Only One Fish Finder?

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, say you can only afford 1 fish finder, hypothetically speaking I prefer to have it mounted on the side console so that I could pay attention to the maps of the pond/lake I'm on and avoid shallows and/or hidden obstacles...could I run the transducer cord from my console to my bow mounted trolling motor and attach with a trolling motor mount so that I could see the obstacles/shallows before my outboard gets to them instead of after as with a transom mount transducer?

[flyfisher]

If i am understanding you correctly, you are going to have bigger problems than running into obstacles since you will be running with your trolling motor submerged....

 

not to mention 10' of difference in transducer location is not going to be able give you time to react

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, so I'm guessing that the fish finders that come with maps pre-loaded onto them will properly show you where the shallows are so you'll have plenty of time to account for them and adjust your trim accordingly? Right now my boat has 2 fish finders...they're just older black and white models and I'd like to upgrade to a color unit with maps and Chirp technology.

BTW, obviously you can't go too fast with your trolling motor submerged but how fast would too fast be before you should lift it up?

[Wayne P.]

1 hour ago, Brett's_daddy said:

Okay, so I'm guessing that the fish finders that come with maps pre-loaded onto them will properly show you where the shallows are so you'll have plenty of time to account for them and adjust your trim accordingly? Right now my boat has 2 fish finders...they're just older black and white models and I'd like to upgrade to a color unit with maps and Chirp technology.

BTW, obviously you can't go too fast with your trolling motor submerged but how fast would too fast be before you should lift it up?

If ponds and small lakes are your primary waters, the chance of having contour mapping available is very low. I would guess your guessing is wrong.

No mapping is 100% accurate. Data is collected in intervals and contour lines are filled in between those data points (interpolated). No regular map product has accurate data for every square foot of terrain.

The Navionics map products may have the most coverage countywide and worldwide.

Go to their website and click on the Web App. Those maps are current as of yesterday. Find the body of water you navigate on.

 

[thomas15]

Not knowing what wessel you decided on getting but assuming something 16-18' aluminum which is basically what I have, allow me to say that  I do not pilot my boat into water less than 3 feet at anything more than a crawl and I try to cruse in minimum of 8-10 feet of water at any speed.  I know my home water fairly well but still being in a hurry in shallow water is not a good idea unless you hate your boat. However, bumping into the lake bottom at drift speed shouldn't be a cause of concern.

Boat electronics "fish finders", by the way, are really not an accurate description of the kinds of electronics we have on our boats. DI and SI units may show fish but they are mainly for locating structure that should hold fish. I say this so that you don't get your expectations too high. Others may disagree but I think if I had only one sonar I would have it at the console and look for structure, then move to the bow to actually fish that area. Having 1 good unit with a big screen, SI and good resolution are better than having two so so units.

On Edit: None of my business really but if you were to ask my opinion I think you would be better served using what you have for now and concentrating on learning boat handling skills and keeping the crew happy. It is not as easy as you might think. But by this time next year you will have a much greater feel for what you want in electronics instead of relying on what the advertisements say. Save up you money and get good solid electronics that meet expectations.

[Further North]

5 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

BTW, obviously you can't go too fast with your trolling motor submerged but how fast would too fast be before you should lift it up?

Max 5, 6 MPH.

BTW...put me in the group that thinks this isn't a good idea.

[Slade House]

actually yes, garmin has this new thing called panoptix which will show you a 2d sonar view of whats 40 to 50 feet in front of you.  I don't have that , but I am running the HDS 7 Gen 3 with 3d structure scan and i have it linked to my motorguide XI5 which i can program a course on my chart and it will follow it.    (the 3d structure scan is amazing , wow ) 

it sounds like you are fishing some shallow flat lakes with lots of trees floating in the water.  you shouldn't be running your motor too fast if that is the case