Watch Fish Finder

[Quinterora8]

Has anyone bought and used the Watch Fish finder yet? If so how do you like it? It cought my eye the other day. It runs for about $80.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Okay as a novelty. Worthless as a serious sonar setup. For about the same money...or a little more...you can buy a REAL fish finder.[/#0000ff]
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[Quinterora8]

Thanks I just wanted to check. I just didn't want to setup a big sonar on my float.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I don't know what you consider "big", but there are some fairly inexpensive and lightweight units that work well without being too large and heavy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It depends on the kind of fishing you do and what you want. Some folks can get by just fine without sonar. Myself...and a lot of others...would feel truly blind without underwater eyes.[/#0000ff]
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[idahoron]

I can't stand to not have my fish finder. Mine is a Eagle fishmark 480. I had the cuda 300 but I would rather use a scuba mask and shove my head under water than use the cuda 300.
I have my FF on a stand alone setup. I can take the whole thing off is I want to. It has a battery box and no part of the FF takes up bag space. Ron
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[k_fish_4_fun]

I was thinking about a fish finder too (not necessarily the watch type). When reading about most reviews on finders, most of the replies I read claim they are mostly after the features to see the depth and temp of the water. After this post about the watch, I went and quick checked it out. Might not be as much of a novelty than others say, if it can do depth and temp, then you are all set. An occasional mark of a fish is just a bonus then right?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]That depends a lot upon the kind of fishing you do. While depth and temp are two of the main features, being able to see bottom structure and accurate fish targets are equally important for many kinds of fishing. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, why spend as much for a toy as you would for a super special price on a good unit that will do it all? There are closeouts on older models and special prices on new models of good units all the time. Just decide what you want and then "watch" for the best price.[/#0000ff]
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[k_fish_4_fun]

So then would you recommend to go with a base unit, over a buddy? Does one show structure and mark the fish better than another? I noticed a side-finder feature that seems like it would be desirable for fishing out of a pontoon or float tube, is it worth dropping back in picture from a base unit to get the features of the side finder that comes with the buddy units?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Many happy tubers and tooners use the Buddies. They work well for our applications. But the features are what make them good or bad. You need some things but not others, depending on the fishing you do.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]For some types of fishing the sidefinders can be helpful...like fishing for suspending species...like crappies or trout. But, for most fishing the sidefinder is added expense and fuss that is seldom needed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You really need to go into some sonar manufacturers websites and read the basic tutorials on sonar before you even consider spending some money. There is a lot to know before going out and blindly plunking down some money for something about which you do not know enough to make a good decision. There are many websites online that will explain it much better than we can in a short thread on this board.[/#0000ff]
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[tlspyder13]

Go fishing with different people and check out their sonars if you can. See what you like and what you may not like. Also ask them if they had to do it again would they buy the same one or get something different?
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[k_fish_4_fun]

That is some good advice, trouble of it is, I don't fish with a lot of different people who have fish finders so it is pretty hard to pull from that resource. So far by my initial evaluation of the board here, it looks like the most popular and desirable ones are the Hummingbird 500 series finders. But then again I don't fish with a lot of others.

What is it they say about fishing with others in Utah? ...

If you take your mormon neighbor fishing with you, he'll drink all your beer. So you better invite atleast two mormons to go with. That way they will keep each other honest.
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[tlspyder13]

It is much easier to watch and compare while ice fishing then in a tube. I have found people from the boards to be very helpful in showing off their toys and answering questions. My brother and I both use the Humminbirds. His is the 565 and mine is the 575. Not sure exactly what the new numbers would be but we are both happy with them. Another option that isn't as good but does give you some ideas is to go to somewhere like Cabelas and put the different models through their demo modes. Will give you a idea of what they can do.
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[molopo23]

I use a Fishin Buddy 120 and it serves the purpose. It works on my float tube, when I had a toon and in my "canoeyak". I just have some PVC mounts to adapt to any of them.
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