thinking to buy a fishfinder seriously

[coyotezh]

Tested my new inflatable boat (Seamax). Way better than I thought! Now I feel a fishfinder is a must have equipment when do boating fishing... A salesperson in Cabelas suggested me to use fishing buddy (Humminbird). There are other suggestions as well. so many choices on the market.

I am not a rich guy and just want to buy something enough and functional meets my needs. and I only have an inflatable boat. another thing I am thinking is that I will ice fishing a lot. So, if I could use this fishfinder both on the boat and when ice fishing, that would be wonderful..

Any thoughts? or suggestions? Thanks a lot..

[BeeGuy]

I have a piranha max 150.

Cost about $100 on sale.

Works great on the canoe. Makes a world of difference.

Functional but not great for ice fishing. Units that have a flasher mode as well will cost significantly more.

Most of our icefishing is in 1-10 feet so a flasher isn't any more useful than just staring down the hole.

[coyotezh]

I have a piranha max 150.

Cost about $100 on sale.

Works great on the canoe. Makes a world of difference.

Functional but not great for ice fishing. Units that have a flasher mode as well will cost significantly more.

Most of our icefishing is in 1-10 feet so a flasher isn't any more useful than just staring down the hole.

Thank you so much!

[Bhflyfisher]

I have the fishin buddy 140c, and the LCD display is very iffy. Takes a while to warm up and is a complete pain in the butt. Going to be exchanging it for the same one before i go another route, hopefully it is just my unit.

If you can get one with a sidefinder do it. I had the sidefinder on during my last trip and it definitely accounted for some fish (quite a few fish actually). Some people say that the sidefinder is BS, and i too was skeptical at first. But definitely trust in it now.

[haggis57]

I've got a Humminbird Fishin Buddy 120 that I use with my float tube. I bought a Humminbird float tube holder that straps around the round float tube. I've used it for 3 years and wouldn't be without it. Overall very reliable and easy to configure. The B&W screen is fine my purposes and I get 15 to 20 hour battery life - basically as advertised. If I had to replace it, I would buy the same model again. I also like the fact that it would be easy to mount on a rental boat.

I use the downscan primarily for depth and structure when paddling around. It is also useful for fish when you are anchored. I too was initially sceptical of the side scan but have had some luck locating fish with it.

[coyotezh]

I've got a Humminbird Fishin Buddy 120 that I use with my float tube. I bought a Humminbird float tube holder that straps around the round float tube. I've used it for 3 years and wouldn't be without it. Overall very reliable and easy to configure. The B&W screen is fine my purposes and I get 15 to 20 hour battery life - basically as advertised. If I had to replace it, I would buy the same model again. I also like the fact that it would be easy to mount on a rental boat.

I use the downscan primarily for depth and structure when paddling around. It is also useful for fish when you are anchored. I too was initially sceptical of the side scan but have had some luck locating fish with it.

Thanks for sharing your experience with this unit. Have you ever use it for ice fishing? :thinking-006:

[uicehole]

I have a portable b&W finder that multitasks for ice fishing, canoeing, sailing, pontooning, floatubing and boating (inflatable). If you don't want to permanently mount your transducer, this contraption is what I use to stick to the transom. It's about 11 inches of 3/4 inch alum. tubing, one end cut and bent to take the transducer. The suction cups are from Crappy Tire from the roof rack aisle. For icefishing I remove the cups and add a cross piece.
http://www3.telus.net/public/uicehole/Pics/mount.jpg
Alternately, if you don't want to fab anything, you can just tuck the transducer under the floorboard providing your floorboard has the "U" cut into it to expose the drain plug. This shoots through the rubber bottom. The transducer bottom needs to be wet so add just a bit of water to the bottom of the boat. My ff is wired to use either a rechargable gel cel or the boat battery, whichever handy/available. The gel cel lasts for days of straight fishing, good for long trips. One fishfinder does it all if you buy the right portable for your needs and not mount the puck permanently.

More info from this older thread. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[Rascal4now]

my neighbor has one he would probably sell. He is elderly and would probably be happy to help clean out his garage. Let me know if you are interested and I'll ask him about it.

[haggis57]

I haven't had any experience ice fishing with my 120. I don't see why it wouldn't work. Battery life would be shorter. I really like the fact that it takes AA batteries as well. Generally available wherever you are.

[Mudslide]

A few things to consider if you want a dual purpose ice/open water fish finder.

First: GET A COLOUR UNIT!
Ask yourself this: would you buy a b&w TV today, even if it was really cheap?
I thought not. But it not just eye candy that comes with colour. You get much much better full sun viewing with a colour unit and the viewing angle blows the b&w units off the water.

Second: Get a unit that has a FLASHER MODE! If you've never ice fished (or vertical jigged for that matter) with a flasher, you have missed out on one of life's guiltiest pleasures. The graph mode works well too, but there's nothing like the immediacy of fishing with a flasher. The lines come together: you feel the bite. The fish comes up to the bait, but then turns away: Tease em into coming back and biting your jig. Adjust, adapt, HARVEST! You really have to try it to know what I'm talking about. Once you do, you will never want to fish without electronics again. SERIOUSLY!

Third: built in GPS is a huge advantage. Save your open water hot spots all season and go right back to that drop off in January when the lake is frozen solid. Mapping GPS holds a distinct advantage over just a dot on a blank screen but both will do the job. Mapping GPS requires that you get a unit with a card slot so that you can use Mapping software. Navionics is getting better and better for Alberta lakes, but the opportunity now exists For around a $1000. to make your own high def maps that are unmatched by anything you can buy commercially.

So where does that leave us? Well at around 400 bucks to start, that's where. So who are the contenders? Well the Humminbird 385ci portable http://www.thedigitaloasis.com/HUMMINBIRD-385CI-PORTABLE-W-INTERNAL-ANTENNA_p_3189.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=407710-1 has to be on everyone's list, as does the new Lowrance elite 4 http://www.thedigitaloasis.com/Lowrance-Elite-4-Ice-Machine-83200-Transducer-000-10492-001_p_18882.html Both of these units are great but the screen size is too small for my tired eyes. I personally wouldn't go for anything less than a 5 inch screen and if you're going there, I would have a serious look at the Lowrance HDS-5. at $699. Buy a 12 volt gel battery and a lunch box and make yourself a portable unit second to none. Spend a few bucks and get a unit that will last you a lifetime: Just say'n

[huntsfurfish]

First is your budget. Buy as good as you can afford.

Nothing wrong with black and white. If your budget is on the low end BW will still serve you well. When color first came out daylight washout was a concern but is no longer a problem. BW was and is fine in that area.

I icefish and use HDS or 337 color units. I do not use the flasher mode for ice fishing. Just set up(adjust) scroll speed and ping speed etc. Better than flasher:) you have history if you look away and when the lines intersect you feel the bite.:) Plus you can see your jigging cadence and repeat if it is working.

However, if you can swing it go with Lowrance HDS-5.

[coyotezh]

A few things to consider if you want a dual purpose ice/open water fish finder.

First: GET A COLOUR UNIT!
Ask yourself this: would you buy a b&w TV today, even if it was really cheap?
I thought not. But it not just eye candy that comes with colour. You get much much better full sun viewing with a colour unit and the viewing angle blows the b&w units off the water.

Second: Get a unit that has a FLASHER MODE! If you've never ice fished (or vertical jigged for that matter) with a flasher, you have missed out on one of life's guiltiest pleasures. The graph mode works well too, but there's nothing like the immediacy of fishing with a flasher. The lines come together: you feel the bite. The fish comes up to the bait, but then turns away: Tease em into coming back and biting your jig. Adjust, adapt, HARVEST! You really have to try it to know what I'm talking about. Once you do, you will never want to fish without electronics again. SERIOUSLY!

Third: built in GPS is a huge advantage. Save your open water hot spots all season and go right back to that drop off in January when the lake is frozen solid. Mapping GPS holds a distinct advantage over just a dot on a blank screen but both will do the job. Mapping GPS requires that you get a unit with a card slot so that you can use Mapping software. Navionics is getting better and better for Alberta lakes, but the opportunity now exists For around a $1000. to make your own high def maps that are unmatched by anything you can buy commercially.

So where does that leave us? Well at around 400 bucks to start, that's where. So who are the contenders? Well the Humminbird 385ci portable http://www.thedigitaloasis.com/HUMMINBIRD-385CI-PORTABLE-W-INTERNAL-ANTENNA_p_3189.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=407710-1 has to be on everyone's list, as does the new Lowrance elite 4 http://www.thedigitaloasis.com/Lowrance-Elite-4-Ice-Machine-83200-Transducer-000-10492-001_p_18882.html Both of these units are great but the screen size is too small for my tired eyes. I personally wouldn't go for anything less than a 5 inch screen and if you're going there, I would have a serious look at the Lowrance HDS-5. at $699. Buy a 12 volt gel battery and a lunch box and make yourself a portable unit second to none. Spend a few bucks and get a unit that will last you a lifetime: Just say'n

woooo, this is good stuff! thanks so much:sHa_shakeshout:

[fishnfoo]

I also have an HDS 5 and am really happy with it.

[Garry B]

A few things to consider if you want a dual purpose ice/open water fish finder. - <snip>

Thanks. My brother is looking for a new one (asked me to scout for him) and your post gives us an idea where to start.