After years of fishing in the BWCA I'm finally looking to invest in a solid, lightweight, portable fish finder. I have no experience with them. Any advice you could give on a specific unit and how to mount/use it would be greatly appreciated.

(I just found this site and I'm incredibly excited to read/contribute!)

I just purchased one myself. Can't wait to use it. I got a portable Humminbird, comes with a carrying case, has the suction cup, seems pretty easy. It also has the GPS so you can see the lake maps, etc. I noticed one of your favorite lakes is Alice. We will be spending a night or two there on our trip this May. Have you had pretty good luck there?

We've had decent luck with walleyes trolling off the southern shoreline with leeches on Alice. Although this is usually a mid summer pattern. Early morning and late evening only.

Which model did you purchase?

Welcome to the site Hawkeye, I just wanted to say hi and hope to see more of your posts in the future.

i think its the 385 CI. They also have the same model not in color which i think knocks off maybe a hundred bucks. Like you I've wanted one for a long time and i know i'll use it every year in the bwca so i figured i'd get something that i'd be happy with for a long time.

First of all, welcome to this site. It is filled to the brim with interesting and fun people who are VERY enthusiast about the BWCA.
I use a Humminbird PiranhaMax 230(?). It runs on 8 AA batts., is very lite, quite portable, and is very user friendly. Good luck, contribute freely, and tell us about some hotspots!!!!(we won't tell anybody!)

I picked up a 230 and have been using it, it’s not as full featured as the larger units but you don't need it up there, fishing is good for the most part, basic depth, water temp ect is about all you need to really hone in on a spot. The bigger the unit you get the more power it will draw, the one posted above draws close to 500mah, the 230 does something like 125-150mah, so you will get allot more hours out of the same amount of batteries, something to consider for Bdub use.

I have a piranna max 215 that I have been bringing for a few years now. It works great. But I hated how bulky the base was and how when the the transducer was suctioned to the side of the canoe it was sideways and created a ton of drag, so I modded mine a little bit. I just bungee it to the thwart and the batteries and extra cable all fit in the little pouch inside my thwart bag.

quote walter: "i think its the 385 CI. They also have the same model not in color which i think knocks off maybe a hundred bucks. Like you I've wanted one for a long time and i know i'll use it every year in the bwca so i figured i'd get something that i'd be happy with for a long time."

Walter, what sort of battery does that come with and have you tested run time yet? If I remember right it uses a small (9amp?) gel cell. I've been thinking about getting the 385ci to use in part as a BWCA portable but feel like it is still up there in power draw. It is the lowest power draw unit that still takes the Lakemaster Humminbird chip which is awesome. It is also compatible with my boat because I already have the quick disconnect mounts at the console and bow. I'd be interested in hearing first hand experience of someone else using the 385ci because I feel that this sort of sonar and GPS are far superior to other options.

Would a through the bow transducer be better? I don't know if I like the idea of suction cupping something to the side of the canoe.

quote stormrider1: "I have a piranna max 215 that I have been bringing for a few years now. It works great. But I hated how bulky the base was and how when the the transducer was suctioned to the side of the canoe it was sideways and created a ton of drag, so I modded mine a little bit. I just bungee it to the thwart and the batteries and extra cable all fit in the little pouch inside my thwart bag.
"

Interesting... What did you use for the white plastic piece? I have that same problem with the drag and sideways transducer.

In my kayak I shoot through the hull by setting the ducer in a puddle. Since I often fish in rough water I keep my puddle in one place with duct seal putty. Works well and I can easily clean it off the hull and move it if needed.

I use a lowrance mark-4. Like it so far and the depth seems pretty reliable. It also has gps and came with contour maps of my local lakes at no extra charge. It seems to read water temp through the hull pretty well too but it takes quite a while for my puddle to reach the actual water temp.

quote DTrain:


Interesting... What did you use for the white plastic piece? I have that same problem with the drag and sideways transducer."

I don't know what that white plastic piece was for, It was a 3 x 3 piece of half inch plastic, I found in my neighbors garage, that I cut to fit. The plan was to make a metal bracket before I found the plastic piece. Sorry I don't know more about it.

Looks like the plastic piece might be a product called starboard. We use it for lots of boat projects.

Another vote for the Humminbird Pirahnamax 230.
Still waiting for my endorsement check in the mail..............

IF you can find a Vexilar Boundary Waters CLC-200, get one. They are not made anymore-which is really too bad-but they are awesome. You can find them on Craigslist and Ebay occasionally.

Do a google search for hobie kayak fish finder install kits, I ordered one about 2 months ago, a lowrance x4pro, it has everything you need to put a fishfinder in your canoe or kayak, the mounting can be changed to be temporary or removable, great kit at a great price... Am i allowed to post that kind of testimonial on here? any ways, i love mine, took less than an hour for the whole install, minus dry time for the adhesive on the transducer...

If you have any questions you can email me...

I was just on the Humminbird web site. Check out the Fishin'Buddy 110. $120, shows the bottom to 240 feet, mounts with a C-clamp (included), runs on 6 AA batteries, and runs 30 hours on alkaline (more for sure with lithium). It does not shoot sideways, have fish alarms, show colors, or do the boogaloo. But it will show me the bottom, and that's all I care about. Anybody own one of these? Is there bad news about this model?

Joe

That's the one that I use Frenchy. It is small, light weight and easy on the batteries. I always carry a change of batteries but have never had to use them. When flipped open, there is a convenient tray for placing loose tackle. Just love it. I see the one you have pictured is a color version where mine is just one color, Color tends to use more power. Something to consider.

quote Frenchy19: "IF you can find a Vexilar Boundary Waters CLC-200, get one. They are not made anymore-which is really too bad-but they are awesome. You can find them on Craigslist and Ebay occasionally.


"

A friend has one of these. Been out with it a few times. Been looking for one ever since!

quote joe47: "I was just on the Humminbird web site. Check out the Fishin'Buddy 110. $120, shows the bottom to 240 feet, mounts with a C-clamp (included), runs on 6 AA batteries, and runs 30 hours on alkaline (more for sure with lithium). It does not shoot sideways, have fish alarms, show colors, or do the boogaloo. But it will show me the bottom, and that's all I care about. Anybody own one of these? Is there bad news about this model?


Joe"They look good and work fine until you try to paddle. The drag makes paddleing hard and trolling impossible. Something that will shoot through the hull works best.

I have an Eagle Cuda 300. Very inexpensive, works fine, runs on AA batteries which last all week. I modified mine by getting rid of the bulky base so it packs smaller and sits higher in the canoe instead of on the floor.

quote stormrider1: "I have a piranna max 215 that I have been bringing for a few years now. It works great. But I hated how bulky the base was and how when the the transducer was suctioned to the side of the canoe it was sideways and created a ton of drag, so I modded mine a little bit. I just bungee it to the thwart and the batteries and extra cable all fit in the little pouch inside my thwart bag.
"

You have inspired me to do a similar Mod today. I have the same problem when trolling, The transducer would flip backward from the force of the water and not give me an accurate reading. I hope this works!

It might be hard to see but I added some rubber washers around all the screws to give more grip and prevent slippage that could lead to the same problem.

Welcome to the site Hawkeye! I have still yet to get a depth/fish finder... I know it would be really handy and would be nice to have. I feel like it could suck at times though if you see all the fish down there and none of them are biting though. That would drive me insane... for now I'm content with fishing the old fashioned way with contour maps but I'm sure someday I'll invest in one.

There is a Vexilar FS on this board as I type...

Any worries about the suction cup coming off?

I bought a 385 ci last year and used in in BWCA. I love it. Most of the drawbacks are anticipated above. Specifically, 12 volt battery. Depending on how you use it and how many functions you have going at the same time, you should get 40 hours use at least. That leaves either bringing a second battery or a way to charge it for trips where you may run it more than that. I experimented with a goal zero solar system. I recommend not forgetting all of the wires. Also, it is cumbersome to portage. The suction cup is imperfect, I usually just reach down and firm it up every 20 minutes or so. A through the hull system would be awesome except that you lose some of the data (like water temperature). Having the GPS and pre-programming some of the tricky to find portages in areas where we had never been was a real bonus.

Bought the Lowrance X-4 Portable last year...worked great. One thing that was nice is that to modify the transducer for a canoe (underneath as opposed to a transom on a boat) all I had to do was reverse the direction that I attached the transducer to the bracket. Easy.

I have the Humminbird PirhanaMAX 160 - greyscale, dual-beam, no maps or GPS, very affordable. The suction cup works great on Royalex and glassed cedar strip, but not so well on scratched up aluminum; haven't tried on Kevlar yet. The cable has a clip to hold it on the boat in case the suction cup falls off though.

quote Frenchy19: "IF you can find a Vexilar Boundary Waters CLC-200, get one. They are not made anymore-which is really too bad-but they are awesome. You can find them on Craigslist and Ebay occasionally.


"

+2

quote Hawkeye2010: "Any worries about the suction cup coming off?
"

Time to resurrect an old post... came across this one looking up the Vexilar.
For those who worry about the suction cup coming off… try this:
SC Clamp-on Transducer from Spring Creek Outfitters
http://store.springcreek.com/Fishing-Accessories/Fishing-Accessories/SC-Clamp-on-Transducer-p1453.html
I have used it regularly on our Canadian walleye fishing trips to Lac Seul, even with 40 hp motors, I have never had an issue with the transducer; and I kept it extended in the water for the whole week!