Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

[zodiac340m]

Hey guys

Can someone recommend a good inexpensive battery operated Fish finder for my little boat that does not have electric power? I have never used one before so I dont wnat those big shot high power professional things. But I do want one that will work. Does it show sea depth and a map of where you are and where the fish is or it just beeps and you have to guess the depth and what type of bottom you are fishing? Any help will be appreciated. My husband does not fish so I cant ask him

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

I am not sure exactly what you are looking for...if you want one with a map..you will need to get a GPS type..or you can get a hand held GPS that runs off of AA batteries. this little depth/fish finder looks cool
http://www.buy.com/prod/100m-portab...rm/q/sellerid/18700237/loc/111/216059804.html

 

[zodiac340m]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

I am not sure exactly what you are looking for...if you want one with a map..you will need to get a GPS type..or you can get a hand held GPS that runs off of AA batteries. this little depth/fish finder looks cool
http://www.buy.com/prod/100m-portab...rm/q/sellerid/18700237/loc/111/216059804.html

Hi, I guess i was not clear ,because I have never used one of these things before. I want a portable one that I cn use on my inflatable boat. My boat will have a out board engine. I am wondering if it can be mounted on the back by the engine? Or at least the part that is supposed to be in the water? I am wanting one that is portable meaning battery operated. By map I mean most finsh fingers you see on youtube demonstrate a diagram of the bottom and tells how deep the water is and shows blurs of things thta can be fish and bait fish. This is what I mean. Do all of them have this?

Also, can I use a fish finder with an outboard regular 5HP engine or that will chase the fish away?

 

[pscrabber59]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Try the Hummingbird Portable Series, I had the mdl.# 230or 210. It's a portable, battery op, suction-cup transducer, reads depths up to 600'. Bought new off of craigslist for $50 new in retail stores about $80-100. It worked well with the 10' inflatable i had.

 

[zodiac340m]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Try the Hummingbird Portable Series, I had the mdl.# 230or 210. It's a portable, battery op, suction-cup transducer, reads depths up to 600'. Bought new off of craigslist for $50 new in retail stores about $80-100. It worked well with the 10' inflatable i had.

Hi Pscrabber, thanks for this advice, I am over in Germany so I would look at the locak shops and or ebay possibly as German ebay has many angler shops that sell new items on auction or buy it now.. Does the suction really work? Did you go out on Puget Sound in that rubber boat?

 

[pscrabber59]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Zodiac, yes the suction-cup transducer does work but only at low speed like trollin or anchor. if you start going fast the cup will come off. Thats the reason i sold the inflatable & portable fish/finder and now have a 14' double hull fiberglass boat with a permanent transducer by the transom so when i ck my crab pots every hour or so I can go as fast as i can without worrying about the transducer.
Oh yeah i used to love to go out on the sound in that Boston Whaler inflatable with a Nissan 5hp.
It was small but heavy duty and a wet ride!!
Gd luck finding the fishfinder that will work for you

 

[zodiac340m]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Zodiac, yes the suction-cup transducer does work but only at low speed like trollin or anchor. if you start going fast the cup will come off. Thats the reason i sold the inflatable & portable fish/finder and now have a 14' double hull fiberglass boat with a permanent transducer by the transom so when i ck my crab pots every hour or so I can go as fast as i can without worrying about the transducer.
Oh yeah i used to love to go out on the sound in that Boston Whaler inflatable with a Nissan 5hp.
It was small but heavy duty and a wet ride!!
Gd luck finding the fishfinder that will work for you

Lol to wet ride, were on the boat alone and planing? Cant I mount this transducer on the transorm of the boat? Does the sound have tidal bores? It looks pretty sheltered, but you can still get out to the ocean at high tide not so if you wanted? How big was the inflatable? Did you put launch wheels on your former inflatable? I am contemplating the wheels but I understand they jam the outboard to the right side when folded upwards. There are wheels that come off but geeze, that is a lot of work to put on and take off once at sea then put on again. I saw a video on youtube that one person had some heavy duty plastic ones that were low down so it didnt bother the engine.

In the sound, do you have waves and chopp waters? How exactly do you do crabbing? France's waters are rich in those huge big brown crabs and I mean huge. I would like to catch them but dont know how.

 

[dan t.]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Crab are caught in a box or round trap with one way doors,or you can use a hoop with net in it,bait ( usually fish scraps ) are put in a net bag in the trap or in the center of the hoop. Hoops must be pulled up regularly to check for crab, traps can be left down for hours. Good luck

 

[zodiac340m]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Dan, do people steal your traps if you leave it unattended? Do you have to anchor them or let them just sit there? I am amazed at the big monster crabs I see right at the jetties and near the slip ramps over in France. One of those fellars sells for like 20 euros for one crab and there they are running wild in the sea and I cant get them. I did get some soft shells last year by means of hook line and sinker tho.

 

[pscrabber59]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

Zodiac, I had the 10' inflatable on a homemade flatbed trailer and was very easy to launch from a boat ramp. Around the Puget Sound area you kinda pick your days to go out on the water but mostly i would go out in little bays & canals that are part of the sound.
As far as putting the transducer on the transom it can be done but it has to be in the water far enough to get a reading on the FF end.
Can crab be caught in Germany? If you plan to do some crabbing in France or Germany i suggest going on YouTube and checking videos of people who catch crab in those areas with what kind of gear, what bait works the best and so on.

 

[keninaz]

Re: Help with good inexpensive battery operated Fish Finder

I was just looking myself for one. I don't think this is too bad for $120 or less, easy mounting and self contained.
I found this one by HumminBird for my tin boat, easy to mount and runs on 6 AA batteries. This is the retail price so I am sure they are discounted.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/271366?product_id=2f7fe93093f99987551a001e58afcc6c

This is just a basic depth/fish finder however.