Portable Fish Finder at Net Lake, Temagami

[dave1965]

Hello everyone,

 

A group of us are doing our friendly annual, 10th anniversary fishing tournament. This year we are heading up to Andorra Lodge on Net Lake, Temagami in mid June. My old fish finder is on the fritz so i'm in the market for a very simple portable fish finder that is ideal to use on a 9.9hp rental boat. Would love your suggestion on a model.

 

Also, if anyone has fished in the area, any helpful suggestions would be appreciated especially trolling for walleye using my new fish finder!!!! LOL!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

"DR" Dave

[Nipfisher]

Piranha Max from Canadian Tire is about the cheapest depth finder you can get. Works but no "bells and whistles".

[adempsey]

I am actually looking around myself for an inexpensive model. Going the used route. I think the Humminbird Piranhamax series are a good choice for units around $125 and less. They draw low power, which is great if you want to use AA batteries instead of the larger SLA's. Other inexpensive alternatives are the Lowrance X-4 and X-4 Pro; and the Garmin Echo series. Not too sure about the Garmins, but the X-4 seems alright and it seems popular with the Kayak guys..

 

Check Radioworld, they have reasonable prices and a decent selection.

 

BTW you can make any sonar portable.

Edited May 23, 2014 by FishLogic

[Joeytier]

The Pirahnamax is a really poor unit, but i suppose the price is right. The lowrance x-4 is really reasonably priced and works very well.

[Joeytier]

I'll be doing an overnighter on a back lake close to Net this weekend so I can let you know what to expect as far as water temps and levels etc.

 

Generally the lakes right next to the road (like Net) are a tough go, especially during daytime hours, but Mid-June is pretty well prime time so do your blackfly voodoo and capitalize on low light hours (or even after dark)

[Fisherpete]

I have a Humminbird 718 - much better unit that those Piranhamax etc - in near new condition that I could part with, could put together a package for you if you were interested. Can rig up the transducer for you to be portable too.

 

Send me a pm.

 

Pete

[adempsey]

The nice thing about the Piranhamax units is most of them only draw 100mA, so your battery really lasts [some of the older ones draw <25mA]. So that makes switching to AA battery packs much more feasible. Sure, they are basic, but the only units I've seen that actually "find fish" are the high end units [unless you're in water over 40 feet deep], but maybe it's just me.

 

I looked around a bit today and saw the Lowrance X-4 Pro on clearance at Canadian Tire for $98. Walmart had the Garmin Echo 150 on clearance for $88. Walmart also had the Piranhamax 143 for $78 and the Piranhamax 165 portable for $149, which isn't too bad. No clue if those prices are at all locations.

 

The X-4 Pro draws 170mA of current without the backlight on, while the Echo 150 supposedly draws 600mA - according to Garmin support. The Garmin draw seems way too high to me for a black and white unit, but it's hard to find any reputable info about that online. So, without testing it, I would be apprehensive about using that unit as a portable unit. I may buy one and test it though.

 

For comparison, my Humminbird 565PT draws 200mA [although, in practice it looks like it draws closer to 150-160mA] and runs for 12 hours off of 8 Duracell NiMH AA batteries, 14 hours off of 8 Duracell Alkaline AA batteries, ~45 hours off of a 12V 7Ah SLA battery and 90 hours off 8 Duracell Alkaline D-cells.

[dave1965]

Thanks fellas for all this ample information. I have an old Hummingbird that used 2 large 6? volt batteries. I was hoping to get one that uses one big rechargeable battery.

 

Joeytier, would love to hear your report!

[BillsTheBassMan]

Kijiji is typically loaded with old fishfinders. I have bought 3 in the last month for a total of $75. They all work, 2 are new. One of them is an alkalined powered piranhamax and it would be my recommendation for a rental boat. I use it on my outcast pac 1200 and it does more than id want it to. 4 8 hour days on cheap home depot AA batteries and still going strong.

[mattybculp]

I have a humminbird 570 portable, I don't use it very much anymore, but it does come in handy when travelling back lakes or moving from boat to boat. Suction cup transducer can be a little bit of a pain in the arse sometimes but its one large battery and comes in its own little case, I think they sell em at CT now I paid a lot more for mine a few years back. It may be worth looking at. I think I paid like $375 for mine but I think they are a lot more reasonable now.