip the first week of June.

explorer
I've got the cuda 168 ($99) at bass pro. I was wondering about the silicon cup/bowl that you can shoot through the hull that dmcc445465 was talking about. I've heard that you can get about 30 hours out of the batteries. I did try the cuda out in a small lake and it's good for structure and depth. Not sure how good it is for fish finding. It only has a small area ( 6ft. cone at 20ft) to see fish. There are two cuda 168's that you can buy. One is self contained with 8 AA bat. and the other (cheaper) that can run off of a 12 v.

breezsr

I was thinking about getting the PiranhaMAX 215 Portable, you guys that already have them what is the weight on these units, and how long do the AA batteries usually last?

I think I have changed my mind and I am going with the Humminbird Piranha Max 215, I can get it at Red Rock for 15% off with my RRGC so instead of $129.00 I can get it for $110. I will pick it up in June when we get there...

Bruce

I just finished mounting a Hummingbird Fishing Buddy 2 on my SRQ17. I will post a picture when I get back. Going to the BW in the morning. It works perfect, $89 at Dicks sporting goods. I actually got mine for free from my Dad, he bought a another locator to go with his other 5. All I did was (I'm set up to go solo so the yoke is about 3 feet in front of me) cut the mount that came with it down so it lays flat and just attached it to the yoke with muffler clamps.

I just got back from a trip to Disappointment lake. I bought a Lowrance X67 Ice Machine for ice fishing:
X67
It worked amazingly well ice fishing.

I took the whole unit the BW last weekend. The unit worked GREAT. I just used the ice transducer and set it on the bottom of the canoe. It saw right through the Kevlar (Souris River).

I caught several fish that I would not have caught without the fish finder. My GPS map showed a submerged island that topped out at 10 feet deep in 30 feet of water. But, my GPS was a bit off. I used the depth finder and found a hump with 6 feet of water. I fished around that hump and caught several nice fish.

I also used the depth finder to look for steep drops and caught a few other fish.

The X67 Ice Machine comes with a 7 amp-hour 12 volt battery. That is nearly all the weight of the unit. I used the battery for 3 full days and it was still 7/8th full. You could cut the weight dramatically if you bought a 1 or 2 amp-hour battery.

I highly recommend the X67.

A little bulky to portage, but this worked well for me. Fishing Buddy mounted to the yoke of canoe. Note it just lifts out when you're not using it or portaging.

I have the vexilar boundry waters edition. It works great. I bought it about 7 years ago. I can never leave it home when I go to the b-dub.

Eagle fisheasy 245DS portable. About $130.
I've used one for the last 2 years and am very happy with it.

I went again last week and very highly recommend taking a depth finder.

We base camped on Horse for a week. On the first day, I accidentally found a submerged island. The island came to within 5 feet of the surface. All around the island was 20 feet of water.

On the first day, I just fished for a while and caught 2 walleye and a smallie.

On the second day, I fished for about an hour with my 7 year old daughter. We caught about 10 smallies ranging from 16 to 20 inches. Later, I took my 13 year old daughter. We both caught 21 inch smallies. Here is a picture of hers:


On the fourth day, I fished for about an hour and caught 2 walleye and 4 smallies.

I never would have found the spot without a depth finder.

My depth finder is a Lowrance X67 Ice Machine. It worked great all week. The battery ran out about 1 hour before we left. It is a great depth finder for the BW and for ice fishing.

i think i know the unmarked hump youre talking about. we also found it accidentally.

I was trolling and caught a fish. After taking off the fish and drifting, my depth finder read 5 feet deep. I was sure that my depth finder wasn't working. I dropped my anchor rock and it immediately hit bottom.

After that, I made a portable depth marker. I tied a bobber to a sinker with 7 feet of mono fishing line.

I would slowly drift over the area and watch my depth finder and GPS. When I found the exact hump, I would drop out my depth marker.

Then, I could drift, troll, or anchor around the area and always know where I was.

Kanoes, I have mixed feelings. I gave the general location of the hump on the map page. I hope I didn't make a mistake. I don't want the little hump to get overfished. But I also want to give back to this board. I have recieved a tremendous amount of useful information. So I felt I needed to give something back...

thats ok. it isnt the spot i found.

Kanoes,

That encourages me to know that there are other submerged islands.

There is also one on Disappointment. But it comes all the way out of the water with surrounding water at 20 feet. It isn't shown on the map either.

I guess that is another reason to bring a depth finder: the topo maps are not complete and accurate.

I posted this in another thread but I figured that later folks serching for info would find it here easier:

Here are some things I have done with my depth finder:
- Located the exact spot of a submerged island shown on a paper topo map.
- Found unmarked submerged islands
- Looked for bottom structure (see how far a point goes out, see spots where the water depth drops very quickly, etc)
- Ruled out water that was too shallow (looks good but is only 1-2 feet deep. Needed deeper water in heat of day)
- Trolled the shoreline at the exact depth where previous fish have been caught

On open water, I have never actually used it to see fish and then gone after them. (But ice fishing, I have done it many many times. In fact, I don't think I could ever ice fish without one again...)

A couple of months ago I reported on how well I liked my Eagle 245DS portable fish finder unit.
I hadn't used it since last years trip. So I powered it up last night just to make sure it worked... It didn't.(erratic bars and dots all over the screen. Customer support says it will probably need to be sent in for repair at my cost). No thanks.
I leave in two days for The BWCA.
I no longer recommend this product or brand.
I'm going to be picking up a Piranhamax 215 by Humminbird. I have a friend that has one and likes it, and I have heard from others that have had good luck with theirs also.

RR

Bumping back to the top. Lots of good info...

This is a popular topic. I thought I'd share. These are photos of my Pirahna setup. I epoxied a transducer to the inside of the bow of my prism. No suction cup etc. Plug in and go. Sweet...

Anyone ever used an aqua-vu? I bet it would work great since most lakes have clear water.

doggypaddle, an underwater camera would be very fun but I think it would be a serious pain to portage it!

I learned one more thing on this year's trip:

The Lowrance ice transducer shoots just fine through Souris River canoe.
The transducer does not shoot through MN-III canoes. The outfitter didn't seem surprised and mentioned a foam core in MN canoes...

a portable Cuda that operats on 8 AA batteries worked all week for us on Upper Basswood and be sure you get the one that also give you the water Temp. They sell from 128 down to 85. check walmart Bass Pro and
on the internet. It holds on by a suction cup but make sure you tye on a saftey line so you do not loose it.

Once you catch a fish check the water temp and the depth you were at and keep fishing that temp at that depth and you go nuts catching fish.

I forgot to remind you. Do not put DEET on you hands as 1 part per Million will drive every fish in the water away from you.

I have a Vexilar Boundary Water Edition and won't

leave home with out it.

I use a humminbird and their home website actually sells shoot through hull transducers. Might come in handy if you don't have a portable or your not a plumber.

Bump... This is an excellent thread that deserves a bump.

For trips that don't involve a tremendous amount of portaging, a depth finder is well worth the weight. You will definitely catch more fish...

I have a FL-18 Vexilar pro pack........ Has anyone converted this into a portable and brought it on a trip. I was think just buy an extra mounting bracket and mount it on one of the cross beams and then buy a portable (suction cup) transducer for $18. Another thought is, what would i do to the battery? Just place is on the floor of the canoe??

Any Ideas?

sax,

My Lowrace has about the same setup as the Vex. I just bring the whole bag.

But I am not sure about the Vex transducer. The lowrance transducer has a flat bottom. I can just set it on the bottom of the canoe and it shoots right through the Kevlar of a SR canoe.

I used another brand of canoe with foam in the bottom. I had a harder time shooting through that hull.

sax-
I've fished with the vex in the canoe, just throw the Styrofoam ice transducer over the side or get a suction cup. Works fine, but I don't think I'd want to portage it. Plus, with a flasher, you need to keep an eye on it all the time, which is fine in an ice house with nothing to look at, but in the b-dub it's nice to look around a little bit. I am using an Eagle cuda 300 portable. Runs on AA batteries cheap light and easy.

The main concern I would have with a vex is with the batteries. Those things are big and heavy, and a vex won't run as long on one of those as a small LCD will run on 8 AA's. The other thing is if you have one of the older vex's they don't work as well in the sun.

One other thing that I consider important is that I would feel better about wrecking a $100 LCD than a $3-500 vex.

I have the Humminbird PiranhaMax 160 (appears to now be replaced by the 175). It uses a small lead-acid battery, but really isn't all that heavy. I also have the accessory XI-9-20 transducer so I can use it for ice fishing as well. Nothing really special about it - just a decent dual-beam unit that seems to work.

quote tonyyarusso: "I have the Humminbird PiranhaMax 160 (appears to now be replaced by the 175). It uses a small lead-acid battery, but really isn't all that heavy."

After making some notes from this thread, I made a pit stop at Gander Mountain today to see what they had to offer. I found the Humminbird PiranhaMax (I think it was 160... can't remember for sure) to be quite heavy compared to the Eagle Fish Easy 350c. The Fish Easy had a color display, too, vs. the black & white of the PiranhaMax, although that wouldn't be the reason I'd buy it. Both seemed to have similar features other than that, but the Fish Easy was substantially lighter.

Is it possible that there's a weight difference in the ones with "Portable" in the model name? I seem to recall that after I got my 210, they changed the design for the worse -- it seemed less, uh... portable.

quote Jackfish: "
After making some notes from this thread, I made a pit stop at Gander Mountain today to see what they had to offer. I found the Humminbird PiranhaMax (I think it was 160... can't remember for sure) to be quite heavy compared to the Eagle Fish Easy 350c. The Fish Easy had a color display, too, vs. the black & white of the PiranhaMax, although that wouldn't be the reason I'd buy it. Both seemed to have similar features other than that, but the Fish Easy was substantially lighter."

You will want to check out the power draw on any color unit, some used double or triple what a basic grey scale would use, more power means more (heavy) batteries . Couldn't find the spec but might be worth a call to the MFG before you buy. Also like Schweady said, anything portable will have a base of some sort, adding to the weight, pretty easy to craft your own lightweight mount if you want to.

quote Jackfish: "I found the Humminbird PiranhaMax (I think it was 160... can't remember for sure) to be quite heavy compared to the Eagle Fish Easy 350c."

The Fish Easy runs on 8 AA batteries, as opposed to lead-acid, and the batteries are not included in the package - those two things easily explain the in-store weight difference.