any thoughts bottom lines fishing buddy??

[MN Hook Setter]

has anyone used these portable depth/fish finders--looking at the high end three hundred dollar jobby. Just wondering if this would be a waste of money any opp. Thanks in advance. It would be nice to find a decent portable for canadian trips.

[boi]

I have heard you can get better results (and same or lower price) by making a standard fish finder into a portable. all you need to do is mount the unit on a box or board and mount the transducer into a shaft/rod with a clamp at the other end- can be as simple as a c-clamp. add a batery and there you have it.

[Fred_G]

I purchased an Eagle unit 3 years ago and built a wood box out of 1" X 8" to mount it on. Inside I have a space partitioned off on one end for a gel cel battery. I also cut some 1" foam rubber to place in the bottom and on top of the unit for transport. I put a handle on one end and mounted the sonar bracket on the top using wing nuts so it's easy to remove. Drill a hole through the back for the wires and you're set. I also picked up a clamp on transducer mount. The suction cups don't work well at speed. Total cost of the box, gel cell and transducer mount was under $100. I also mounted a Ram mount on the box for my handheld gps and ran both units off of the gel cell. I've used this set up in Canada for three years now. The gel cell recharges in less than 2 hours after a full days use. Fred

[Mal]

I have the exact fish finder you are talking about. The only time I use it is on my Canadian fly-in. Of course I am limited to 100 pounds and this is perfect. My brother used to take his portable fish finder but it got to be too much of a hassle. As I said, the only time I use it is one week a year and it suits my need. Besides, 3 "C" batteries operate it for about 3 days and "C" batteries don't weigh that much!

[Colin]

I bought one last year, I got the 1200 and it was 169.99 it takes 3 C-battries. Out of three boats it was the best portable at the fly-in camp. I think the more expensive one has a compass and you can only use this portable while drifting or at idle, so you dont break the mount. Anymore ? just mail me.

IMHO Colin