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So over the winter I want to upgrade my toon (between ice fishing trips) with some gadgets and was looking at adding a fish finder and trolling motor. For the FF's I was looking at the Humminbird Fishing Buddy and the Lowrance X-4 Pro Sonar, input? Which one is better? Now for the trolling motor, I was looking at getting a Minn Kota 30 or 40lb thrust motor. I just want it for when I get lazy and just want to troll or go from spot to spot quickly or to escape the wind. Just need any and all input. If you have a better suggestion for a fishfinder I'm in the $100-to maybe $250 range. Oh and what rod holders do you recommend? I have a Scotty Float Tube rod holder on my float tube and was thinking of buying another for the toon.
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I am a Hummingbird fan all the way. I use an older boat model, but have made it very mobile so I can use it on any boat. I have never used the Fishing Buddy models, so no input there.
If you are using a standard pontoon 8 or 9 foot, a Minn Kota 30 should be fine. I use one on my Assault and Predator and they are 8'6" long.
Nice thing about a boat model sonar is you can run it and your motor off the same battery and a smaller rechargeable for motorless days.
I use Scotty and RAM. You can even get glue on Scotty mounts that are great for adding rod holders anywhere, specially frameless models. Glue on mounts are like $8.00 but the boat cover really needs to be PVC coated.
Just me, but I have a problem using a lot of PVC on an expensive boat...LOL
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Fish finders are all the same if you're talking about certain features. Cheap ones will tell you depth and fish. Better ones will tell you depth, water temp, even boat speed and have a clock. Determine the features you want and pick your FF that way instead of brand name.
As for motor size 30 is plenty to go from place to place and they are a lot cheaper than the bigger models. You won't be unhappy with a 30 for what you described.
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Im not looking for something too fancy just something that shows structure, depth and fish. Ideas?
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[#0000FF]I agree with FG on Humminbird. Have been running a 565 for several years. That model is no longer being made. The new edition is the 570 I believe. Just bought a 561 for $149 and like it so far. Everything you need for our kind of fishing and not too complicated...depth, bottom composition and structure, fish ID and depth, temperature, etc.
Some fly flingers like having side finder options. Good for spotting subsurface fish around you that are not further down in the water column or directly under your craft.
Lots of options when it comes to mounting sonar and rod holders. When you get ready to put it all together you can bring it over and I can show you some different choices...based on the frame design and how you will be fishing.
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I have a hummingbird myself, 385ci with the stand and battery to make it portable so I can strap it to my pontoon or take it out on the ice. It has some extra features like GPS that I don't need with my phone GPS, but still handy. My wife found a decent open box deal on Ebay, but she doesn't remember exactly how much now.
One thing I don't like is that the contour lake maps Hummingbird uses through LakeMaster don't contain Idaho and the Northwest at all. Probably because they focus on all the populated states and bass fisherman on the eastern half of the country. Others may know of a source for Idaho contour maps that are compatible, although the ones in your price range may not support maps.
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Fish finders...I use an old Eagle 320*320 on my Scadden Renegade.
It works great, but is no longer in production. For my small aluminum boat, I have a Lowrance Fish Elite Pro 480*480. It's black and white but shows the bottom contour and the fish and it is in your price range (about $160). I also have a Fishin' Buddy fish finder, but don't like it much. It doesn't compare with the fish finders mentioned above.
Can't comment on a motor. I use a 5 HP gas motor on my 12' aluminum boat, and a 55 pound thrust MinnKota on my 9' aluminum boat. But I like to keep my Renegade real simple...strap on anchor mount and rod holder...and I just row it. Love to fish this way
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Check Ebay you can get more for your money. The Lowrance DSI fish finder's are first class, I have 2 of them.
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I have a Humminbird Fishin' Buddy 140c. I've never used other kinds of FFs, but I can say that the FBs are "good enough" for getting basic info to the fisherman. It does have the side looking sonar option.
One the keys to liking FBs for inflatable toons is finding a satisfactory way to mount the buggers. I'm starting to see many workable designs in various forums. Access to good info is much better compared to even 2-3 years ago.
I use my 140c for ice-fishing too. It's very quick for lowering down a hole to take a look for weeds and bottom composition - along with depth and possible fish. No cables or other stuff to worry about - just a one-piece unit to peek through several holes in a short amount of time. I only take it out when the temps are 25 degrees or warmer. I don't know if it could handle much colder temps.
I just throw my metal toon frame on top of my sled. Fits perfectly so I have a seat and places to hold my Fishin' Buddy, auger, and spud. Everything else stows in the sled under the frame.
Bottom line: I suspect that the traditional FF's are "better" in many ways, but as long as my Fishin' Buddy works, I'm happy enough to keep going along.
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I used a Fishin' Buddy 140c for a year. Hard to beat for the price, portability and ease of use on a tube or 'toon. It shoots a 34 degree down beam, so if fishing in 20' of water (pretty common for stillwater), your sonar cone will cover approx. a 12' circle (6' radius). In other words, unless you are in deep water or a fish is directly under you, you won't get many fish hits on the sonar.
However, the FB works great to find bottom structure and drop-offs, and its side-finder sonar uses a 10 degree angle that goes out about a 100'. This is an awesome feature because you can either slowly troll with the side-finder looking back and know when fish are at least near your fly; or when floating still, use it like an inverse periscope to scan around looking for fish to cast to and knowing how far to cast.
The only big negative is that it is 9-volt system and goes through 6 AAs in 16 hours. I rigged mine using a 9-volt rechargeable battery from an RC car, which both lasted longer and was less expensive than buying batteries.
I thought the 140c added a lot of fun to tube fishing.
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I used a fishing buddy II for years and then finally upgraded to a humminbird 565. My son now uses the old fishing buddy. My wife uses a newer FB 110. Now some don't like the old FB made by bottom line but one day I tested mine out next to the 565. it picked up the same fish that the 565 did. The 561 is a decent unit as well. For a motor try the minn kota 34 over the 30. The 34 has a 36" shaft compared to the 30" of the 30. They usually run about $110 depending upon the week and sale. Rod holders I found that by making my own I got what I was looking for. I used a mix of schedule 20 and schedule 40 PVC.
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] And I have heard mixed reports about battery on the FB, but definitely worth a look.
