Fishfinders For Reservoirs

[Elton]

Posted on behalf of Tim2. Please add all replies to this thread:

 

I would like to purchase a decent fish finder for Perch/Pike fishing trips on Trout reservoirs. Can anyone make a recommendation and/or point me in the direction of where I can obtain information of the most suitable models?

[Colin Brett]

Have a look at the Eagle Fish Easy at JK Max [excellent service] the portable is good it uses 8 AA batteries which last around 5 or 6 trips for me [usually 8-10 hours a trip], You can get the FF without the portable battery box and buy a separate 12v motorcycle battery that will last for much much much longer. The only drawback then is the weight.

 

I have the Fish Easy 245 it works for me!

 

Good luck

 

Colin

[Tim2]

Have a look at the Eagle Fish Easy at JK Max [excellent service] the portable is good it uses 8 AA batteries which last around 5 or 6 trips for me [usually 8-10 hours a trip], You can get the FF without the portable battery box and buy a separate 12v motorcycle battery that will last for much much much longer. The only drawback then is the weight.

 

I have the Fish Easy 245 it works for me!

 

Good luck

 

Colin

[Tim2]

Have a look at the Eagle Fish Easy at JK Max [excellent service] the portable is good it uses 8 AA batteries which last around 5 or 6 trips for me [usually 8-10 hours a trip], You can get the FF without the portable battery box and buy a separate 12v motorcycle battery that will last for much much much longer. The only drawback then is the weight.

 

I have the Fish Easy 245 it works for me!

 

Good luck

 

Colin

 

 

Colin,

 

Thank you very much. Sounds just like the piece of kit I need and at a rasonable price too. Such equipment has moved on a lot since I fished Rutland 25 years ago with a basic depthfinder. Can you tell me how easy it is to interpret the on-screen details of the 245. I also understand that the transducer fixes with a suction cap to the bottom of the boat. Does this work equally well with both wooden and fibre class vessels?

 

Regards

 

Tim

[Dick Dastardly]

Over the years Ive used a lot of depth finders (I think the term "fish finders" is a load of bollo!) from Decca flashers to 3D Hummingbirds.

 

I honestly dont think there is much to choose between the well known manufacturers current models.Price should be your guide.Most of the "expensive" models are only so because they have a lot of extrs and usually uneeded "gimmick" functions!

 

Make sure your chosen model has the depth range you will require (my first Hummingbird ID only went up to 200' so switched off a lot of times up on Highland lochs!) And also ensure that it has a good "grayline" feature as this is extremely handy for feature finding/sussing out the bottom composition.

 

Features such as 3D (just confusing a lot of the time!) fish ID (as opposed to "archs",colour,temperature,trolling speed,bottom alarm etc etc just add to the price and arnt that necessary.

 

These days £150 will buy you a more than adequate sounder.Its learning to use/interpret it that makes the difference.

[Steve Burke]

In another life I used to specialise in selling fishfinders and was also one of the few (possibly the only one) in the UK to do head to head tests. I've posted a lot of info in the past that a search should find.

 

However, to very briefly summarise for your sort of fishing:

 

1) Buy the cheapest that you can find that offers "Grayline" or its equivalent. Humminbird call their's "Structure ID". This will help show bottom hardness, fish close to the bottom or very close together. All but the cheapest model in most ranges now offer Greyline. IMO this is the single most useful feature to look for.

 

2) The expensive wide screen models will give you little advantage at the speeds we run our boats in the UK and cost a lot more. Contrary to popular belief they don't show a wider view of the bottom, just more past "history". Additionally, most of the other features on the upmarket models you'll never use. Their main advantage is the increased detail, but for most UK coarse fishing few of us can justify the extra cost.

 

3) Eagle are part of Lowrance and their models are cheaper but almost identical to Lowrance ones. The main advantage of the latter is they're more powerful, which is most useful for penetrating very deep water such as when sea fishing.

 

4) I found Humminbirds found more fish than Eagle/Lowrance models but were not so good in the more important job of feature finding. However, they have one of the few (and easily the best) sidescanners, which are very useful for shallow-feeding fish or shallow waters, especially rivers. The only Bottom Line model that was available in the UK then didn't show up nearly as well in my tests. The new Garmins I haven't tested, but they have good specs and a useful reputation.

 

5) Don't waste money on a "portable". These were designed for ice fishing and are in fact bigger and bulkier than standard models. More to the point they cost more to buy and more to run. Instead I'd suggest you buy a rechargeable gel battery, the sort that are used in burglar alarms. The one I use has a 7 amp/hour capacity.

 

6) There are several ways of mounting the transducer and what's best depends on the circumstances. The first is a permanent installation in the bottom of the boat. The second is on a removable bracket on the transom. You can buy these or quite easily make your own. The third is on a removable suction-cup (these can be troublesome on some surfaces). The fourth, and my own usual solution, is to mount it on my electric outboard that I take from boat to boat anyway.

 

For lots of further tips it's well worth searching out the old threads.

[Colin Brett]

Colin,

 

Thank you very much. Sounds just like the piece of kit I need and at a rasonable price too. Such equipment has moved on a lot since I fished Rutland 25 years ago with a basic depthfinder. Can you tell me how easy it is to interpret the on-screen details of the 245. I also understand that the transducer fixes with a suction cap to the bottom of the boat. Does this work equally well with both wooden and fibre class vessels?

 

Regards

 

Tim

 

Tim,

You can buy an attachment to fix your transducer to your hire boat. The suction cup works really well on boats that have a nice clean shiny gloss finish, but not so well on a rougher finish covered in algae. I am using a transducer bracket as shown on this webpage

Interpretation of the screen is a matter of experience, the Eagle has a sensitivity control for you to play with. Many say you should fish to the features you find and take no notice of fish echoes, I do take notice of fish echoes rightly or wrongly. My results over the last couple of years tell me I was right to do so.

Regarding the portable FF, they are much improved from years ago and are not anywhere near as bulky, but as Steve says the 12v 7amp m/cycle battery is a smaller way to go, just much heavier.

I'd agree with Steve that the modern FFs are very similar, I like Eagle as I have mostly used them with no problems.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Colin

[Steve Burke]

]

Interpretation of the screen is a matter of experience, the Eagle has a sensitivity control for you to play with. Many say you should fish to the features you find and take no notice of fish echoes, I do take notice of fish echoes rightly or wrongly. My results over the last couple of years tell me I was right to do so.

Regarding the portable FF, they are much improved from years ago and are not anywhere near as bulky, but as Steve says the 12v 7amp m/cycle battery is a smaller way to go, just much heavier.

 

I agree that fish echoes are useful. Here are just a few instances:

 

1) Often large areas of water are totally devoid of fish.

 

2) There are often many fish at the same depth throughout a water. Knowing that suggests how deep you should fish.

 

3) Finding a dense ball of small fish rather than a scattered shoal, especially if Greyline shows a speckled centre, often means you've found feeding predators.

 

4) Sometimes you can see individual big fish, particularly if you turn the fish symbols off (they're notoriously unreliable). In fact if your transducer is set up properly (rather more difficult in practice with a suction cup model) you may be able to see a characteristic "curved hook" shape. These may not be pike of course, although it's certainly likely to be a big predator if it's close to a shoal of small fish, especially if underneath. BTW, with the fish symbols turned on I found that Eagle models would very often fail to show dense shoals of fry at all. However Eagle's Greyline was the best when the fish symbols were turned off, and is also adjustable. Having said that Humminbirds new advanced version of Greyline (but not yet available on their lower price units I believe) is reported to be even better.

 

If you're worried about the weight of a 7amp gel battery there are other smaller models available. However it's my preferred size and I don't find it heavy even with my muscle illness. They're rechargeable with most car battery chargers, but do check there's a gel battery setting. As they don't contain liquid you can also take them on a plane.

 

You can also use the same type of battery as for your trolling motor if appropriate. I used to do this as I always take 2 such 85amp/hour deep cycle leisure batteries with me anyway. The reasons for two are firstly for safety as they can suddenly give up on you the same as a car battery. You also have a fresh battery to get back if the wind gets up. Secondly 2 medium-sized batteries are easier to carry, especially as the different handle configuration on larger models means you have to stagger along with it in front of you.

 

However be careful if you connect the fishfinder and the trolling motor to the same battery as this can give false readings.

 

Additionally be aware that some models of fishfinder won't work even when there's some life left in the battery. My Humminbird is a case in point, although there is a low battery indicator.

Edited November 8, 2008 by Steve Burke