Portabe fish finder for use from the shore

[-Henno-]

Far as I know Humminbird are the only ones making the castable version which I think is really a bit of a gimmick but will readily apologise if anybody is a fan. I do a lot of kayak fishing so am used to tinkering and modifying stuff myself. Have you ever priced a gel battery? They are really exy mate. If you do get the smart cast from humminbird you could just run a little sealed lead acid 7A/H they are only about $40 and run my top of the line 3005 Deep Humminbird for several days of 4 to 8 hour fishing missions before I need to recharge it.

[PinHead]

Are you serious? Just learn a bit about the places you fish and also baits etc..should not be any need for a fish finder. The only fish finder I have ever used is a rod and reel.

[delewin]

Hi Guys

I am one of the many thousands of fishermen that does not own a boat (nowhere to store it at home).

I am looking to buy a portable fish finder, etc. My budget is approx AU$600 - 700 all up. I want to get the best set up for the money. I would like to be abe to use it on the rare occasions that I hire a tinny, but mainly it will be used from shore. ( I could buy 2 transducers - one for use in a boat and the other for use from shore.)

I want to set up a portable unit with a 12V gel battery.

I do most of my fishing from the shore line and I want to mount the transducer on a float. I plan to "cast" the transducer using one rod and fish with others.

1. How long can I have the cable from transducer to display unit?

2. Can I add extentions? If so, how do I seal the fittings? Would Silastic work?

3. Would a "tri-beam" transducer be better for my specific use than a single or double?

4. What fish finder models would suit my needs?

5. Are there any web sites that compare various fish finders?

Humminbird has a low powered wireless model. Does anyone know of other manufactures that produce a more powerfull version?

The biggest benefit of the above rig is to know that there are no fish of suitable size and therefore not to waste my time at that spot - ie. look elsewhere.

I'm surprised that other manufactures have not tried to capture this very big potential market!!!

Thank you.

[delewin]

Thank you both for your comments.

PinHead, how many hours have you sat/stood patiently waiting for a strike? I agree the rod and reel is the only way to catch fish, but it relys on fish being there in the first place. Yes how you present your bait and rig is critical to catching fish, but in reality, if you know there are no suitable sized fish in the area, would you sit and wait (for hours) or move to another favourite spot of yours?

Personally, I would move to another spot.

I look at the number of recreational fishing boats out there with fish finders and think "why can't shore fishermen have the same facility?"

Fish finders do not guarantee a catch, only an opportunity.

I'm going to the Sydney Boat Show this week and I hope to talk to all the "fish finder" distributers/suppliers.

[adamleah]

I have just seen something on ebay that might be handy to you..
They have portable depth sounders in the USA now that run on 4 x AA batteries..
I dont know how good they would be though.. couldnt expect too much

Heres a link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3618867091&category=29723

[delewin]

Thank you adamleah,

I have looked at the link. It looks a bit "primative".

I discussed my need with the various suppliers at the boat show and all of them said that the Humminbird smart cast is the only one that is suitable at the moment. When pushed to find out when their supplier would be coming out with something similar - they could not tell me.

So I will wait a bit for the other manufacturers to come out with a similar model. (hopefully with a more powerfull transducer as 33 metres is just not enough.)

I am sure most shore fishermen can cast at least 33 metres and that is not allowing for drift.

Thank you all for your contributions.
Regards,
David
:)

[-Henno-]

33 metres by my reckoning is 108 feet, that's a bloody good cast I think.

I don't think range from the unit back to your portable transducer will be your real problem. I think the thing that may let you down with this system is how much clarity you will get from something like this. I doubt it will give you a good idea of baitfish or even the difference between a big lump of weed and a fish. The high end models do this with fancy algorithym calculations built into the electronics. The transducer on something castable would be too basic.

It may give you a rough idea of what is out there but my opinion is it reeks of gimmick mate!

[Andrew]

I don't know if pinhead meant it this way but a rod n' reel can be used as a depth sounder from the bank by casting around systematically with only a lead on the end and counting as the lead sinks. After 30 min or so you will know where the holes etc are and next time at the same spot you won't need to do it again.

[griz066]

Here is another link to look at hope it helps
http://www.norcrossmarine.com/HEFF33000P.htm

[smiley=laola.gif]

[scottyb]

Hi delewin,
I used to have a portable fish finder but sold it on ebay. They sell them in NZ somewhere still. Also aome Kmarts in aus stil have them. they sell for about 250-300. you can also get a floating transducer sent over from the states too. If you want to pay $600 then buy a cheap kayak and the portable and cover more ground.
any more q.s just email me
scott

[Andrew]

Scotty, how well did it work?

[scottyb]

excellent. it was that accurate of you moved your paddle to close to the sender, the swirls of different temps in the water flow showed up on the screen. I just pushed the paddle out further to stop this.
scottyb