Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 20, 2014 Posted December 20, 2014 Has anyone pulled the trigger on one of these smartphone fish finders and if so please share your experience. I haven't been able to find many real reviews online and i am seriously considering one. Since I am in a wheelchair and most of my fishing is done from the bank in ponds or small lakes it is hard to move around much so I have to find the best spot and pretty much stay there for most of the time I am fishing. From the research I have done I like some of the features the ibobber offers and it is lower priced than the others. I would appreciate any input on these fish finders or are they a waste of money. Thank you Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted December 20, 2014 Super User Posted December 20, 2014 Saw an add for the one they use on Reel Time called Deeper. Looked interesting, but you have to tie it on, and if you only have one rod, you will have to take it on and off, or have a dedicated rod for it. Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted December 20, 2014 Super User Posted December 20, 2014 I looked at the Sonarphone from Vexilar. Will be looking to get one of these probably sometime in Febuary for sure. Always wondered what some of the ponds looked like that I fish. Quote
Super User DogBone_384 Posted December 20, 2014 Super User Posted December 20, 2014 I have Vexilar's Sonarphone. It works very well with my iPhone. I've used it to map out ponds not offering boat access to map out any structure and drop offs. Worth the $, IMO. Quote
Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 20, 2014 Author Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the replies. DogBone_384, Did you look at the others before deciding on the Vexilar? One thing I like about the ibobber is that you can cast it out then reel it in and it provides a map on your phone or can leave it out for real time. Is this feature available of the Vexilar or do you just have to,leave it out to get the readings? Also any idea on the weight of that unit. The ibobber only weighs 1.7oz. Quote
Super User DogBone_384 Posted December 20, 2014 Super User Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the replies. DogBone_384, Did you look at the others before deciding on the Vexilar? One thing I like about the ibobber is that you can cast it out then reel it in and it provides a map on your phone or can leave it out for real time. Is this feature available of the Vexilar or do you just have to,leave it out to get the readings? Also any idea on the weight of that unit. The ibobber only weighs 1.7oz. No, I bought the Sonarphone a couple of years ago on a whim, seeing it on Cabela's website when I had a discount coupon, and before I bought my kayaks. The Sonarphone's display looks similar to my Lowrance unit I use on my kayak, so no map. I hook my Sonarphone to a MH spinning outfit with 20# mono, cast it out and either reel it in slowly or let the current take it. It's range is the 100' they promise too. The only thing I might steer away from the iBobber is that it uses Bluetooth, which is a great connection, but if they're promising up to 100' range, I sure hope they put a heck of a battery in there. Quote
Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 20, 2014 Author Posted December 20, 2014 Yeah, it looks like the sonarphone looks a lot more like a real fish finder. Is there anyway to record what it is seeing? One negative I keep reading about is the weight 4.5oz which they say makes a heck of a splash and scares the fish away. I agree about the Bluetooth but don't see me using more than around 50 yards or so away. I may just have to buy them both and see which works best. Thanks again Quote
Super User DogBone_384 Posted December 20, 2014 Super User Posted December 20, 2014 Yeah, it looks like the sonarphone looks a lot more like a real fish finder. Is there anyway to record what it is seeing? One negative I keep reading about is the weight 4.5oz which they say makes a heck of a splash and scares the fish away. I agree about the Bluetooth but don't see me using more than around 50 yards or so away. I may just have to buy them both and see which works best. Thanks again I've never tried, to be honest. When Spring comes around again I might just see if it does. BTW, 50 yds is 150' - LOL. Quote
Preytorien Posted December 20, 2014 Posted December 20, 2014 I'm planning on getting the Sonarphone too. Like mentioned above, the Bluetooth feature is not appealing to me. I often don't get the ranges listed by products using BT while WiFi has great range. Besides that the additional $100 lost my interest. Download the Vexilar Sonarphone app in the App Store / Google Play store and mess around with it. Looks pretty neat. Quote
Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 20, 2014 Author Posted December 20, 2014 What do you mean by the additional $100. The ibobber is between $89-99 from what I have found. Quote
Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 20, 2014 Author Posted December 20, 2014 It looks like there are about four different manufacturers of these smartphone fish finders and each one seems to offer its own advantages. ibobber - http://reelsonar.com Vexilar SonarPhone - http://shop.vexilar.com/en/sonarphone-1/sonarphone-wtransducer-t-pod-phone-not-included--sp100 Fishhunter - http://www.fishhunter.com Deeper - https://buydeeper.com 1 Quote
rchiuz Posted December 21, 2014 Posted December 21, 2014 I just got the deeper one. Seems ok so far. Now I am able to see the terrain on the lake I go to. The only down size with these type of depth finders is the weight. It's light in hand but 3.5 ounces weighs a lot on a rod. Maybe future renditions will make it lighter. It does the job though. Quote
Bassin4Fun2 Posted December 21, 2014 Author Posted December 21, 2014 Thanks fo your reply. Yes, I have read quite a bit about that one and it was one of the first ones to come out, but I can't justify the higher price of this unit right now. The weight of the ibobber is the lightest so far at 1.7oz and one of the main reasons I am leaning toward it. Quote
Preytorien Posted December 21, 2014 Posted December 21, 2014 What do you mean by the additional $100. The ibobber is between $89-99 from what I have found. i was comparing against Deeper. iBobber looks cool too, and i like that it's lighter, but i like the mapping better on the SonarPhone. Quote
freelancer27 Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 Looking at the Deeper and the Fish Hunter.Any additional reviews/ thoughts on the two that came up in the last year?I am not sure I understand the difference between the two.Who can help?Thank you! Quote
Dreamchaser Posted December 12, 2015 Posted December 12, 2015 I've been looking too. Fish Hunter seems most promising to me except it's Bluetooth like others have mentioned. For those that are serious about these, Find Hunger now has a 3D version - looks like basic down imaging? i think overkill for what we need? $200 http://www.amazon.com/FishHunter-Directonal-3D-Portable-Finder/dp/B016CZ6UQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449890457&sr=8-1&keywords=fish+hunter+3d If anyone interested in buying one to share near San Francisco East Bay, please send me a PM. I would love to try it for a few months on my local pond. Here's some reviews comparing the different units http://www.bluetoothfishfinder.com/home http://fishfinderhq.com/best-portable-fish-finder-reviews/ http://www.fishfindersource.com/category/portable-fish-finders/ https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-hand-fish-finders 1 Quote
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