Depth Finder/Fish finder

[Southside Sarge]

Hey All,
I had a question I posted before but no one could help me or didn't see the post. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Humingbird Smartcast Fishfinder System. I don't know the proper name for it. This thing has a sensor that you cast out and real in that gives you a readout to a device that looks like a wristwatch. I thought it might be a way of putting a depthfinder on my inflatable yak. I thought maybe I could drop it over the edge and let it work that way instead of casting it. I have looked all over the net and only found two reviews of this product. Any help here would be much appreciated.Thanks.
Sarge.

[darrell]

don't own one - but have heard decent reviews of it on local boards here. Its not a common item - but ...... that doesn't put it in the trash bin either. I'll see if I can find the posts and get better response.

darrell,

[Eric-WD]

Sarge I was looking at fishfinders and noticed a lot of these on ebay, I could envision loosing the thing you cast out on a stump, and the little screen you wore on your wrist looked like Iwould need reading glasses to see it. I found a fishin Buddy at a garage sale for $20 this ended my search. This is a one piece unit that you can put in and take out at will and light enough that you could probably come up with a bracket to hang off your basket.

Just a thought

Eric

[nighthawk]

Sarge,
I own one and I like it. Put some heavy line on your old spinning gear and you won't lose the transponder. The large mouth bass do like to strike at them. Mine has the rod mounted display that has a little better resolutin than the wrist display. You can get them with a larger fold up display. They will show the the depth, some terrain features and of course fish. Great for getting into those little eddies, coves and areas away form the boat where other finders cannot reach. They have a stated range of 100' but I have noted they will work out to 150'. They do work and easy to pack. A true portable. Check out Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and WalMart.

[MOturkE]

Sarge,

I don't know if you have the room on/in your rig to place a regular fish-finder, but they're about the same price; $60 - $70 here. I was looking at Cabela's and they have a full size one right now for $50 with temp and speed readout, tempting...

However, the Humminbird Smartcast apparently works pretty well. I have a friend who uses one and he seems to like it well enough. I understand they make one that utilizes 2 channels so you can buy another transmitter and sweep a wider area. The replacement/extra transmitters are only about $20, depending on the frequency it uses. I noted 3 different models on the shelf at Cabela's.

Small and compact, would fit into your vest pocket. I'd probably get one if I was still confined to the banks.

.

[Gigmaster]

I have a Hawk-Eye portable fish-finder that goes around my neck. It is fantastic! It reads depth, water temp, shows fish, the size of the fish, bottom contour and composition. This thing is magic! It works in my belly-boat, my kayak and even off of piers and through the ice for ice-fishing.

I wrote the music that Hawkeye uses on their commerical, and they sent me a unit, free. I don't know how much they cost, but they are worth it, whatever it is.

Semper Fi!

[ol' blue]

I have one of the older Norcross portable units similar to the hawkeye that I use in my canoe. Neat setup, and you can even use them in your tube or pontoon. Not a bad setup for $50 or so.

[Southside Sarge]

Hey all,
Thanks for all the great info. I hadn't even seen the Hawkeye model, but it looks like a better fit than the Hummingbird(less parts). The old saying in the ARMY is that the only piece of equipment you should give to a soldier is a Chemlite, because it has no moving parts and you have to break it to make it work! LOL. I will continuie to look around so I can give my wife an idea for Christmas present. Thanks again.
Sarge.

[Jonezee]

If I told my wife she broke the Chemlite, she would probably ask me how to fix it.

[chris from canada]

Hey guys,

I love to fish from my yak, in fact I have three different models ( family fun ).

I was looking into fish finders, and the fishing buddy interests me.

Has anybody used them, or hear comments about them?

They seem very interesting with the split screen, and side projection.

I also tried to find the hawk-eye mentionned, but can't find it, can someone post a link, or site please.

Have a great afternoon,
chris from canada