Portable fish finder

[crappiefarmer]

I'm looking for a good one for my canoe. I'm looking at one of those new humminbird types that clamp on. Kind of like the old bottomline type. Did they buy out bottomline or something? Would like your opinions on these or other type portables. Do the suction cups on the suction cup transducers hold up or do they quit working? Thanks for the info. CF

[crappiepants]

I use the suction cup on my little boat when i go pond fishing. Mine only stays on for about 30 mins then i gotta put it on agian. A buddy of mine uses one also and his stays on the whole fishing trip. We both have 12 foot jon boats. I don't mind putting mine back on when it falls off but i wish i knew why his stays on all day and mine won't. They are fairly cheap and you dont have to drill holes in the boat. Hope that helps.

[Barnacle Bill]

You don't want a Bottom Line. Thats experience talking.

[crappiefarmer]

You don't want a Bottom Line. Thats experience talking.

Hey Bill,

I remember you saying that before. this is hummingbirds version of the clamp on type. I figured this would be the easiest way but am open to suggestion. CF

[PanMan_VA]

I would pick out a Lowrance (Eagle) or Humminbird portable unit that fits my price range and fishing needs. Here are the portable units Cabelas sells:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...entId=cat21276

[texascrappiefisherman]

This is what I use in my kayak(s).
It works great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Zebco-ZF200-...QQcmdZViewItem

Here's the same fishfinder with a different name:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3661652

[freeflow_23]

Hey CF,
I have been looking at them for quite some time for my canoe.
I too have been looking at the Fishing Buddy kind. A friend of mine had a really old one on his canoe and it seemed to work fine.
Thought about just getting a Eagle cuda and rigging the transducer somehow but have always liked the single all-together setup of the fishing buddy things. Plus it takes AA batts which is pretty convenient.

It's on my wish list at Basspro.com and I've got some gift cards burnin' a whole in my wallet!

[fished-out]

I'm looking for a good one for my canoe. I'm looking at one of those new humminbird types that clamp on. Kind of like the old bottomline type. Did they buy out bottomline or something? Would like your opinions on these or other type portables. Do the suction cups on the suction cup transducers hold up or do they quit working? Thanks for the info. CF

You don't have to limit yourself to portable sonars; on my frequent trips to Canada and other places where I rent small boats, I've carried a standard sonar and a clamp-on mounting bracket that also holds the transducer for years. The suction type transducers can be a pain (I've had them). You've probably seen these type of mounts and ruled them out, but here's a link just in case.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...esults#reviews

[gabowman]

A guy I know has a regular fish finder mounted into an empty tackle box and the transducer is mounted onto a piece of flat aluminun. He clamps the flat alum. to his boat when fishing and takes it off when not fishing (so it doesnt get stolen). He uses his while trolling. You might want to consider attaching something to mount a reg. transducer to so you can eliminate the suction cups.

[Barnacle Bill]

You don't have to limit yourself to portable sonars; on my frequent trips to Canada and other places where I rent small boats, I've carried a standard sonar and a clamp-on mounting bracket that also holds the transducer for years. The suction type transducers can be a pain (I've had them). You've probably seen these type of mounts and ruled them out, but here's a link just in case.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...esults#reviews

I use to use one similar to this and they worked great.