Humminbird Fishin Buddy Fish Finders?

[RyanMac14]

So since I am not as brave as some and havent been out fishing lately, I have used more time than I would like to admit looking at equipment. Now since I have a small jon boat and am impaired in terms of putting things together correctly, I have shyed away from buying a fish finder. I have seen humminbird makes ones that simply clamp to your gunnel. Has anyone had any experience with these? If not any suggestions of a fish finder under 300 bucks that would be installed fairly simply? Thanks! On a side note, I have saltwater rods and reels that I would be interested in trading for freshwater. What would the best place on here or elsewhere be?

[lennysky]

Big fan of Lowrance but Hummingbird is good too. For simple install, use a temporary side mount bracket which clips onto a boat. If alum boat you can drill or epoxy a piece of wood to a boat and then install a transducer bracket or trolling motor mount bracket. None of these are too difficult.

[CMJeepster]

I've been using the Fishin' Buddy 140C (color & sideview) for a year now on my kayak in mostly freshwater. It's been great for both finding fish and being able to observe the bottom for structure & holes, etc. on bodies of water that I'm not familiar with. The sideview is nice to be able to locate fish hiding along a bank / in cover and the downview easily & accurately allows you to find out where the fish are in the water column. Heck, I pulled in my first lake trout last Saturday at Round Valley using the unit to find the depth of the fish and vertically jigging a Binsky Blade.

I like that it uses 6-AA batteries that I can pick up anywhere in the U.S. should mine die. I usually keep a spare sent in a ZipLoc in the kayak just in case. I am going to buy two sets of rechargeables soon though. Battery life can vary depending on conditions, but I've gotten about 16-20 hours of operation out of a set.

Is it worth the ~$250 that I spent on it from WalMart.com? Absolutely! It's helped me be able to find fish while prospecting unknow-to-me bodies of water and land fish that I wouldn't have found had I not had it.

The only drawback that I can think of is that I need to remove it if I'm paddling with a purpose as the drag that it creates makes it wobble and slows me down. It's a 8 second operation, so not a big deal.

Any specific questions?

[RyanMac14]

Great info. Couple questions, had you used any type of fish finder before this and if not was it simple to familiarize yourself with? I have never used one so I do not know if the image displayed represents exactly what is under you or a certain distance ahead or how you ensure the position on the screen is where you think it is representing. Also any reason beside the side view that you went with this over the basic models and do you think it makes a significant difference? Thanks again for any and all information.

[CMJeepster]

Originally Posted by RyanMac14

...had you used any type of fish finder before this and if not was it simple to familiarize yourself with?

I'd never owned one before but had used one a few times on friends' boats. This unit is easy / simple. Mount it, turn it on and fish.

Originally Posted by RyanMac14

I have never used one so I do not know if the image displayed represents exactly what is under you or a certain distance ahead or how you ensure the position on the screen is where you think it is representing.

I mainly use the "drift over it and cast back into it" method when using the down-looking sonar. If I'm prospecting (paddling at low spead), I'll keep it running to get a general sense of the bottom contour and structures.

Originally Posted by RyanMac14

Also any reason beside the side view that you went with this over the basic models and do you think it makes a significant difference? Thanks again for any and all information.

I went with the color as for me it is easier to see the make-up (sand, stone, weeds) of the bottom with the color display.

[RyanMac14]

Great info. Any disadvantages to it conpared to a traditionally mounted fish fnder?

[CMJeepster]

Originally Posted by RyanMac14

Great info. Any disadvantages to it conpared to a traditionally mounted fish fnder?

I can't really comment on that as I've not used one with my kayak. I really wanted a simple unit that was removable and simply powered compared to those installations that I've seen on the kayak fishing boards with external power & sensor mounts.

[Chrisper4694]

I have a Jon boat that I transport upside down on my roof rack so nothing is attached to it permanently. For a fish finder I rigged it up in a milk crate which gets strapped down in the seat with a battery in it and head unit attached to the front then a pvc arm that twists to hold the transducer in the water. I use this for my Jon boat, kayak, and ice fishing all interchangeable.

[justin1982]

I have a fishing buddy. As said before, it's great for locating drop offs, holes, etc and water temps. I'm still figuring everything out on it but for the price and convenience I think it's the best bet

[catfishonthelake]

I used to have a fishing buddy and it got the job done, but the 6 C battery thing was a total pain sometimes. If you have a few more bucks to burn, I HIGHLY recommend the Humminbird 345c Portable. It's a self-contained unit in a carrying case that has a rechargeable battery and a transducer with a suction cup. It has a bunch of different modes and even a flasher mode for ice fishing. They sell a separate ice transducer, but you can definitely tweak the one it comes with to work through the ice. I think Lowrance has a portable unit too and so does Garmin. The all have a case that sits right on your deck, bucket floor whatever, have rechargeable batteries and suction cup transducers. I think they're a better alternative. That's my 2 cents.