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Udo
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Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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LOOKING FOR A FISH FINDER
I can see that we have a large number of fishermen belonging to our group, therefore I think one of you may have the answer.
My wife and I own a couple of seagoing kayaks, and I plan on fishing from mine. I am looking for a fishfinder that I can use from my kayak that has a
color display, and perhaps one that is compatible with my Lowrance GPS.
I am sure many of you have opinions on the direction I should take, and I'm listening.
If you know of someone who upgraded and wants sell theirs, please let me know. In a U2U I'll give you my cell number.
THANKS
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Diver
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The Garmin 160C is made in a portable version with a battery pack and removeable transducer - works pretty well for the price. No GPS though.
http://www.thetwistergroup.com/store/customer/product.php?pr...
[Edited on 5-26-2008 by Diver]
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Diver
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Thanks Grover - I couldn't get the whole thing to stick.
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Cypress
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You're gonna need a high-tech, super-dooper fish finder to locate any fish down in the Sea of Cortez.
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Capt. George
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ya right Cypress....how about a hookah rig?
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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Cypress
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Capt. George, Yea, and their days are numbered.
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Udo
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Thanks Diver & Grover!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Paulina
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
You're gonna need a high-tech, super-dooper fish finder to locate any fish down in the Sea of Cortez. |
I'm thinking he should hire Skeet.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Cypress
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Paulina!
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Pescador
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Since most of what you will be needing is less than 100 feet, any of the decent depth finders will work well, you just need to play with the gain to
set up the sensitivity. Also, since it is a pretty wet setup, make sure you are using a sealed unit. I prefer not to have a combination GPS and
depthfinder because if the unit goes out I have lost two important instruments. On a kayak, I use a portable GPS and a Garmin finder with 50/200
settings. There is a kayak fishing site out of southern California that really goes into depth on this very issue.
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Udo
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Muchas gracias, PESCADOR,
yours is the type of information I was looking for.
I was originally considering the LOWRANCE LMS 520c because of it's GPS as well as a depth/fish finder capabilities and how bright it was, plus I was
considering a sealed AGM motorcycle size battery, which hopefully would give me about 8 hours of power.
Another question: why a Garmin with the 50/200?
As I understand it, the 50 transducer makes for a wider sonar angle, and the 200 for a narrower beam. Since I can't go very fast any way, why would
one be more advantageous than the other?
And what is the kayak fishing site you know of?
Thanks!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Udo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
Since most of what you will be needing is less than 100 feet, any of the decent depth finders will work well, you just need to play with the gain to
set up the sensitivity. Also, since it is a pretty wet setup, make sure you are using a sealed unit. I prefer not to have a combination GPS and
depthfinder because if the unit goes out I have lost two important instruments. On a kayak, I use a portable GPS and a Garmin finder with 50/200
settings. There is a kayak fishing site out of southern California that really goes into depth on this very issue. |
I notice you are from LOVELAND CO.
Do you know Boyd Bass & Barbara Winternitz? Loveland is not that big, and I love your post office!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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bremptg
Newbie
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The 50/200 cone settings are not speed related, but settings are determined by water depth you wish to view. Garmin is a very good unit (one of the
few that are waterproof, not just water resistant). I've had mine for 4 years and never a problem.
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bremptg
Newbie
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The 50/200 cone settings are not speed related, but settings are determined by water depth you wish to view. Garmin is a very good unit (one of the
few that are waterproof, not just water resistant). I've had mine for 4 years and never a problem.
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castaway$
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Actually the 50/200 refers to the frequency the unit operates at, it does mean you have 2 different cone angles and it does affect the the ability to
reach into the depths. The 200 khz will have a wider cone angle and will not penetrate nearly as deep as the 50 khz at the same power. If you are not
going to be fishing in water over 150 feet 200 khz is more than adequate as long as the unit has the power to back it up, plus it will give you much
higher resolution. It would also be wise to check each unit you are interested in for the peak to peak wattage rating, if you don't have the power to
push the sound adequately you will get distorion and weak echo returns and pescador is definitley right adjust your gain and sensitivity to get a
clean picture. One final note DO NOT USE THE LITTLE FISH SYMBOLS they will represent everthing as a fish from a piece of kelp to a fish fart, learn to
read the "arches" and you will be much more successful. Castaway$
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Santiago
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ah jeeze - Paulina beat me to it.
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Pescador
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You have already been educated about dual cone transducers, but the most important part, for me, is the ability to find and differentiate bait fish.
If you are just going to look for bay bass or other critters on the bottom thn it does not make much difference, and once you get the gain dialed in,
you will be amazed. I can see the jig going down on mine and I can see the fish rising up to strike. Almost like a video game.
Kayaking resources:
www.bluewaterjon.com
www.kayakfishinggear.com
www.jaxkayakfishing.com
www.kayakfishing.com
www.kayakfishinstuff.com
www.kayakfishingzone.com
www.kayak4fish.com
www.suncoastkayaksportfishing.com
www.texaskayakfisherman.com
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ElFaro
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Another thing to consider is the pixel resolution of the screen!!
Let's say the bottom below you is 150 feet deep and the top to bottom screen resolution is 150 pixel. That means each pixel represents 1 foot.
A 300 pixel resolution means 1 pixel to 1/2 foot. Thus a fish may not be visible on the screen due to insufficient pixel resolution...something
passed on to me from an expert at a fishing show kayak booth.
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Udo
Elite Nomad
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Hola, pescador, el faro & castaway$!
Your information has been most helpful. Now I'm looking to see which model of the Garmin units to purchase.
I think I have a reasonable idea regarding the fish finder and an external motorcycle-size battery: store the battery in a PELICAN CASE and add a 5
watt solar charger to the outside of the case to sort of keep the battery charged. I don't know how long the battery will last when using the Garmin.
Unless some of you have already done it.
Again,
thanks for your help!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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ElFaro
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Udo...
Here is my current setup...I have an Ocean Kayak Prowler "Big Game" olive green. It is setup to accomodate an assortment of fishing accessories.
Directly in front of my feet is a molded flat surface to accomodate a fish finder and a compass and whatever else one wishes to "bolt on" to the
surface. For the fish finder specifically the right side of the flat surface in front of my right foot is the ideal area to mount the fish finder.
There is a battery shelf under the surface to secure the battery. Power is then run up through a hole to the fish finder. The transponder is mounted
on the underside of the kayak on a small circular flat surface specifically molded around the front right drain hole to accomodate the transponder
mount. The cable is then fed up through the drain hole and into the fish finder.
I prefer to use the GARMIN FORETREX 101 wrist mounted GPS for a host of reasons...It is separate from the fish finder, waterproof, portable, and
battery powered to 15 hrs. It is a basic GPS that stores 500 waypoints and 10,000 trackpoints w/ traceback feature. Waypoints can be
uploaded/downloaded to a PC. It DOES NOT store maps...which are useless in Baja anyway for near shore/estuary fishing in remote areas. I also prefer
a wrist compass. Both my navigation tools are separate from the fish finder in case I'm separated from the kayak.
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