Bottom Line "Fishin Buddy"

[Matt D]

I'm looking to buy a basic portable depth finder for using on a "bare-bones" 14' fishing boat, but could also double for ice fishing. Was thinking of the "Fishin Buddy" made by Bottom Line. Since my boat will sit on a lake with a lot of traffic this summer and I don't want my depth finder ripped off, the all-in-one design seems like it would be easy to just pull off and take up to the cabin at night. I'd think the setup would be ideal for just plopping in a hole through the ice too. Anybody had good or bad experiences with these? Other suggestions are welcome too.

[Guest]

I've got a Fishing Buddy II, which has the Sidefinder and temperature, and it is a very nice "portable" unit, for use on smaller boats. It runs on 3 "C" batteries, and they seem to last forever. Actually, due to an upcoming change in watercraft I'm thinking about selling mine. If you're interested, e-mail me at [email protected]. I think I paid around $200 for mine new.

[ssendek]

I also have a fishing buddy II. It works great off the side of a dock, off a float tube, small boats and through the ice too. I think it is well worth the money I spent on it. I also agree with Pete, the batteries last forever in this little unit.

[Guest]

I'm not real familiar with these Fishin Buddy locators so I suppose I shouldn't talk but here's my two cents anyway.If those unit are actually $200 I would definatly spend an extra $100 and buy the Vexlar FL-8 SLT ice fishing PRO PACK. It's portable,accurate,and the battery is rechargable.The transducer comes with a float,just toss it over the side of the boat(at slow speeds of course) thats what I do on my small boat and Ilove it.And for ice fishing it's a MUST! liquid crystal graphs don't work well in the cold. Good Luck hope this helped.

[Guest]

I agree with Buddy. I have a Vexilar and I made a custom, portable bracket that holds the tranducer in place and it slides onto the rear transom of my small 12' boat for small lakes. Made the bracket out of wood and it works great. I use my vexilar in 2 boats and all ice fishing season. Great overall unit.