Portable Electronics for Ponds

[CrankFate]

I noticed when watching Milliken fishing that he regularly uses electronics when sitting on a dock or last winter while ice fishing. I’m not a boat guy and know hardly anything about current electronics. I expected to get into that many years down the line (pun intended) when I retire and get a bass boat. Trust me, my wife is all for it ?Anyone know what type of system that is? Or something similar. What it costs?

[MN Fisher]

Helps to know what he's doing with it.

 

I still use my Tablet for contour maps with GPS tracking.

There are 'tossable' sonar units that transmit to your tablet or phone a chirp finder screen.

 

None of it as as good as boat-mounted units - but they do the job.

[RDB]

10 hours ago, CrankFate said:

I noticed when watching Milliken fishing that he regularly uses electronics when sitting on a dock or last winter while ice fishing. I’m not a boat guy and know hardly anything about current electronics. I expected to get into that many years down the line (pun intended) when I retire and get a bass boat. Trust me, my wife is all for it ?Anyone know what type of system that is? Or something similar. What it costs?

I’m not sure what you are referring to with Ben but like MN Fisher said, there are several toss out versions.  One is called Deeper which syncs to an iPad.  It’s about the size of a tennis ball and tossed or cast out with a rod.  I have seen the images and they look pretty good.  It is basically down imaging but you also have the ability to create contour maps.

[Darth-Baiter]

18 minutes ago, RDB said:

I’m not sure what you are referring to with Ben but like MN Fisher said, there are several toss out versions.  One is called Deeper which syncs to an iPad.  It’s about the size of a tennis ball and tossed or cast out with a rod.  I have seen the images and they look pretty good.  It is basically down imaging but you also have the ability to create contour maps.

This!

[hokiehunter373]

22 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

I still use my Tablet for contour maps with GPS tracking.

 

Not to hijack the thread but care to share more about this?  Do you use an app?

[MN Fisher]

11 minutes ago, hokiehunter373 said:

Not to hijack the thread but care to share more about this?  Do you use an app?

I-Boating app - $20 for a year subscription. Good contour maps, GPS tracking, set waypoints and you can record your day as well...this is a screen-shot of one of my days on the water.

[CrankFate]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I-Boating app - $20 for a year subscription. Good contour maps, GPS tracking, set waypoints and you can record your day as well...this is a screen-shot of one of my days on the water.

cant use something like this. This is small water. Cant be charted. Cant launch a boat. Need something portable and that can be used from the bank.

[J Francho]

3 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

This is small water.

Just fish it.  You can use a jig to get an idea of bottom composition and depth.  You might even catch a fish or three.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, CrankFate said:

cant use something like this. This is small water. Cant be charted. Cant launch a boat. Need something portable and that can be used from the bank.

You might be surprised - I-Boating's website is free...you can search for your water there, then 'print' the screen to a JPEG if it turns out they have the contour map. Just scroll in-out and click/drag around to center on your spot.

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html#3.32/45.70/-100.85

[CrankFate]

20 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Just fish it.  You can use a jig to get an idea of bottom composition and depth.  You might even catch a fish or three.

I do, but I know there have to be places where fish pile up, especially at this time of year. Never found them like that.

20 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

You might be surprised - I-Boating's website is free...you can search for your water there, then 'print' the screen to a JPEG if it turns out they have the contour map. Just scroll in-out and click/drag around to center on your spot.

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html#3.32/45.70/-100.85

Not there. Way to small to be charted. The size of this wouldn’t even count as a pond to most bass fishermen. Definitely not a lake. 

[J Francho]

Just now, CrankFate said:

I do, but I know there have to be places where fish pile up, especially at this time of year. Never found them like that.

They do it on ponds, but no electronics can predict when that happens.  You have to fish it.  Pond fishing 101: don't get a bite in stretch of time?  Move.  Rinse.  Repeat.  I fish a bunch of ponds and rarely am I standing in one spot for more than 20 minutes.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

Not there. Way to small to be charted.

Did you look or just assume? I-Boating uses data from the USGS, so ponds that Navonics/Lakemaster ignore might still be there.

[hokiehunter373]

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Did you look or just assume? I-Boating uses data from the USGS, so ponds that Navonics/Lakemaster ignore might still be there.

I looked for my local ponds and they're not on there but one of the bigger lakes I've just had no idea where to get started on is and that's going to give me some confidence to finally get out there.  Thanks

[txchaser]

Deeper sonar is a perfect fit for what you are describing. 

[CrankFate]

Sounds like I’ll get one at some point.

[Way2slow]

I guess I have a different thought on using a sonar from a dock or from the bank.  Not sure what that would accomplish.  Casting a lure is going to reach anything a sonar will and if you are doing things right, it's going to catch fish, if they are biting.  The more commotion you create to more it alerts the fish and they will move away or shut down if they know you are there.  Normally ponds are shallow and what you did get an image of would be a very small cone.  Unless it's something like a quarry pond they dug almost straight down and very deep.

It seems to me like the only practical unit would be a side imaging, with the transducer mounted on something you could put in the water and slowly rotate and then you could scan from where you are at out 50 or more feet. 

Just my personal opinion.  The only thing I use a sonar in a pond for is to see the depth and contour, and a cheap flasher of small LCD unit does that just fine.

[CrankFate]

3 hours ago, Way2slow said:

I guess I have a different thought on using a sonar from a dock or from the bank.  Not sure what that would accomplish.  Casting a lure is going to reach anything a sonar will and if you are doing things right, it's going to catch fish, if they are biting.  The more commotion you create to more it alerts the fish and they will move away or shut down if they know you are there.  Normally ponds are shallow and what you did get an image of would be a very small cone.  Unless it's something like a quarry pond they dug almost straight down and very deep.

It seems to me like the only practical unit would be a side imaging, with the transducer mounted on something you could put in the water and slowly rotate and then you could scan from where you are at out 50 or more feet. 

Just my personal opinion.  The only thing I use a sonar in a pond for is to see the depth and contour, and a cheap flasher of small LCD unit does that just fine.

Yes, that is what I need depth and contour.

[Way2slow]

Yea, but I was talking about while in a boat and moving around over the pond.  Not much in the way of depth and contour to be gotten sitting in one spot.  

Like others mentioned, maybe one of those units you can cast out and pull back would give you a bit of the depth and contour under where you can reach with it.  But then you are right back to what you can feel with a lure.  I can pretty much judge depth by how long it takes a worm or something to settle to the bottom, and can feel changes in contour as I retrieve it when I'm just sitting in one spot.

[CrankFate]

I know. Therein lies the problem. But there are probably bottom features out there to be discovered.

[RDB]

I would suggest watching some videos and judging based on your needs.  There are a ton of videos that provide feedback from people who have actually used it.  Here is one talking about bank and kayak use (and this guy already has sonar on his kayak).