I moved to Selah, WA last fall and am now wanting to do some stillwater trout fishing primarily in the Cascade foothills (eastside). From what I have read here and other places it seems as if knowledge of the depth of the lakes and contour of the bottom are important. That brings my to a question I would like some input on from you guys and gals. I am considering the purchase of a depth finder for my recently purchased pontoon boat. I am looking at either the Smartcast by Hummingbird or a Fishin’ Buddy from Cabela’s. I do not plan to “search for fish,” but to simply use the device to determine lake depth. I am leaning to the Smartcast because of its size and somewhat lower price, but I don’t want to purchase it and then turn around and get the other because I made the wrong decision. What recomendations do you have for me? Is this even necessary or desirable or am I just wasting money that could be spent on another fly rod (you never have enough )?
From people I know and my hubby, I don’t care for the Fishing Buddies at all. They are great for depth finders but that is it. The eye radiase is so small. And for those smart casts, my brother in-law bought one and they are greatly effected by water temp. If it is cold, he has to bring the transducer in and warm it up to work.
Go with a regular boat sonar, they are cheaper anyway with more features. Mount the transducer on PVC or whatever, but keep in mind it doesn’t have to be in the water very deep at all, you could even mount it to the inside of you toon. Then get one of those rechargeable batteries that are about 6" x 4" x 2". They work great.
just a heads up…if you are fishing in less than 60 ft of water…concider a finder with side scan…will help you to find structure in the shallower waters… )
4beader;
I have a Smartcast and one advantage is using it from shore or a stationary position. You can map a lot of lake bottom without paddling all over. I use it on a medium/heavy spinning rod and can realy reach out there.
If you were to add a line footage counter to the reel you could do a very accurate job of mapping the bottom.
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
I use a Fishin Buddy 1101 on my ODC 816 and really like it. It marks depth, bottom structure, surface water temp., and fish. It does not have side scan which I don’t need anyway since I already know there are fish in the shallows. I do need it for deeper water. I have a strap PVC holster that it hangs in mounted over the cargo deck and bar between the seat and the deck. Some folks have had bad experience with them or don’t like them but I do.
well - here’s another vote for the Fishin Buddy. Got it for the same reason - learning bottom structure / composition. Marks depth, fish, structure, floating/submerged, sidescan, water temp, bla, bla, bla. Quite portable. Defines bottom structure (gravel, cabbage, mud …). Nice to make rough maps / mental notes of areas.
I thought greyscale (mono-color screen) would be a problem with identifying / differentiating things - not at all.
As for targetting fish with it - naw - gotta give 'em a chance at least …
I use the Fishin Buddy on my River Tamer and like it. Make sure you get a holder from Cabelas to attach the FF to the Pontoon. Also, carry extra batteries, as it dies without warning.
I agree with jack about the smart cast. You can also run two tranducers to get a composit image. Covers a lot of area fast and has decent resolution for a small screen. One word of caution though. Use heavy mono (I use 20lb test) in areas where there are agressive fish. Pike, muskie and “Old Bucketmouth” bass will try to eat your transducers!
Eric “nighthawk”
American veteran and proud of it!
[This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 25 April 2006).]
[This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 25 April 2006).]
Well, I did exactly what you are trying to avoid. I have a fishing buddy that malfunctioned so I took it back to Cabela’s. They took it back but when I went to pick up another fishing buddy, the sales guy talked to me about the smart cast. It sounded good because it is so small. I have now used it twice and after the two trips, I went ahead and ordered a new fishing buddy.
The smart cast is just not reliable or consistent enough to work for me. It went in and out (I guess due to water temps in the 50s). It also does not read in water less than three feet. I like the smart cast for its size and weight but the fishing buddy is more substantial, rugged and accurate. The newest model has 320 pixels which provides a very detailed picture of the bottom.
I have an older Hummingbird (after trying the Fishing Buddy) and no comparison. Small, compact and I have easily made it adaptable to what ever floatation I am using. It has the Tri and side features and a bigger surface coverage transducer, which is great in shallow waters.
Thanks for all the replys. It seems as if there is no clear choice. I am still leaning towards the Smartcast but only because of its size. I am not sure the difference in price should be the criteria, and it is not. However it does bother me that some have had problems in colder water.
)?
)