Portable fish finder help

[oldjeda]

Hey guys,

I need help in purchasing a portable fish finder. I've been asking around and think a Garmin would be a good choice but have not yet found a supplier in Lethbridge or close by. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to other brands as well as I know NOTHING about sonar units. I will be sending this as a gift to a friend overseas who fishes reefs off the shores of Papua New Guinea. It has to be portable and easy to use and waterproof and easy to see the screen in very bright sunlight as well as at night and maybe powered by 12 volt or some other portable battery pack. Oh ya and it has to be a good quality one as I wnat it to be maintenance free for him.

Long list I know.

Any suggestions?

[Kingfisher]

You can make any fish finder portable. I am currently using a Lawrance HDS5 and I have made it fully portable.

I have the transponder screwed onto a piece of 1"X3" which is about 16" long. I have the finder mounted onto a piced of 1"X6" which is about 18" long. I have mounted a clamp onto the rear of the 1"X6" and this clamps onto the transom of my boat. The clamp is large enough to put the 1"X3" between the clamp and the transom. This holds it tight and in place. I connect the finder up to a battery and I'm off fishing.

I'm heading out fishing for the weekend. So I will take a few pictures of my set up and show you next week what I have done.

As a side note. I have also mounted a Scotty mount to the back of the 1"X6" board and in that I put my anchor pulley. There is another Scotty mount farther forward that I put a rod holder into.

May as well make it all portable.

Rob

[SushiUnagi]

I have a Humminbird PiranhaMax 160 Portable for just over a year before it ceased to work. Bought it at Bass Pro. They said they want nothing of it even if its under warranty. You need to bring it back to the factory to get it fixed (in Alabama). Whatever you choose, I'd highly recommend FishinHole first and foremost as they stand by their products.

In any case, the portable sonar I had was good while it lasts...caught my first fish using it. Comes with a suction cup that secures the transducer to the stern of my boat easily and securely. Never came off. The length of the transducer cable was very long as well so I can move the unit all the way to the bow without problem.

Even on bright sunny days it is very clear visually and super easy to use. Power up and off you go.

I don't know if I will get another Humminbird with my bad experience with this unit failing after a year. Its still in fantastic shape as it comes with the portable carry bag, so its very useful and handy when you carry it around from boat to boat or bring it back indoors.

I guess you might've done your research, guess voltage is the same in New Guinea?

The only downside with buying electronics overseas is the warranty, so I'd caution on that if you can.

Hope this helps!

[Kingfisher]

I was out fishing this weekend and took a picture of my portable set up. I am currently using a Lawrance HDS5. I have it mounted onto a piece of 1X6 and to the bottom of the 1X6 I have mounted a clamp. The clamp fixes the board to the transom and also the transponder which is mouned to a piece of 1X3 15 inches long. Once it is all clamped into place I also mount up the anchor and the rod holder. Both are on Scotty mounts.

Here is a picture of my portable unit.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attachment.php?attachmentid=35024&stc=1&d=1303893092

Any unit can be made to be portable. I have taken my finder and put it on other boats. It works fantastic.

Rob

[tonycanevaro]

i want to set something like this up in our canoe. anyone use the fishing buddy alkaline battery rigs? i would like to avoid the large battery if possible. suggrstions?

[insomniac]

I use the Humminbird fishin buddy on my canoe. I have the 140C (color model). It works pretty well. I previously had the older Bottomline Fishin buddy 1200 model too. The new one is much better (better screen, better cone angle)

Pros: Self contained and very convenient to use, uses standard AA batteries (lots of them, needs six), decent screen. The black & white (greyscale) models are cheaper and actually have a bigger screen and better battery life but color is nice...

Cons: For slow trolling only. If you troll fast the unit will rattle around in the holder a bit. It's not that cheap and for the same price or slightly more you can get other models that have a few more features but won't be nearly as convenient.

[ULTRAlite]

Pretty darn good product is the Humminbird 160 or 345c depending on how much you wanna spend. Good solid unit with on board 12 Volt battery that holds an incredibly long charge. Can't say how it'd fair in sal****er but I can see my 1/64 oz jig in 30 feet of water.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/356812/PiranhaMAX_160_Portable

[Ace]

I've been using an Eagle 245 for the past few years and it's served me well for my canoe. Here's my setup on my canoe. My transducer is mounted to a wooden plate on the rod.

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9057/aidenfishing.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/aidenfishing.jpg/)


However, I'm about to upgrade my fishfinder as I have a new inflatable and want something a bit fancier. I'm looking at the Hummingbird 385 portable.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/356811?product_id=bb9007321453d025c044f177890da240

http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/humminbird/385ci-combo-portable.html

See ya
Ace

[32-40win]

I've used the old version Fishin Buddy and the new one, both are about the same life on batteries, about 3 days of steady fishing. I've used it on float tubes, pontoon boats and boats. Have to remember to pull it out when travelling faster than a troll speed and when coning into shore, but that is about it. I bought a Humminbird 700 series a few years ago for the boat, after drowning the old Fishin buddy, actually like the Fishin Buddy better, so I went and bought the new version. Old one was far nicer to handle batteries in.

[RapStaff]

I mounted my X 67c on a Coleman lunch cooler which holds the cables battery and head when not in use. I use a suction cup mount for the transducer. Works great on canoes and boats alike . I even built a mount for my float tube for it.