Humminbird fishin buddy max sonar

[MaineBassFisherman]

I've been looking into buying a fishfinder to mount to a canoe without very much hassle so the Humminbird fishin buddy max caught my attention. The only problem is I can't find very much about the max model online, ive only found articles about the 120, 140 etc. Is this something worth using or would I be better off going with something else?

[Wayne P.]

The Max version has Down Imaging and 2D sonar:

http://www.humminbird.com/Products/Fishin--Buddy-MAX-DI/

 

[MaineBassFisherman]

Right, I guess what I really want to know is if it's a quality product or not

[Wayne P.]

Ones that use the other versions of the Fishin Buddy would have to answer that. It just does more than the others.

[senile1]

The fishing buddy is ok as a device to scope out structure, locate underwater cover, and determine depths.  I have an older one (not the max) for my tiny tin boat that I use on small lakes.  It can burn through batteries quickly but you will get in at least a couple of long trips before replacement.  Also, don't attach its bracket too close to your trolling motor.  At higher speeds the movement of the water from the trolling motor will make the unit rattle inside the holder on the bracket and transmit that noise into the water.  Find, or create, a location to attach it that is more than a couple of feet from the trolling motor.  I doubt that you will have a problem finding a place on your canoe. 

[CenCal fisher]

The fishing buddy is the same fish finder as the piranha max only with a mounting bracket and pole. I have a piranha max that I used for a few month before upgrading to a helix 5. 

You can see fish and structure on the display down to at least 25' but anything under a pound will only show up as a pixle or two. It took about two days of really using the fish finder to figure out what fish looked like, but once I figured that out I was able to catch fish on off shore structure. 

The helix 5 is a nice step up because they display has a higher pixel count making it easier to see fish. It also shows your bait a lot better while drop shoting. The piranha max will show your bait falling but when it's at the bottom it doesn't really show the bait like the helix 5 does. The piranha max hardly uses any power (200 or 250 milliamps) so you can run it for days off of a small 12v battery. I have the DI model, but hardly ever used the DI function. The 2D sonar showed enough information that I could figure out if I was fishing a brush pile or a rock and I didn't want to take the time to figure out what fish looked like in DI. 

If the mounting bracket is worth $100 to you get the fishing buddy otherwise you can get the non Di piranha max for $100 and spend $50 buying a bracket or make one yourself to save money. For $200 I would just get the helix 5 and make a mounting bracket. The helix was a noticeable step up from the piranha max. 

I'm selling my piranha max and will pm you the thread link along with a price

[Fishes in trees]

I have an old Bottom Line version of the same thing.   It works ok   I   take it along when I'm fishing a pond/lake that doesn't have a ramp and I can't launch my Lowe, but there are boats on the premises.   Mine will tell you depth & water Temp.  It runs off C batteries and it does eat up batteries.   Easiest way is just to get new ones for each trip.