portable fish finder

[bowhunterwa87]

I just bought (on backorder) a hummingbird fishing buddy fish finder.. not sure what to expect. Was hopeing you guys could give me a little imput on what you think of it..just going to be useing it on my 12' starcraft and like the idea of it just clamping on the side. Buddy of mine gave me a hummingbird lcr3000 but i figured it was a little much for the minnow 

[lokidog]

You can never have too nice of a fish finder, especially one that's free.  I've had good luck with Humminbirds, though haven't had that model.

[Kola16]

I am sorry, but the fishing buddies are pretty bad. They quit working pretty quickly 

[Fish4Fun]

I have a hummingbird fishing buddy fish finder on the 12' boat we use off the beach for crabbing. It actually does work pretty good, good bottom detail for setting pots, and it does show fish too. I am pretty happy with it, not the same as I have on my sled but at least I know how deep I am setting pots.

[bowhunterwa87]

Right on..im just going to use it to locate schools of walleye and for bobber fishing salmon

kola16 how long did yours work before it went tits up?

[hookr88]

I have been using mine for two years now for crabbing, and it still works. Hopefully, this week I will get to use it for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. The only draw back is that you have to pull it out of the bracket when your running at speed. It slips in and out of the bracket pretty easy, but I always worry about the butter finger syndrome, and I don't think it floats.

[DoubleJ]

As stated above, either remove it when going over 5mph or buy a bungee cord and clamp it into place.  Otherwise it's going to end up at the bottom of whatever body of water you're on.  Other than that, and the occational glitch where it says I'm in 130ft of water in my local duck pont, I've had good luck with mine

[Kola16]

Right on..im just going to use it to locate schools of walleye and for bobber fishing salmon

kola16 how long did yours work before it went tits up?

1 year. I also sell fishfinders and I see these come back after very little use fairly often.

[bowhunterwa87]

I see. Kola16... are there any other brands you may suggest that are clamp on portable type..i do have the bigger one but its kinda a pain to put a battery in the boat everytime so i opted for the portable style.. never take my ele trolling motor anymore so dont wanna pack large battery for just a fishfinder.
Sounds like it will work temporarilly but will need to be bunjeed down and replaced every year or two..hope maybe i can just have them order me another make as mine wont b in for a month anyway

[Kola16]

If you have to have a clamp on then there is no other option. If I were you though, I would buy a battery somewhat like these:
http://www.amazon.com/12-volt-18-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B000RAVT58/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1406668679&sr=1-2&keywords=small+12+volt+battery

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Rechargeable-12-Volt-Battery/700551.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dbattery%26x%3D-891%26y%3D-51%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=battery&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products .

 Then use something like pvc pipe to mount your transducer (pvc is super cheap and easy to make whatever you want out of). I will get you actual pics later, but here is a drawing. If you dont need color, a Lowrance Mark-4 HDI is a good little unit that has GPS (with contour lines on the map), downscan sonar, and such for around $200. If you don't need the GPS, but want color than you could go with an Elite-4x HDI for about $150…….there are so many combinations and options.

[bowhunterwa87]

Awesome thank you

[Buckmark]

Yep, i would make a portable unit out of the hummingbird you have now.
I did with one, mounted the transducer to a bracket on a 1x2 with a stainless bolt and nut so i can remove it, have a small case with foam for the finder and wires and put clips on the power wires. transducer (sans 1x2) unit a wires all fit neatly in it for transport and use...i can use it on anything that has a battery supply...i could even use a small motorcycle battery if needed (like if i was only rowing)

[Kola16]

Here is my setup for my small aluminum boat I then just pull the pvc out that has the transducer on it, and switch it to my kayak whenever I want

[hookr88]

I also just thought about the batteries for the FF. I remove my batteries at the end of the season. Corrosion from the batteries may be causing some of the premature failures in some of the units. Just something to think about.