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Thread: Portable Fishfinder?

  1. #1
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    Default Portable Fishfinder?


    Anyone use one. I have several different boats and this might be the way to go. Would like to hear the pros and cons from someone who uses one....

  2. #2
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    I have a Fishing Buddy II. It is not as good as my Hummingbird Matrix unit but I have use for it. It does have a sidefinding mode but it just shows fish off to the side, not images. I bought mine cheap at a yard sale but a new unit is not real expensive. I believe The Fishing Buddy units are now made by Hummingbird. If you change boats a lot, they are worth the money, (in my opinion).

  3. #3
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    There are not as good as the non-portable ones, but they get the job done.
    "Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if he kept his mouth shut."

  4. #4
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    How long do the batteries hold up in portable ones?Can you get a whole days fishing out of them?
    I PRACTICE CATCH & FRY---DONT EVERYBODY ? Thumbs Up

  5. #5
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    I was thinking about the Hummingbird fishing buddy but have not heard of anyone that has one to see if they liked it. Have heard some say that the Fishing buddy units that were made before Hummingbird bought them had poor customer service and product support. Wondering if the units by hummingbird fishing buddy are worth the money myself.

  6. #6
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    Thanks for the help. Anyone know anything about the HB 565 portable?

  7. #7
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    Man, lemme give ya a pointer or two on this one. I have used so MANY different types and found that the portable ones are not only more expensive but they dont usually have the features of the standard ones, AND you will have battery issues.
    SO! Lemme tell ya what I have been doing for years. I buy a regular one that I like and then I make a base plate out of aluminum, say 10"x10" and mount the unit to that plate like you would on a boat. I stick some hydrotuf to the bottom of the plate to keep it from sliding around. (that stuff is great BTW, you can see it on our site www.gatortraxboats.com NOT A SPAM!! I just love it that much abd you guys oughta see it. Matter of fact, I'll get it to you guys cheaper if you want some for your boat or other projects) ANYWAY!!! Then I take a piece of say .090 aluminum and cut a strip about 3" wide and say 24" long. Then just break (bend) the aluminum strip to slip over the transom of your flat. You should have 16" over the back and about 6" hanging on the inside. Now mount your skimmer transducer to the strip kust like you would to the back of a boat and just hang it on the transom. Any boat you go to you can just slip this over the transom and your transducer is perfect. Unless you have a 21" transom then you just make the strip longer. But most small pond flats have a 16" transom.
    Now just take the power lead and put ring terminals on it and hook it to the same battery as the trolling motor.

    I will post some pics as I dont have the unit with me at work today.
    Hope this helps, it has worked for me and everyone I have shown it to for years!

  8. #8
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    I do it just like Kman said, for my canoe and just clamb it to the side with a c-clamb, works slick, with the Hummingbird graph.
    Just bought a Genz Box, ice fishing set-up, by Vexalar, but have not tried that in the canoe yet, but plan to. Might want to check them out, Very Good unit, if you like a flasher type depth finder, and it has its on battery and charger.

  9. #9
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    My Fishing Buddy II uses C batteries that hold up under many days of fishing and it is easy to keep extra batteries in my tackle box. My Fishing Buddy II is better than some regular Fish Finders I have seen. Plus, the sidefinding feature is real handy to find schools of crappie. It comes with a C-clamp type hook-up that will clamp on the side of most boats or transoms. And, I would say that if Hummingbird is selling them, you can get good service on them. My Fishing Buddy has taken a lot of abuse over several years and it still works. It is not as good as a $3000 Side Imaging unit but well worth the cost in my humble opinion.

  10. #10
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    Good info. Kman, Im looking forward to seeing those pics. I appreciate the help guys....

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