Any bank anglers use Deeper Pro sonar fish finder?

[I/MBasser]

Thinking about buying one but wanted to hear some experiences with it first to see if it's worth it.  Thanks for any input.

[georgeyew]

I had a pro model for a while. It was great to find out the deep pockets on a body of water with it along with the water temps. I did not find a need for the extra feature like mapping and GPS so I replaced it with the Deeper Start (basic) model instead. It worked just as well as the PRO (minus the extra features) for $100 less.

[Choporoz]

I rarely fish from the bank any more, so I never really paid attention to the Deeper threads, but I just looked at the web site, and it is, indeed, pretty cool.  I can certainly see how the mapping could be hugely valuable, since it would be great to be able to log the gradations.    Wonder how far off a drone version is?  It'd be cool to send one out in the morning and have it come back at night with the entire lake mapped for me.

[Choporoz]

http://www.heliceo.com/en/industries/bathymetry-drone/

I should have known....it already exists!

 

 

[ItsHardwick]

On 9/21/2018 at 2:19 PM, Choporoz said:

http://www.heliceo.com/en/industries/bathymetry-drone/

I should have known....it already exists!

 

 

That little thing looks awesome! Just imagine turning that thing loose on your favorite pond/cove/river whatever. Cuts out all of your idling time. 

 

I bet it costs an arm and a leg though!

[I/MBasser]

On 9/21/2018 at 12:23 PM, georgeyew said:

I had a pro model for a while. It was great to find out the deep pockets on a body of water with it along with the water temps. I did not find a need for the extra feature like mapping and GPS so I replaced it with the Deeper Start (basic) model instead. It worked just as well as the PRO (minus the extra features) for $100 less.

Thanks... appreciate the info!

On 9/21/2018 at 2:19 PM, Choporoz said:

http://www.heliceo.com/en/industries/bathymetry-drone/

I should have known....it already exists!

 

 

That looks awesome, and very expensive...

[Brett's_daddy]

I would go with the Lowrance Fish Hunter Pro 3D. I've seen one in person and to me it looks like a better made unit than the Deeper Pro.

[Beetlebz]

I run a deeper pro plus. It's certainly not cheap, but I have found it to be very handy. The contour maps and how it compiles them is  little clunky but effective. I dont always bring it with me, but I will if I'm fishing new waters or if there's been a significant change in weather patterns or foliage growth. Helps figure out where the fish have gone sometimes. 

 

The best part for me is scanning somewhere I've fished before, then looking at the map I made and realizing that there was a feature that I never noticed.

 

I use it with the clamp on my kayak usually but being able to cast it comes in handy before the boat launch is thawed. I can walk around and scan the pockets of open water and see what's down there.

 

If you just want to get a quick look and see what the temp is, the regular deeper is a perfectly fine unit. I enjoy the pro plus model though for the mapping. I'll attach a pic of the map from my last trip to the reservoir. Sadly the map data has some holes in it from when i got my new phone last week but you get the idea. You can see a steep bluff wall that looks like it forms a channel of some sort in the top left. Neat stuff.

[bassh8er]

I’d personally save your money for a kayak or small boat.

[AllisonRae]

I use the Deeper Start model.  My choice was because its my first gadget like that and felt the pro version had a bunch of extra features that I wouldn't really use from the bank.  But, I will say that the pro version has an extra accessory that you can attach it to your kayak later down the road if you decide to buy one.  I am probably going to try to just pull my start model along side me on a rope when I get my kayak to start with.

 

The Deeper Start has been a game changer for me though.  For example, I have been fishing this area all summer thinking it was around 7 to 8 feet deep and it turns out that the center area is around 18 feet deep and there were a bunch of fish below where I had been fishing this entire time. 

 

If you were closer I would meet up with you and let you use mine for a bit and see what you think of it. But that's a long car ride. ?

 

 

[I/MBasser]

Yeah, the mapping looks great.  I fish a lot of local ponds/small lakes in my area and there is very little info on them.  This mapping capability would be very useful.  Thanks!

 

That's awfully nice of you. But, yeah, the drive from Chicago to Louisville would be a little much to test it out. 

[LadiMopar]

Just upgraded my Deeper 3.0 that I've used for two years to a Pro+ (3.0 is discontinued and they offered the upgrade for $100 off) and have used the new one several times.

 

They have been a great tool for me in mapping the smaller waters I tend to fish that have no topo or bathymetry maps. I also like the added Lakebook site they offer for free to view, print, or share my maps.  I'm not aware of any other sonar brand that offers free mapping "software" as part of their offers.

 

The one advantage to the Pro or Pro+ is should you get a kayak, or small boat in the future you won't need to upgrade. The new "Start" model is bank fishing specific, and can't  be used from a boat  (with the available flex arm mount) unless you want to cast the thing all day long.

 

There are several comparison videos to watch at YT that put the Deeper through its paces head to head with other brands such as Humminbird. For my needs I don't see the value in spending more or taking up valuable space on my yak. The Deeper imho is a great value, and solidly built.

 

Best of luck with whatever choice you make. If you have more questions feel free to PM me.

 

[ryanerb]

On 9/21/2018 at 12:19 PM, Choporoz said:

http://www.heliceo.com/en/industries/bathymetry-drone/

I should have known....it already exists!

 

 

Expensive, but Humminbird and Navionics should be paying for one of these to add more coverage to the list of lakes they support. For how much they charge for the maps, especially Navionics at I think $100 per year, this should more than cover it. 

 

Regarding the Deeper sonars, I would also spend some time on Youtube to get a better idea about them.

[J Francho]

There's an attachment that lets you use it on a kayak or canoe.  I liked my test drive, because it being located up front, I could fish in the cone easier.