Fishfinders for Dummies?

[fishonjax904]

Hey guys, Im new to kayak fishing. I do mostly inshore fishing in Jacksonville, FL and occasionally a trip to the Keys. Looking for a fishfinder for $200 or less thats a good unit to get me started. The side mount "portable" fishfinders seem awkward to me and I don't know hardly anything about full fishfinders, installation, battery power etc. Can someone give me some basic advice on where to start? I am riding a 12' Pelican Icon.

Thanks! Tight Lines ><(((0>

[dsiekman]

Welcome to the forum! There are going to be plenty of opinions on a specific type or brand. That's really up to you and how you fish. The easiest transducer install is probably a duct seal wet well inside the yak - assuming you have access. Do a quick search and you'll find plenty of info. I think most guys use a small security system/fios/power wheels battery. There are several ah ratings available. Again, just depends on you. I got mine at a local battery store for about $25.

[Runnin]

I bought a lowrance elite 4x at BPS not long ago for 119.00. It works great. No GPS though.

[buzz]

I got the Humminbird 386ci Combo for $242.24 at Pricefalls.
Humminbird has excellent customer service.

But BEFORE you buy.... go to Bass Pro or West Marine or any other place that has FF on display so you can check them out for yourself. Online photos are sometimes faked. You really want to look at them in person. Some models have better resolution than the others. If you're on a tight budget, I would look for one that has a good resolution sonar display and just skip the GPS for now.

[fishonjax904]

Wow thanks for the quick responses guys! Very helpful! I plan on going to BPS first but the closest is a bit of a drive for me so im trying to knock out a lot of research first. I am leaning toward the Lowrance Elite 4. Don't really need the gps as I know the waters I fish very well. Can someone tell me more about powering these things? Im picturing a big car-style battery taking up space on my yak lol. Im sure thats not the case. Appreciate the help, great forum! ><(((0>

[Cowpokey]

Fishfinders for Dummies?

Agree with buzz, go fiddle with them at a display, I had my mind set on getting a Humminbird, and ended up liking the Lowrance Elite-4 HDI better...so that's what I got. As for power, Bass Pro sells a small sealed lead acid battery for $25. It's the same physical size as the one Hobie sells, so you can check their website to get an idea...if you haven't found it later today I'll post a link after work, at lunch on my phone right now.

[dsiekman]

Wow thanks for the quick responses guys! Very helpful! I plan on going to BPS first but the closest is a bit of a drive for me so im trying to knock out a lot of research first. I am leaning toward the Lowrance Elite 4. Don't really need the gps as I know the waters I fish very well. Can someone tell me more about powering these things? Im picturing a big car-style battery taking up space on my yak lol. Im sure thats not the case. Appreciate the help, great forum! ><(((0>

No, not a car battery. They're somewhere in the neighborhood of 2" x 4" by 6-8" long. I'd put the weight at maybe 5 lbs or so?

Something like this:

http://www.batterymart.com/p-12v-9ah...d-battery.html

[dsiekman]

I have the Elite 4 with GPS although I don't use the GPS much.

[buzz]

What dsiekman said....

Depending on how long you want to be able to go between charges and how much money you want to spend, you can get these batteries between 4-8 amp hours. dsiekman described the 7/8 amp hour form factor.

I'm using an old 4Ah battery that came out of my home security alarm panel. Works just fine. Its 4" tall x 3.5" long x 2.75" deep... and 3.5lbs.

[Cowpokey]

The one I picked up at BPS is a "Dependable Energy DE-30020". 12 volt, 7 amp hour. It's 5.9 inches x 2.6 inches wide and 3.7 inches high. I used it to power my FF for over 10 hours in two days without charging.

[Pc4sun]

There are several ways to store the battery, and I prefer the $10 waterproof plastic box from Walmart. Drill a hole in the side to pull the wires through and put some seal around the hole ( there are lots of pictures out there on this method). And do NOT cut the long cable that come with your fishfinder. It will change the way the FF works. I got a 12v 8amp battery which is the same as the one in dsiekman's link. The lower in amperage the smaller the battery, but also the less it can power. I have a Lowrance Mark 4 w/gps. It's not color. Paid $149.
Good luck and have fun!

[rob-kayak]

I have a Lowrance Mark 4 w/gps. It's not color. Paid $149.
Good luck and have fun!

I have the same... one thing people are not really mentioning, is usually the GPS models, have charts. I find myself looking at the charts and moving along deep and shallow ledges etc etc, as much as I do trying to see fish... and it's way cool to, "offline" be able to plot a route, deep holes, bumps, wrecks etc... and then upload them into the GPS style fish finder. And then be able to navigate to those spots.

And you will occasionally hear stories about people being lost in the fog, the black of a moonless night, and being so happy to have a GPS to find their way back. (I did last December off Sand Point.)

You can mark spots as you go, track your route, tell your speed and direction. I love my GPS :-)

[J.A. Veil]

I have the same... one thing people are not really mentioning, is usually the GPS models, have charts. I find myself looking at the charts and moving along deep and shallow ledges etc etc, as much as I do trying to see fish... and it's way cool to, "offline" be able to plot a route, deep holes, bumps, wrecks etc... and then upload them into the GPS style fish finder. And then be able to navigate to those spots.

And you will occasionally hear stories about people being lost in the fog, the black of a moonless night, and being so happy to have a GPS to find their way back. (I did last December off Sand Point.)

You can mark spots as you go, track your route, tell your speed and direction. I love my GPS :-)

I agree with Rob. I started with a black and white FF. I thought that met all my needs. When I got a new kayak in 2012, I planned to reinstall the same unit. I had some connection issues, so began looking at other units. I ended up moving a good Lowrance LMS 527 color FF/GPS from my center console to the kayak and upgrading the electronics for the center console.

I really enjoy seeing the real-time data on speed and the total distance I travel on each trip. When I am trolling on a stretch of shoreline, I can see the track I took on my previous pass and either go across the same path or pick a parallel path nearby to cover more water. It also lets me know when I am approaching a depth change (dropoff, lump, hole, etc). Now that I have used the GPS function for several years, I feel that it makes a difference in my fishing.

[Cowpokey]

I have the same... one thing people are not really mentioning, is usually the GPS models, have charts. I find myself looking at the charts and moving along deep and shallow ledges etc etc, as much as I do trying to see fish... and it's way cool to, "offline" be able to plot a route, deep holes, bumps, wrecks etc... and then upload them into the GPS style fish finder. And then be able to navigate to those spots.

What charts are you using?

FF/GPS units usually don't come with more than a base map installed, which is not very good. Or, I just haven't been on water that has been mapped? So far I've only been on Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge.

[rob-kayak]

What charts are you using?

FF/GPS units usually don't come with more than a base map installed, which is not very good. Or, I just haven't been on water that has been mapped? So far I've only been on Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge.

I don't have any experience with maps of Tri and Rocky... my lower end Lowrance won't provide charts for fresh water lakes, I think the higher end models have "chips" than can upgraded and purchased for inland lakes that are detailed.

Its pretty much like the maps you see here....
http://www.navionics.com/en/webapp
when you zoom in you see a lot of detail. The more expensive the FF/GPS the more detailed the maps.
But I have been very happy with my low end $149 Lowrance black and white detail.

I just checked that link... you can view Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge quite well.
So I am pretty sure you can get detailed maps to plugin to your FF/GPS.
You'll just have to spend more money than $149....

And if you are new to GPS and FF.... you can get Open Source projects for mapping...
http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...ew-Yak!!/page2

Although for Tri and Rocky maps you would probably only be able to get good maps with an expensive "chip" FF/GPS