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I have been looking for a portable and simple finder for my float tube and pontoon for some time now. I do not want anything mounted to my crafts and want to have it lightweight and SIMPLE. The Smartphone App with blue tooth transducer seemed interesting but as my luck would have it I would end up dropping it in the lake plus I bet it would draw down the battery quick. I am good to go for ice fishing with my Ice 55 but it too is a bit cumbersome on the toon and forget putting it on my tube.
Has anyone had or know anything about these?
http://www.amazon.com/...Finder/dp/B000BV6B6K
I have gone thru Youtube and online reviews and it seems that this may be the ticket.
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Hi and thanks for your question.
The fishfinder you are referring too is decent for the price. Lightweight, long battery life, water resistant and does not require mounting.
The 25 degree angle of the sonar is just about right for a float tube. Some people prefer a bit wider angle such as 45 degrees as you get a better reading when a school of fish is approaching rather than just be alerted when they are only directly under you.
Some of us tuber/tooner/ yakers will us a different type that does require minimal mounting but offers a wider angle and even side views on some models.
Of course, battery life is less to a higher wattage and the batteries are a different story.
While there is no perfect fishfinder out there to meet all of our needs, each person will learn to use what they have and use it to their advantage.
I personally use my fish finder more for finding depth, structure and water temp. Finding fish at a particular depth in the thermalcline will just give you an added advantage as to what depth you should be fishing for the species that your are targeting.
As I mentioned before, that unit seems to have the bells and whistles that you are looking for with the added convenience of being lightweight and low power consuming.
Feel free to give it a try and even a review of your opinion on that unit. That could help others into either buying one just like it or avoiding it to pursue something more of their own liking. [cool]
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Thanks for the input, pretty much my take on the unit as well.
For me depth and structure is what I am interested in mostly.
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[#0000FF]Sounds like your personal preferences are more along the lines of your own convenience rather than what might be most effective.
For example, you state that you don't want anything mounted to your craft. There goes the "hands free" part of tubing we all love. And hand-held definitely increases the chances of kersplash.
There's something for everyone and someone for everything. But if you polled 1000 pro fishermen I doubt you would find any that would choose that unit over something more practical.
Nice for nice and it goes along with our electronic society. But as a fishing tool it is not held in high regard...compared to REAL sonar systems.
[/#0000FF]
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Appreciate the response but I am assuming you did not look at the unit and all of the components it comes with.
"There goes the "hands free" part of tubing we all love."
Has a tether to hang around the neck or it can be temporarily tied off to my storage compartments or rack on the toon thus still hands free
"But if you polled 1000 pro fishermen I doubt you would find any that would choose that unit over something more practical."
Really? Pro fisherman is what you base your feedback on? I am just a simple guy who needs to keep things light (Bad Back) and would never want to compete or be judged by the Pro's..... LOL God forbid a guy wanting to have a lower end less than what is acceptable to the big boy club. I just need to know depth, simple structure, and maybe a fish or two on occasion. I have had high end equipment on many of the boats that I have had for both ocean and fresh water, just trying to simplify my fishing now.
You are truly a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate the feedback but it was not really helpful and rather insulting.
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[#0000FF]Sorry. Didn't mean to be insulting. My reply was based upon reviews from others...on other forums...who had tried this unit and found it lacking for their fishing needs.
Choosing a sonar system is like choosing a rod, reel, line, automobile or anything else we buy. Ultimately it boils down to what do we want, what can we afford, what really turns us on. And once we make our decisions we will defend them to the death because anyone who challenges them is making a personal attack.
I do not buy "high end" sonars. Over the years I have bought and tried a wide variety of units. Most have been under $200. And most have been very basic...depth, temp and fish ID. Don't need any more than that for float tubing. But I do like real time display, good bottom composition readouts, accurate target depiction...and a large easy-to-read screen. I also like to set and forget...without having to constantly fiddle with the adjustments. And I like having the screen mounted in a fixed place for quick and easy checking.
Those are just my preferences and opinions. You are entitled to yours. Good luck in your search.
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No worries, I get a little touchy at times.
Your latest response is exactly what I was hoping to get for feedback, thank you.
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Hey Pat, I remember seeing a unit like that at Harbor Freight some time back, not sure how they work but they are the basic units that I would think would at least give you a good depth reading. How about the Deeper fish finder, here is a review of one of those unit: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ead#unread
It might not be what your looking for because it works off an app on your phone. The one you gave the link to and the one that Harbnor freight has is the cheapest ones I've seen.
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I have been through a few cheap ones myself. I have a $2,000 unit for my boat but it has charting, plotting, GPS and all the other goodies for temp, depth, structure and fishfinding. It is a much wider angle since it is needed when fishing over 20 fathoms.
On the other hand, my float tube has a 180 dollar unit that gives me temp, depth, structure, fish id and even works good up to 40 fathoms. It also has a side finder that I like for the topwater and shallow water bites.
As TubeDude stated "I got the equipment that I was satisfied with for the price."[cool]
The best thing to do is get used to the equipment that you purchase and refine it from there. You will learn to read the difference between a dashing perch and a slow moving Bass on the prowl. You will also learn to tell the difference between a school of bait fish over a small school of Crappie, Trout, Perch or other panfish.
Make your choice, make it work. In the end, you will be able to evaluate if you made a sound choice or if that new unit is just a step up towards your final goal. [cool]
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Any time someone mentions Sonar and Inflatable I am going to throw out http://www.floattubefanatics.com/
These things have all the bells and whistles. You pick the sonar of choice. Probably out of price range and it does require temp mounting.
Just putting another alternative.
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That is a pretty sweet mounting system much cleaner looking than PVC stuff I have had on previous floats and I can move it from too to tube.
Thank you for the idea
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right?! I like it too. I made my own before I knew about this. If I were to do "do overs" I would definitely go with this setup. I kinda had to fabricate one for my boat I use the most as it is flat and about 5" thick. But I also have a couple normal Pontoon (so to speak) so I had to come up with something that would work on all.
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If I am not being too bold to ask??? What FF are you using?
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I Like Humminbird. I have a Helix 5
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Very nice, I like humminbird as well.
Thanks for the awesome response to this post.
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You bet. I go a little more permanent and RAM mounts. I glued a Scotty accessory mount to my boat, then a piece of aluminum and the Ram Ball. The transducer is mounted on a piece of square Aluminum tubing and a bolt through a 4" Nylon belt. Works slick.
![[Image: IMG_1497_zps550d9e2f.jpg]](http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f17/FlyGoddess/Fusion/IMG_1497_zps550d9e2f.jpg)
![[Image: IMG_1483_zpsde749f64.jpg]](http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f17/FlyGoddess/Fusion/IMG_1483_zpsde749f64.jpg)
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I have been using the Float Tube Fanatics setup with my Scadden Renegade for 3 or 4 years now. I love it. I don't mount mine. I strap it on each time. I have mounted a rod holder and a triple rod holder. Don't want to glue on any more mounting features, because the Renegade then becomes more difficult to fold up.
I also use the FTF mounting system with my small aluminum boat. I recommend FTF product strongly.
P.S. I used the the FTF system with my Renegade today in Lundy Lake in CA, and will use it tomorrow in Twin Lakes.
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True on the glue ons effect the fold up, and you only get one chance to get it right. I have the three rod holder on the bottom picture. It is a glue on Scotty too. I did fold the boat up to make sure they were in a good spot. This boat really if no problem though, I can hang it on a wall and it is out of the way. I keep it inflated year round. The Predator and Assault I do fold up and store in rolling duffles.
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Flygoddess,
I don't like to fold the Renegade, because I don't want to crease the fabric. But I live at elevation 61', and sometimes travel with a lot of gear to the Eastern Sierra (where I am now). I fish lakes ranging in elevation from 7500' to 9700'. I have to fold it on these travel occasions.
At home, I keep it lightly inflated, but never folded.
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They are bladder less, you can fold them. I have had them since 2000, and fold them all. We have elevations of 7300 to 11000. These boats can take it.
There is Kevlar in the material. 5th year on the predator, Assault and Assault XX. Still good as new. Think the gentleman that bought my Renegade, 6 years ago posts here.
Strong boats.
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