ventureboat Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 Hey guys. I'm finally putting electronics (fishfinder) on my boat this year. I've been fishing tournaments without them since I started 10 years ago. Here's my question... Would you mount the transducer to the trolling motor or to the transom. I bought the bracket for the trolling motor mount, but I wanted some of your expert advice first. Some pros and cons for both ways would be appreciated. Let me know what you think and what you prefer. Thanks Alot!!!! Quote
tntitans21399 Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 That just depends, are you going to be using when you are driving around the lake or just when you are fishing? If you want to look at the depth below while driving then mount on transom. If you are only going to look at while fishing, mouth on trolling motor. But keep in mind you trolling motor maybe 1 foot under the water, so if it reads 7ft, it actually is 8ft. Quote
farmpond1 Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 Many gung ho tourney guys would say, "get two-one for the front and one for the back." But, in my humble opinion, if you only have money for one, I'd say get one for the back-then drop marker bouy's when you find decent spots so you can work the area/spot more thoroughly so you don't have to stare at the fishfinder to find it again. Quote
Super User Sam Posted March 6, 2008 Super User Posted March 6, 2008 Main one by console - transom. Bow mounted one - trolling motor. Quote
XcoM274 Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 I'd fall under the "gung ho tournament guys who'd say buy two" category. But if I only had one I'd go bow, because I want to be able to fish from the convenience of the front with my comfy chair. You can still see the front one from the back if your eyes are worth anything (mine aren't so I have two). Quote
Hot Rod Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 Well I'd have to agree. Two units are better than one. But i'd say the one at the console is more important to me. Not only for finding fish but for safe boating. Some of the lakes I fish are resevoirs with creek channels to navigate. If you get out of the channel very much it gets real shallow, real fast. That is bad for lower units and props which equals big repair bills. It also depends on what type of fishing you do too. For instance, If you mostly fish shallow you may not need one on the bow. If you fish deep structure you really need both. The one at the console to find the structure and the one at the bow to stay on it while casting. That being said, I can't imagine fishing without either one of them now. Quote
Super User Catt Posted March 7, 2008 Super User Posted March 7, 2008 Depending on the size of the boat you could get by with 1; I had only 1 on my 16' aluminum, it was transom mounted but I installed the unit on the bow deck, when running I would kick the font size up so it could be read from the back. Quote
Garnet Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 You could have 2 transduser hooked to a switch. Lowrance has them. Would be a pain but possible. Garnet Quote
ba7ss3in Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 Are these lakes that you know and are you looking to find structure while fishing. For example, I fish a lake that I know well, actually, it's seven different lakes connected and only need a depth finder when I stop to fish structure. Quote
HPBB Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 what kind are you using? get two trandusers one on the transom and one on the TM. and two mounting brakets. then you can run it on the transom till you get to a spot, then take it off and move it to the TM. I know Hummingbirds are very easy to move from mount to mount. then when you get the money you can get another unit and you already have the transducer and mounting base set up and ready to go. Quote
FishingBuds Posted March 8, 2008 Posted March 8, 2008 You could have 2 transduser hooked to a switch. Lowrance has them. Would be a pain but possible.Garnet I've seen this once before. I do not know how he did it. I have a hummingbird 525 i'll be putting on(first one) my jon 14', could it be wired to have two with a switch for bow and transom? Quote
Madhouse27 Posted March 9, 2008 Posted March 9, 2008 what kind are you using?get two trandusers one on the transom and one on the TM. and two mounting brakets. then you can run it on the transom till you get to a spot, then take it off and move it to the TM. I know Hummingbirds are very easy to move from mount to mount. then when you get the money you can get another unit and you already have the transducer and mounting base set up and ready to go. This is basically what I did. I had a cockpit/transom set up in place. I went on ebay and bought and extra base (cheap) then ordered a TM transducer from Humminbird. When I'm done running with the outboard, I simply grab my screen from the cockpit and put it on the base in the front of the boat connected to the trolling motor. I was hoping to score a second "screen" on ebay at some point but to date it hasn't happened. At the time cash was a bit tight and it was certainly less expensive than buying two complete units. Not sure about the other brands but the style of the Humminbird base allows you to just snap the screen on and off quickly. Quote
MemphisFisherman Posted March 9, 2008 Posted March 9, 2008 I have the whole 2 transducer, 1 unit thing too. Easy as heck to do (with eagles anyways). Unit is on the front of the boat. It's as easy as just unplugging one and plugging the other one in, but ive gotten so lazy i just use the back one now. Quote
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