Small Boat Depth Finder

[KLoell]

Below is a pic of the boat I have.  Was looking into possibly getting a depth finder, maybe the dragonfly?  Or would a depth finder even be worth it/work on this type of boat?  

 

I mainly fish lakes 10' to 40'.  

 

Any input is appreciated.  

 

[Scott F]

If you want to know how deep the water is, what the water temp is, what the bottom looks like or if there are any fish underneath the boat (or even off to the side) a depth finder is a must, no matter how small the boat is. Even the least expensive depth finders work pretty well. Just buy the best you can afford.

[fishnkamp]

I definitely would look at installing one. I would ask the manufacturer the best way to mount the transducer so I did no harm to the boat.  Also ask where the best place to mount it also, so you can get a clean signal.. Your picture does not show if you are using a trolling motor up front or on the back.  

[KLoell]

1 minute ago, fishnkamp said:

I definitely would look at installing one. I would ask the manufacturer the best way to mount the transducer so I did no harm to the boat.  Also ask where the best place to mount it also, so you can get a clean signal.. Your picture does not show if you are using a trolling motor up front or on the back.  

Trolling motor in the back.  

[fishnkamp]

Take some time and read the HUGE amount of info on this forum under  any bass raiders out there?  Lots of guys use that type boat and have shown upgrades they have done. This board has tons of members and most any question you could come up with can be found already asked and answered.  Since you have a trolling motor there you might want to avoid making holes and mount your transducer on the trolling motor. 

[coachfozz]

The Fishin' Buddy by Humminbird would be a good one to try.   

[slonezp]

Biggest one you can afford

[KLoell]

How effective are depth finders in 6' to 12' of water? 

[fishnkamp]

Very effective and side scan units that are 7 inches and larger are worth their weight in gold.  If you are looking for rocks scattered in grass, creeks and drops feeding into a body of water, side scan helped me earlier this year locate big post spawn females just arriving along long grass flats on Dale Hollow Lake. You would scan out 40 feet from your boat, see a pack of fish, drop a waypoint on them and turn back around till you slowly arrived with the trolling motor. Instead of fishing down a 1/2 mile long flat I could slowly motor down it and fish spots in that grass. There are so many times you can identify a piece of brush, maybe a man made fish attractor, some kind of a change, perhaps a rockpile anything that makes fish hang out . I will give you some important advice. If you go with a less expensive 2d unit that is fine. If you decide you want side imaging do not go smaller that the Lowrance Elite 7 Ti which runs around $800. In order for you to identify what is being displayed on the screen you need definition and requires a bigger screen. I owned two 5 inch units and the gps and 2d were fine the side imaging was useless. Think of what you would see if you had a picture of a golf ball sitting in a 40 on a 40 foot long driveway. The dot would be hard to identify. With a 7, 8. or even up to 9 inch display you have enough real estate to have definition. Just my two cents. I sold both of my 5 inch units and have replaced them with larger ones.

[KLoell]

27 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

Very effective and side scan units that are 7 inches and larger are worth their weight in gold.  If you are looking for rocks scattered in grass, creeks and drops feeding into a body of water, side scan helped me earlier this year locate big post spawn females just arriving along long grass flats on Dale Hollow Lake. You would scan out 40 feet from your boat, see a pack of fish, drop a waypoint on them and turn back around till you slowly arrived with the trolling motor. Instead of fishing down a 1/2 mile long flat I could slowly motor down it and fish spots in that grass. There are so many times you can identify a piece of brush, maybe a man made fish attractor, some kind of a change, perhaps a rockpile anything that makes fish hang out . I will give you some important advice. If you go with a less expensive 2d unit that is fine. If you decide you want side imaging do not go smaller that the Lowrance Elite 7 Ti which runs around $800. In order for you to identify what is being displayed on the screen you need definition and requires a bigger screen. I owned two 5 inch units and the gps and 2d were fine the side imaging was useless. Think of what you would see if you had a picture of a golf ball sitting in a 40 on a 40 foot long driveway. The dot would be hard to identify. With a 7, 8. or even up to 9 inch display you have enough real estate to have definition. Just my two cents. I sold both of my 5 inch units and have replaced them with larger ones.

Just starting to get into depth finders and have a lot to learn and this ^^ helps a ton.  I appreciate the awesome info.  

[fishnkamp]

The best place to learn about them is spend a couple of hours watching youtube videos. Pick a model and manufacturer and see what videos you can watch. You will see about how they can be setup, what each does and some video of it in use on the water.

[Chowderhead]

11 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

Take some time and read the HUGE amount of info on this forum under  any bass raiders out there?  Lots of guys use that type boat and have shown upgrades they have done. This board has tons of members and most any question you could come up with can be found already asked and answered.  Since you have a trolling motor there you might want to avoid making holes and mount your transducer on the trolling motor. 

Here is the link for you: