Fish Finder utility for fresh water lake fishing

[baitball]

Manny,

Thanks for the advice. It is very helpful. I think I will change my tune and add a FF to my list of yak equipment.

What is considered a good FF that can provide waypoints, SD card, good structure/bottom detail and won't break the bank. I'd even be interested in a model that is somewhat old on the market, but was done very well that I might be able to find used and/or cheap.

Thanks,

smithmal

Many Hobie owners go with a Lowrance-brand FF out of convenience. Hobie struck a deal with Lowrance and now include a purpose-built, transducer cavity in all of their fishing kayaks. This makes installation (and a future upgrade) a breeze - no gluing or shooting through the hull.

Some folks on this forum seem to prefer Hummingbird and yet others like Garmin. They are all equally capable and good units. If you stick with these three, you will find they have specific offerings for the kayak fishing crowd.

However, I'm not an expert on the latter two. I have a Hobie and as such I've gone with Lowrance. I had Raymarine on my powerboat for many years and that worked fine as well, but I would not recommend them for kayak fishing. I started with a low-end Lowrance model on my Revo years ago and it served me just fine. I recently upgraded to a CHIRP-capable unit for my Outback, but frankly I haven't had an A-ha! moment with it. Stay with the low-end for now and it'll work out fine for what you need. The very high-end stuff on the market right now is Side-Scan technology. Although nice to have, the cost is outside my budget. I will be waiting for the price to come down.

TIP: Go online to the Lowrance, Garmin, and Hummingbird home pages and download the respective instruction manuals for the unit you are interested in. Ask yourself these questions: Q. How can I navigate from one menu page to the next? Q. How many button pushes does it take? Q. Is the logic intuitive? etc... This way you can form an opinion (without purchasing the unit) as to what is going to work for you and the type of fishing you are interested in.

Hope this helps.

[Oldbayrunner]

In addition I recommend going to a place close to you that has models out for display and take some time to actually go through the demo menus. Then you be able to tell by" hands on" which seems like something you prefer. A lot of people go with the cheapest price and smallest at first. Think of yourself sitting in your kayak 3-4 feet or more from the screen, picture what that screen will look like if you have one, two, or three menu items up. Even better, It's easy at a place demoing to step back and look at what your seeing on the screen. Will you still adequately be able to look at important detail. Most times when trolling I am looking at my Navigations bathymetric mapping in addition to at least my 2D fish finding. Sometimes I am running those two plus my Downscan and/or sidescan. That can get mighty tiny detail on a 3,4 or even 5" screen. I went through a 4 & 5" screen to a 7" for that very reason. The reason is because of the way I like to fish. I rely heavily on bathymetric mapping and route my kayak according to what I see on the mapping contour or what I have pre planned using routing a with waypoints. Of course I don't consider myself one of the best fishermen on here but I do ok, have fun and catch fish most of the time.

[Mark]

In addition I recommend going to a place close to you that has models out for display and take some time to actually go through the demo menus. Then you be able to tell by" hands on" which seems like something you prefer. A lot of people go with the cheapest price and smallest at first. Think of yourself sitting in your kayak 3-4 feet or more from the screen, picture what that screen will look like if you have one, two, or three menu items up. Even better, It's easy at a place demoing to step back and look at what your seeing on the screen. Will you still adequately be able to look at important detail. Most times when trolling I am looking at my Navigations bathymetric mapping in addition to at least my 2D fish finding. Sometimes I am running those two plus my Downscan and/or sidescan. That can get mighty tiny detail on a 3,4 or even 5" screen. I went through a 4 & 5" screen to a 7" for that very reason. The reason is because of the way I like to fish. I rely heavily on bathymetric mapping and route my kayak according to what I see on the mapping contour or what I have pre planned using routing a with waypoints. Of course I don't consider myself one of the best fishermen on here but I do ok, have fun and catch fish most of the time.

Holy cow...I have to say that sounds complex.

I'm sincerely glad it works for you and evidently it works for many other kayak anglers.

However, I could never enjoy fishing if I relied that much on technology. Note that also I never could successfully program my VCR -- for those of you who remember them.

One of the reasons I kayak fish is to enjoy the setting -- to observe nature's miracles that surround me on the water. The last thing I want to do is to be fixated on a video screen while I'm on the water paddling from one point to another. I'm bombarded now with visual and oral electronic signals in my daily life. The water is one place I can escape them...except for my damned cell phone.

And let's remember, folks caught a lot of fish on a hook before Lowrance, Hummingbird and other companies marketed their wares. They did that by learning to read the water either through experience and/or a basic knowledge of the lifecycles of the fish they sought to catch.

There is no doubt that electronics help us to locate fish, or more precisely areas where they may be. But I am equally certain that they (electronics) will prove more valuable to those who first learn how to fish without them.

For that reason I would never consider a fish finder to be a necessary accessory for kayak anglers, especially those new to the hobby. I would suggest to them to learn to fish from a kayak first.

Again, I do not wish to appear harshly critical. I likely sound like the old guy (which I am) complaining about the kids at McDonald's who cannot make change when the cash register dies. What I'm saying is that kayak angling is an avocation that we can pursue while keeping it simple. And we can become very good at it by understanding nature's forces on the fish we are trying to catch. I think if you learn to fish by those basics first, technology can indeed enhance your results in the long run. But in my opinion, it's never good to rely on that technology as a substitute for your own on-the-water experiences and intuitions.

[Oldbayrunner]

Holy cow...I have to say that sounds complex.

I'm sincerely glad it works for you and evidently it works for many other kayak anglers.

However, I could never enjoy fishing if I relied that much on technology. Note that also I never could successfully program my VCR -- for those of you who remember them.

One of the reasons I kayak fish is to enjoy the setting -- to observe nature's miracles that surround me on the water. The last thing I want to do is to be fixated on a video screen while I'm on the water paddling from one point to another. I'm bombarded now with visual and oral electronic signals in my daily life. The water is one place I can escape them...except for my damned cell phone.

And let's remember, folks caught a lot of fish on a hook before Lowrance, Hummingbird and other companies marketed their wares. They did that by learning to read the water either through experience and/or a basic knowledge of the lifecycles of the fish they sought to catch.

There is no doubt that electronics help us to locate fish, or more precisely areas where they may be. But I am equally certain that they (electronics) will prove more valuable to those who first learn how to fish without them.

For that reason I would never consider a fish finder to be a necessary accessory for kayak anglers, especially those new to the hobby. I would suggest to them to learn to fish from a kayak first.

Again, I do not wish to appear harshly critical. I likely sound like the old guy (which I am) complaining about the kids at McDonald's who cannot make change when the cash register dies. What I'm saying is that kayak angling is an avocation that we can pursue while keeping it simple. And we can become very good at it by understanding nature's forces on the fish we are trying to catch. I think if you learn to fish by those basics first, technology can indeed enhance your results in the long run. But in my opinion, it's never good to rely on that technology as a substitute for your own on-the-water experiences and intuitions.

You fish your way for your pleasure I'll fish my way for mine. I don't or knock anyone's way or method of fishing. The OP asked for advise on fish finders so I am giving him advise as to how one can use them effectively to find fish. I've been fishing rivers, lakes and ocean since I was 6 years old, I'm 69 now and have caught everything from rainbow trout to marlin & swordfish so I think I know a thing or two about the basics.I fished for many years without technology at at this point in time I happen to enjoy using it as I enjoy my time and sights out on the water. I don't know why you guys feel you need to interject your minimal ways when folks are discussing technology, ok you don't like it we get it.

[Mark]

You fish your way for your pleasure I'll fish my way for mine. I don't or knock anyone's way or method of fishing. The OP asked for advise on fish finders so I am giving him advise as to how one can use them effectively to find fish. I've been fishing rivers, lakes and ocean since I was 6 years old, I'm 69 now and have caught everything from rainbow trout to marlin & swordfish so I think I know a thing or two about the basics.I fished for many years without technology at at this point in time I happen to enjoy using it as I enjoy my time and sights out on the water. I don't know why you guys feel you need to interject your minimal ways when folks are discussing technology, ok you don't like it we get it.

I'm sorry you took offense. That was not my intention.

Minimalist me.

[Memory Maker]

Yak Fish has caught more giant Stripers than any man I have ever known or heard of in the last 50 years. Just look at his posts on his website. The Ff is one of the most important items he uses to locate and catch them. But of course it depends on the Ff. His has high definition side and 360 degree scanning with mapping. I think you can even turn off the transducer so you can REALLY go stealth and just follow the contours using your mapped gps. I agree ........ A simple inexpensive Ff with only the traditional Down scan has limited usefulness. However, the new Humingbirds give you an almost unfair advantage.

I really hate it when someone puts on their purist robes and judges others ( I'm not saying that was done here). Especially when their yaks are made of plastic instead of whale bone and seal skin. Some enjoy bells and whistles and others enjoy simplicity.......... The point is they all enjoy in there own way. Kum by ya