Portable fish finder

[Vitreus]

I am going to be renting a canoe and heading up into the woods. I want a nice portable fish finder that I can really rely on to find fish. I have no experience with any sonar other than the ice fishing flashers. Can anyone make a recomendacion????????!

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

I have an eagle cuda 300 i bought for around 150 at gander mnt around 4 years ago. Suction cup on the ducer. Comes apart and folds up into a small hard plastic box that is its stand, durable and easy to pack in a boundary waters style pack. would highly recommend it. Uses 8 AA batteries, but that will last all week as long as your not fishing 10 hours a day for 7 straight days with it.

[goose89]

I'd do anything to have Vexilar reintroduce their lc-10 "Boundary Waters" unit...Great unit that I'd still have I wouldn't have borrowed it out to friend....laying in bottom of lake in Ontario My dad and friend still have their....both going on 20+ years and still working.

I've been research and I think the best out there now that operates with AA batteries is the Humminbird Piranamax 230. Eagle cuda next.

Neither come close to compactness, durability and reliability of the lc-10. They'd dominate that market if they'd reintroduce them...unfortunately, it's a small niche market.

interesting link.... http://canoecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/10/vexilar-boundary-waters-clc-200-lc-10.html

[Tom7227]

Vitreous, do you own any kind of sonar at all? There used to be a plastic jobberdo called a Genz Pack that you could mount many different units on. It had a compartment for the battery and it didn't weigh much at all. You could also get a thing that I think is called a Johnny Ray mount and put something together with a few pieces of wood. The suction cup setup is great for the transducer BUT you have to take care to tie it to the canoe as the cups sometimes come loose and the rig would dangle and not work properly. There also are commercial holders that would be sure to keep the transducer at the proper angle and keep it where you want it. Sort of a hook setup out of 1/2 conduit with a clamp to hold it to the boat and a plate on the bottom to mount the transducer.

If you go on CList you can find any number of sonar units for lower prices. You won't end up with the latest hot darn rig but I suspect that you mainly want to know the depth and get half an idea of the structure.

I will be interested to read what you end up with. Have fun figuring it out and enjoy the trip.

[gtfourmn]

Before I bought my boat, I fished extensively out of a canoe with an Eagle Fishmark 320 with a portable pack that took 4 or 6 D batteries. I do not think they make them new anymore. Another option that looks to still be available if you do not want to rig up something custom is the "Fishin' Buddy" by Humminbird.

[delcecchi]

I use a cheap eagle mounted with a johnny ray mount to the top of a red (cheap) plano toolbox from FF. Bolt the mount to the top. Drill hole for power cord. Put 2 6v lantern batteries inside, wired in series (-+-+) . Used a couple pieces of 14G copper from a scrap of NM to secure the batteries to the box.

When transporting, the transducer and display fit in the box with the batteries. I used to put the transducer on a piece of 1/2 PVC which was hose clamped to a c-clamp. Then I finally upgraded to the suction cup.

You don't need to tie it for safety in a canoe, since it is attached to the display. Although, a couple of half hitches of transducer cable around the thwart works too.

[Vitreus]

Thanks for the info. I was curious how well those suction cups actually worked. It looks like humminbird has a decent lineup. I'll let you know what I end up with, and I appreciate the interest.