fish finder for non boat owners

[_JJM]

Hi

 

I don't own a boat, so rent one every weekend. A nice 14 Jon with tolling motor for $36. Obviously there's a limit to the amount of equipment I can add to a rental (they probably wouldn't like me drilling holes ;)).

I wanted a depth gauge and fish finder, then I found the Garmin throwable on Amazon.  It cost me a $120 for the non GPS version, after using it once I got to say it's pretty awesome.

 

It has a cellphone phone app and connects via Bluetooth. I used a pinch clamp and the provided lanyard it secure it to the boat. Which worked well.  The a battery was down about to half after 5 hours fishing, so it should last all Day. Knowing the depth made a huge difference and set me up to catch my largest fish of the year (24" chain pickerel). The unit is supposed to be castable, I just dump it over the side.

 

Anyway finally a sonar for non boat owners

 

Pic are a stock photo and a screenshot of the app working on my

 

 

 

 

 

[Choporoz]

Nice.

I have used Hummingbird Fishing Buddy on rentals for years.  Makes a huge difference. I even take it to Canada on fly-in trips for walleye and northerns.

[_JJM]

Just now, Choporoz said:

Nice.

I have used Hummingbird Fishing Buddy on rentals for years.  Makes a huge difference. I even take it to Canada on fly-in trips for walleye and northerns.

Nice it's only 3" across and it works with my cell, so no need for additional equipment. Just a little space iny tackle bag. Takes up less room than the clamp I use to hold it..

[Darth-Baiter]

my friend uses the Deeper version.  he casts it out from shore. 

[_JJM]

3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

my friend uses the Deeper version.  he casts it out from shore. 

I was looking at that one too, but I liked the reviews for the Garmin Android app better. Either one is cool though

[JohnFromLisbon]

I have a Deeper Start for whenever my buddy and I rent a small boat or a canoe. We mainly use it to check depth and bottom composition (well, wether there's vegetation or not, it's not that good) and it allows us to make much better decisions. As a fish finder we really don't use it for bass but just to know if we're around baitfish or not. Their app on iOS is okay, actually. 

 

We've used it a few times when fishing from docks, too - again, it really helps to figure out the general depth of the area we're casting to.

[_JJM]

On 10/26/2022 at 8:12 AM, JohnFromLisbon said:

I have a Deeper Start for whenever my buddy and I rent a small boat or a canoe. We mainly use it to check depth and bottom composition (well, wether there's vegetation or not, it's not that good) and it allows us to make much better decisions. As a fish finder we really don't use it for bass but just to know if we're around baitfish or not. Their app on iOS is okay, actually. 

 

We've used it a few times when fishing from docks, too - again, it really helps to figure out the general depth of the area we're casting to.

Yes I am going to be bank fishing soon I am looking forward to using it for that.

[J Francho]

For rentals, I mounted a graph to a plastic lunch cooler. Put the battery inside. I attached the TD to a 1x3 scrap about 30" long. Then I c clamped that to the transom and there you go - SI/DI/GPS in a rental. 

[_JJM]

57 minutes ago, J Francho said:

For rentals, I mounted a graph to a plastic lunch cooler. Put the battery inside. I attached the TD to a 1x3 scrap about 30" long. Then I c clamped that to the transom and there you go - SI/DI/GPS in a rental. 

Seems viable, but it is a lot of stuff, granted you do have a better system. My Garmin and pinch clamp fit in my tackle's side pocket and I have my phone anyway

[J Francho]

I was using a Helix 7. I need a bigger display than my phone. 

[MN Fisher]

33 minutes ago, _JJM said:

Seems viable, but it is a lot of stuff, granted you do have a better system. My Garmin and pinch clamp fit in my tackle's side pocket and I have my phone anyway

 

13 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I was using a Helix 7. I need a bigger display than my phone. 

If I was to go with one of the castables - I'd use my Tablet instead of my phone...8" screen.

[J Francho]

I'd rather use something waterproof, less delicate, and purpose built.  Granted budget is a concern, but I already a Helix 5 and a 7.  Do you SI/DI with a castable?

[_JJM]

On 10/27/2022 at 3:06 PM, J Francho said:

I'd rather use something waterproof, less delicate, and purpose built.  Granted budget is a concern, but I already a Helix 5 and a 7.  Do you SI/DI with a castable?

I link it to my phone which is in a waterproof float bag around my neck, that was a 'must' purchase after nearly dropping the thing :). I do have to take one hand off the rod to see, I do that between casts so it is fine. (so/di?)

On 10/27/2022 at 1:38 PM, MN Fisher said:

 

If I was to go with one of the castables - I'd use my Tablet instead of my phone...8" screen.

I have my phone in a waterproof float bag and I want to keep my equipment footprint down, both my hands and my shoulder are already full ?

[WRB]

You can find decent used 5” to 7” sonar w/chirp and TD without GPS around $100. Simple clamp on TD using a board or aluminum 3/4 D tubing plus small 12V DC battery that fits into a tackle bag works good.

Not a fan of smaller the 5” sonar screens, can’t see what’s important at a glance from a few feet away while fishing.

Tom

[dodgeguy]

I just got a Garmin striker 4 portable for $199.its unreal. I can see my Carolina rig weight and the lure behind it and my buddies blade baits being jigged at the same time in 30 feet of water.  The sonar is super clear for this price. Just starting to learn the GPS. It also comes with a flasher. The battery is no where near weak after 9 hours on the water. It will definitely go days without a charge. 

[txchaser]

Started with a deeper chirp and it was great, but as some others mentioned, staring a phone screen wasn't really a good long-term plan. Their mapping was pretty good though. 

 

https://www.fishfindermounts.com/product-page/10ah-7-5-pole-mount-kit

this is their picture not mine, so the non-clickers can see what it looks like. 

I've mounted on everything up to an including a skeeter with a broken FF and a couple of pontoon boats; mostly goes on a jon boat. Self-contained battery box, pole for the xducer, swivel mount, etc. 

And I put a 7" Helix SI on it. 

If I had to do it again I probably would have gone to the 8" Helix, but other than that it's perfect. 

 

Expensive? Yeah. Some of the best money I've spent though. I fish a lot of stuff most anglers can't see, and the electronics gap is gone now. You can hack the whole thing together in your garage as an alternative, I wanted something that was going to be just right, and quick on and off, and not get in the way. 

 

I'm chewing on replacing it with a portable livescope mount from the same company.

 

With all that said, I'd get 80% of what I need out of a 4" screen with a suction mount - how deep is the bait, how deep are the fish, and how deep am I right now. But being able to make really nice maps is hard to beat, and I'm 100% catching more fish because of this thing vs the alternatives.

 

ps: superglue the rubber feet on the clamps. They fall off. 

 

 

 

[_JJM]

How much does the thing weigh?

[J Francho]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:27 AM, _JJM said:

(so/di?)

Side Imaging/Down Imaging. Pretty sure those castables don't have any of that.

[_JJM]

9 hours ago, J Francho said:

Side Imaging/Down Imaging. Pretty sure those castables don't have any of that.

Just down, but it's fine. I want to keep my foot print down. I am already dragging 5 rods, a portable swivel seat, plano 3700 tackle bag, and sculling paddle already. I don't want to get to the point I have to make two trips from my car to the rented Jon boat

[J Francho]

Pretty sure I made one trip with my stuff but I probably pared my stuff down to accommodate. I appreciate keeping it simple. 

[txchaser]

19 hours ago, _JJM said:

How much does the thing weigh?

The mount weights almost nothing, less than a pound. Battery and FF together, maybe five total? I could cut a lot of weight with a Lithium battery. 

 

I gave up on the trip count. Anchor, another tackle bag, more rods, net, lure retriever, cooler, etc. 

[_JJM]

8 hours ago, txchaser said:

The mount weights almost nothing, less than a pound. Battery and FF together, maybe five total? I could cut a lot of weight with a Lithium battery. 

 

I gave up on the trip count. Anchor, another tackle bag, more rods, net, lure retriever, cooler, etc. 

Lol. I usually fish alone so, while am not too concerned about someone walking off with some gear, it's a public place so, it's a one trip for me.

[txchaser]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:58 AM, _JJM said:

Lol. I usually fish alone so, while am not too concerned about someone walking off with some gear, it's a public place so, it's a one trip for me.

Yeah that's a different deal for sure.

[scaleface]

Old units can be picked up sometimes for free . Find an old trolling motor and make a portable unit .