Hobie Cat Forums

Hi, can anyone suggest a cheap, easy to use fish finder. New to Kayak fishing and don't want to (husband won't let me) spend money on a fishfinder. Need to buy a cheap one to start with to prove that it is a good investment.

Cheerios - and sardine chunks!

I recon a second hand one must be the way to go. Post a request on anglers afloat and I am sure someone will have one going spare.

Cc

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May the odds be ever in your favor..

Sounds like you need a cheap fishfinder to match your husband!

Any of the base models from Garmin, Lowrance, Humminbird etc will do the job for you.

I use a fairly advanced (more than I need) Lowrance unit myself, but the Garmin Echo 100 is a great unit for about $70. The Humminbird Piranha Max 170 is another great starter unit for right at $100. All USD so not sure about UK prces but they are on amazon. Both are very easy to use. If you need GPS, count on paying $100 more on any model.

I recommend mounting with ram or starport. They sell small double a waterproof battery pouches which are cheap and easy to mount. Shoot the transducer through the hull.

If you are an angler, a fishfinder is absolutely a good investment for fishing any depths over 10 ft. It's a must have for me.

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Hi Poole UK, IMO a combi unit with GPS is the best value option if you can get hubby to strech the budget. I have a Humminbird which is great but also have the Lawrence cheap mono combi unit which was about £160 when I bought it. Not as simple to use as the Humminbird but does the job well enough.
I think to fish in UK water it is a must to have both fishfinder and GPS if you want to find the marks.

I have found that a rudder mounted transducer works really nicely on the AI.

All the best.

Just wanted to ask a follow-up ??

I have a TI - Should I spend more for a larger Sounder/GPS??
I did read a report from a Yakker that his Lowrance leaked water thru the Nav Chip slot

I was wondering if a larger screen is "Easier to Read" on Old Man Eyes!!!
I looked at the the Lowrance Elite 4 screen at Cabela's - was wondering if sunglasses glare or boat movement/splashes make it harder to see itsy bitsy fish arches???

Thanks

I have a TI and a Lowrance Elited-4 DSI combo.

I have covered over unused ports on the back with tape, and also covered the micro SD card slot at the bottom, as the rubber flap is almost impossible to get in place 100%.

In addition, I have mounted my unit as high as possible, and fitted a cut-down kitchen canister to limit the fire-hose blast from fast sailing.

It has been faultless in over 80 outings to date.


As you can see, reflections can be an issue, but I bought a clear screen protector for an iPad on ebay for a few $ and cut a cover to fit the unit, and reflections are reduced a bit.

Line with a hook?