Portable Transducer Pods

[dzumwalt]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to see if I could get your opinion on the portable transducer pods and I have two in mind.

Vexilar SonarPhone with Transducer Pod
Amazon.com: Vexilar SP100 SonarPhone with Transducer Pod: Sports & Outdoors

Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder
Amazon.com: Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder (Depth Finder) for Smartphone or Tablet, suitable for Ice Fishing, Kayak, Boat and Shore Fishing. Compatible with iOS and Android devices: Sports & Outdoors

Both hook to your phone via Wifi or Bluetooth. The deeper looks like a more quality product but is pricier then the Vexilar and the deeper connects via Bluetooth which from past experience drains the battery on your phone a lot faster. If you have other suggestions then feel free to mention those as well. I fish off of a kayak and from the bank so that is why I think the pods would work better.
Thanks,
Dirk

[vic n]

Just to be curious, I looked up videos of each unit. Here is the one I watched from the deeper, and there are more available if you look. It appears there are more features on the Deeper menus to adjust and then possibly get better resolution. The Deeper also has three spots to connect a line or connector rod for different fishing modes (kayak, boat, shore, bridge, etc). I think both lose/interrupt signal when water covers them, so a slow retrieve is necessary. I'm wondering if heavy waves would give a lousy return with the waves going over the top all the time? I'd say if a large percentage of your fishing is from a kayak, then maybe I'd advise a decent portable unit from H'bird, Low, etc. so you could use it on the kayak or for ice fishing. If you bank fish a lot then one of these units might be a good idea. Good luck with whatever you choose

[bowillis24]

I put a cheap hummingbird on my yak with a small motorcycle battery in a sealed box for less than $200 bucks that works great but like said above if you bank fish a lot then one of those may be more what fits your needs


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[dzumwalt]

Thank you for all the comments and it does help on my decision making process.

Dirk

[mikfort51]

I bought the sonar phone and it works well. Over known areas it shows the same contours as my in dash unit on my bass boat. I use it in the well of my dock to see if the crappie are home

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[vic n]

I use it in the well of my dock to see if the crappie are home

I like this usage and I can see using a big pole (14') to drop into a boat slip to check for fish. It could take the place of a more expensive 360° unit if you ease up to a known brushpile and use a big rod to check all around it for fish

[dzumwalt]

I bought the sonar phone and it works well. Over known areas it shows the same contours as my in dash unit on my bass boat. I use it in the well of my dock to see if the crappie are home

Sent from my A3-A20FHD using Tapatalk

Have you had any issues with disconnects or battery issues? I read some of the reviews that said they had these issues but they were posted a while back and hoping that they have made improvements by now. Like a Sonar Phone 2.0 or something.

Thanks for the info,
Dirk

[mikfort51]

Have you had any issues with disconnects or battery issues? I read some of the reviews that said they had these issues but they were posted a while back and hoping that they have made improvements by now. Like a Sonar Phone 2.0 or something.

Thanks for the info,
Dirk

No problems with disconnects. If several people are sitting around the well all can look on their phones to see whats going on underneath. It's pretty funny

[dzumwalt]

No problems with disconnects. If several people are sitting around the well all can look on their phones to see whats going on underneath. It's pretty funny

Awesome! Thanks for the response. I think the kids would get a kick out of it.

Thanks,
Dirk