who uses depth/fish finders?

[el_jewapo]

how many of you have fish finders? and how important to your fishing success do you feel they really are?

i don't have one. i told my wife tonight that my next major purchase is going to be one. i feel like it would be a huge help. especially in the summer.

all i have is a 14 foot jon boat. i load it in the back of my truck. what kind of mounting options do i have for the transducer? i can't bolt it onto my boat because i would knock it off loading and unloading. could i put it on a magnet or something?

[KU_Bassmaster.]

First of all you can't think of them as "FISH FINDERS".  They are depth finders, structure finders, and bait finders.  I have a portable one that I use on my two man bass boat for pond fishing.  I mounted the transducer on my trolling motor.  They have kits for it and it has worked like a charm.  In my opinion it has been a very good investment.

[praz]

i use mine mainly fot structure & depth .i never caught a fish i seen on the screen .

[el_jewapo]

yeah, i know they're for finding depth and structure rather than fish.

[Muddpuppy]

I know they make a suction cup mount for the portables.  There is also a transducer that will shoot though an aluminum hull I don't know what models or even what brands.  From what I have read it works pretty good.  Mounting it on the trolling motor would probably be easiest.

[MisterGuru]

for mounting: I took a 1.5" wide aluminum strap from the stock metals section at Lowes an bent it over double around a 1" socket... finished it off in a vise.

I made it so the transducer was about 3/4" lower than the hull, ran the wires over the aluminum with nylon ties and put 4 screws on the transom where the pan heads made a "guide" for sliding it on and off after dropping it in the water.

After docking, just slide it up and off and lay it in the back of the boat... watch that anchor - unless you want a smacked-up transducer!

Just tweak it until you get a tight fit and it works great.

[hipster_dufus]

i have a bottom line fishing buddy, it mounts to the boat like a trolling motor and runs off 3 c batteries.i have a middle of the pack one with sidefinder, not worth the money. get the bottom of the line one, just over 100$.

[Rebbasser]

I've got 2-one on the console, one on the TM. I use it to find structrure, not fish.

For mounting on a jon boat-mount it on a board, then clamp the board to the boat. It ain't permanent, but it will work.

[Tsmola]

never used one and never will.

[el_jewapo]

never used one and never will.

care to explain why?

[Wabassin]

I believe that they are very important to  finding structure, rockpiles, humps,and underwater cover.

as far as worrying about it getting nocked off just zip tye(the metal ziptyes) it to your trolling motor then you dont have to worry about it.  

[el_jewapo]

i'm really hard on my trolling motor. i run over stumps all the time. it's a hazard of the waters around here. everywhere. wouldn't that ruin it? i saw a protection rig for it. but i'm not sure that would protect it from what i put it through. i'm surprised i haven't broke the moter. it's been a tough one.

[Tsmola]

don't need one, I wanted one when I was like 10, but as I got older I realized it was just something I didn't need. So I never bought one, or plan to. I believe observation of the lake conditions, shoreline, weather etc... is better than any depth finder can ever be. I also can't see how someone can enjoy themselves on the lake when they spend almost all the time with their eyes glued to a 4x5 in. screen.

I'm not bashing anyone who wishes to use one, this is just my opinion. I just don't see the need to buy one when I already know how to catch fish without it.

[Wabassin]

I guess you'd have to be more carefull, but ive seen them put through all sorts of stuff so it should be fine.

[el_jewapo]

don't need one, I wanted one when I was like 10, but as I got older I realized it was just something I didn't need. So I never bought one, or plan to. I believe observation of the lake conditions, shoreline, weather etc... is better than any depth finder can ever be. I also can't see how someone can enjoy themselves on the lake when they spend almost all the time with their eyes glued to a 4x5 in. screen.

I'm not bashing anyone who wishes to use one, this is just my opinion. I just don't see the need to buy one when I already know how to catch fish without it.

that's a very good point. i catch bass without one. i just want one to learn the structure of the lakes i fish. after i've fished a couple years with one, i probably won't look at it much anymore. i just want to find the hidden hot spots.

[elkhunter7x6]

Bass fishing with out a depth finder? Id rather fish with my eyes closed. Bass can be found anywhere there is water BUT, certain types of structure will hold large numbers of bass. Since I am unable to see what the bottom of the lake looks like with the eyes that god gave me , I use a depth finder to locate these places.

If you are a bank beater soley then a graph is not neccessary but if you like to fish bottom structure, humps,creek channels ect. a graph will help you locate these .

[Chris]

My fish finder and I DO MEAN FISH FINDER helps me catch fish. I do catch fish that I see on the graph. It helps me find bait fish, bass that are in the middle of weeds, bass that are hanging next to stumps and laydowns, changes in bottom hardness, I can tell how active the fish are that I am seeing on the graph by where they are positioned, I can see wood, weeds, rocks, stumps, drop offs, humps, thermocline, points, and fish. It takes out half of the guess work of finding fish.

[Chris]

Can you tell I use mine? ;D

[Rebbasser]

el_jewapo, I use this kind of transducer mount:

http://www.alabamalakes.com/site/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=414

It holds the transdicer off to the side of the TM rather than below it so there is no problem damaging the transducer-it mounts on the shaft right where it connects to the propeller housing so it is above rather than below the motor.

[Nick_Barr]

I have a 12 foot bass boat and i use my fishfinder all the time. Especially when searching for steep ledges.

[Gatorbassman]

I wouldn't be caught dead without mine. I have two in my 14ft jon boat. One on the trolling motor and one on the transom. I fish a 71,000+ acre lake and I find the bigger fish on deeper structure so I am blind without one. I used to have a 12ft boat that I loaded in the back of my truck and I made a bracket much like MisterGuru. I clamped it on my boat using a c-clamp. It worked fine. Just make sure the bottom of the transducer is 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch below the bottom of your boat.

[Ben]

In the old days "before the electronic model" we used to drag a sash weight to feel out the bottom. I bought my first electronic model (a flasher) in 1965 and would never be without one. I've probably been through a couple of dozen since then. I keep two on all three of my boat now. My Stratos has three, one bow and two console, when I running down the lake or just moving around looking for bait fish, I prefer the flasher, but when moving slow and checking out structure I prefer the LCD.

I'll tell what a very good bass fisherman told me when I was first learning. Most of the time, when you are casting to the bank, 90% of the fish are behind you, so would you rather be fishing for 10% or 90% of the fish. The trick is learning how to find that 90%.

As mentioned, fishing without one, you are only fishing a very small percentage of the areas that hold fish. Don't matter the species, you're not going to find the level the bait fish are holding or the underwater structure the fish could be holding around.

Unless you are fishing for deep water schooling fish, don't expect one to be a fish finder. Even at that, unless you buy one of the better models (approx $200 or more) don't expect to use if for more than just showing bottom contour and larger stuctures.

There is a learing curve an it will take you quit a while to learn just what you are seeing. Don't expect to start right out finding more fish. First off, you've got to learn a whole new game of how to locate and catch fish on structure, and then what types might be holding fish during the time of year you're fishing.

[Tsmola]

I'm not a "bank beater" as you say it, just because you don't have a graph doesn't mean I am not catching the large percentage of fish/am fishing "blind", there are ways of locating that kind of stuff without graphs: topo maps, watching for baitfish in the water, watching where other anglers are parked.

I learn a lot of the best areas by simply looking over the side at the bottom. Most of the lakes I fish aren't that deep anyway.

[Ben]

Dang! brand new to this site and seem to have already rubbed a sore spot just making a comment.  If you know the areas you fish well enough you feel you don't need one, that's great.

Probably 85% of the lakes and rivers in the south, you want see the bottom in five feet of water.   Even in lakes I've fished for over 40 years, I still use mine to keep my boat in the depth/position I want to fish humps, points and channels I'm fishing.  In the spring when fishing shallow, I may never turn one on, but when they move back deep, I never turn it off.   If you drop markers, you are showing everybody else exactly where you are fishing.  If they see you pulling fish, you can bet they will fish it.

[Gatorbassman]

Ben,

  There will always be a few guys on this site that you just have to ignore. They feel as though they know everything and their information is always correct and anything anyone says to contradict them is offensive to them.

  He said it himself. He has never used one. Therefore he hasn't had the opportunity to experience the advantage a depth finder is and how much it would elevate his ability to catch fish. It's like a new food. How do you know you don't like it until you try it?