+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20

Thread: Little bitty depth finders for a pontoon

  1. #1

    Smile Little bitty depth finders for a pontoon

    I have a little pontoon boat that Im having a lot of fun with but seem to have a recurring problem. To wit : I cant see the darn bottom of the ponds that Ive been frequenting (another curse of warm water fishing) so have no idea how deep , stucture , fish or any of the other good things that go along with not getting skunked . Lately Ive been toying with the idea of one of those tiny depth/fish locators that you stick "D"cell batteris in . Like the ones that Cabellas has on sale now.
    Any thought about this . I do not have a motor on this pontoon and there isnt much room . Thoughts and opinions and first hand accounts are what Im looking for .
    Thanks,
    Perch

  2. #2

    Default

    How about a link to the one you are referencing?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Broussard, Louisiana
    Posts
    613

    Default

    The item in question is a Humminbird SmartCast.
    I have one and it works, sort of. It will give an image of the water column. The problem is that the width of the cone of area being examined is very small. It may take MANY casts to get a feel for a particular area and even then you have to remember what the previous casts looked like.
    My feeling is that it's better than nothing. I found one piece of underwater structure with it that has produced fish. Wouldn't have found it otherwise.

    Note: reel it in VERY slowly.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    KS
    Posts
    2,518
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I have an older model of the Norcross Hawkeye. It gives you OK results and you can get a recertified one for around $60. It is a hand held unit that has a transducer suspended under a float. It packs up small and is easy to use around docks and off of canoes and tubes. The new model lets you mount to the hull and troll with it and still remove it when you need to. I believe it has a 45 degree cone.

    http://www.hawkeyeelectronics.com/pr.../overview.htm#
    Last edited by ol' blue; 06-14-2009 at 10:20 PM.
    Better to be an active environmentalist than and environmental activist.

    FFMIRSWTNBOF
    (Full Fledged Member in Raunchy Standing-Within The NBOF)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Riegelsville, PA 18077 USA
    Posts
    159

    Default

    Unless it's very deep, how about a rope with markings every 5/10 feet? Low tech and inexpensive!!!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Port Orchard, WA
    Posts
    89

    Default

    Going along the lines of the rope idea...a trick that a lot of chironomid fishers use to determine the depth is attach the forceps to the fly and drop it in the water till it hits bottom.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    1,076

    Default

    If you are thinking about the Hummingbird Fishin Buddies (formerly Bottomline), these are great on a small pontoon. Just get a holster and it will easily mount on pontoon or float tube. If you are thinking of one of the handheld depthfishers that look a flashlight (designed for ice fishing), then I think you can reconsider. YMMV.

  8. #8

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by whatfly View Post
    If you are thinking about the Hummingbird Fishin Buddies (formerly Bottomline), these are great on a small pontoon. Just get a holster and it will easily mount on pontoon or float tube. If you are thinking of one of the handheld depthfishers that look a flashlight (designed for ice fishing), then I think you can reconsider. YMMV.
    I agree. I bought the cheapest model hbird fishin buddy this year for my kick boat. Here is my 2 cents.

    Very handy/easy on AA batteries/shows bottom well/shows some scruture/very narrow cone angle/might show a few fish/temp gauge is handy/turn up sensitivty to 30/shows weeds pretty good/would reccomend them to friends/got mine new off ebay/I use a homemade holster.

  9. #9

    Default

    http://www.tackletour.com/reviewbottomline1200.html (review of the 1200)

    or

    http://reviews.basspro.com/2010/73438/reviews.htm (review of the 4200)http://sonar.ru/manuals/download/eng...ine/fb4200.pdf (operations manual for the 4200)


    I have the 4200 but still in the box. Haven't used it yet. My friend has one older model he likes very very much. We were at Cabelas and I asked for his advice. His does not have the side view feature. He said he wish his had the side view. He recommeded the 4200 so I purchased it for $219.

    I have not used it yet. So I cannot comment on it. However I posted some links for reviews for you.
    Last edited by Gemrod; 06-17-2009 at 03:28 PM.

  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ducksterman View Post
    How about a link to the one you are referencing?
    Not sure why you won't answer this perch???????? I've got one that I've used on a pontoon...float tube and NFO Nav II....but I don't know if it's the one you are asking about????????/

+ Reply to Thread

Similar Threads

  1. itty bitty cray
    By Panfisha in forum Fly Tying
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-05-2009, 10:53 PM
  2. depth ray yarn
    By Normand in forum Fly Tying
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-01-2009, 07:31 PM
  3. The Brooks Blonde - an in-depth article and video
    By cornmuse in forum Fly Tying
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-19-2007, 07:19 PM
  4. Bass in the fall - what depth????
    By raw69 in forum Warm water Forum
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 09-29-2006, 03:32 PM
  5. Stillwater depth finder
    By 4beader in forum Fly Anglers Online
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 04-26-2006, 01:53 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts