Fish finders

[tbkohl]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a non high end fish finder that shoots through the hull?

I really do not want to drill holes below the waterline.

We are just looking for a finder for the few times a year we will be fishing inland lakes .

Thanks in advance Folks !

_________________________

Barb n Tim

1850 Capri

[swamppro]

What kind of boat and what type of fishing are you looking to do? Budget?

[Amaruq]

I have the Hummingbird Matrix 37, it is the first one I have owned, and it seems to work great for me.

[CJS]

FWIW I've never had any luck with any Lowrance (sic?) product.

The Humminbird I have now has a transom mount and works fine.

[CaptWill]

As swampro said, it all depends on what kind of boat (and hull material) you have, and what kind of detail you're looking for. If your boat has a fiberglass hull, you can put a transducer INSIDE the hull (using either a wet-box or cementing it to the inside of the hull), and it will work. You may lose a little bottom depth, but depending on your choice of FF, and water depth you'll be in, it may not affect you.

You can always try it inside the hull before making anything permanent. Just remember that the transducer cannot operate thru air or air bubbles (in the hill material... like foam core), and it should be perpendicluar to the waterline.

[tbkohl]

As swampro said, it all depends on what kind of boat (and hull material) you have, and what kind of detail you're looking for. If your boat has a fiberglass hull, you can put a transducer INSIDE the hull (using either a wet-box or cementing it to the inside of the hull), and it will work. You may lose a little bottom depth, but depending on your choice of FF, and water depth you'll be in, it may not affect you.

You can always try it inside the hull before making anything permanent. Just remember that the transducer cannot operate thru air or air bubbles (in the hill material... like foam core), and it should be perpendicluar to the waterline.

Fiberglass runabout hull.

Currently have a depth sounder that is inside hull mounted that works great.

Not looking to spend more than $200 ish on a finder.

We boat/fish in fresh water lakes n rivers .

I will give the Humming a look .

[triumphrick]

I have an Eagle fishelite 500c that I have had for about a year, made by Lowrance and no problems yet. I got it off ebay nib but about a year old at the time i bought it. Paid $360 and is both a gps and fishfinder. The transducer is mounted with 5200 to the bottom of the hull and works well.

[BrokenWrench]

The Set up that I'm using on a thick, full fiberglass old I/O Mako is a Humminbird 383C Combo GPS/ Fishfinder with a Shoot thru the Hull XP-90-T Transducer.

The plastic transducer is epoxy'd to the hull in front of the engine, low in the bilge where the vee is not very steep. Before it was permanatly mounted, I used "Plumber's Putty" to hold in different places to see how it worked before I settled on it's permenant location. Humminbird supplied the slow cure epoxy with the transducer for proper mounting with very good instructions and excellent results.

The 383C Combo GPS/FF works great in all water conditions and speeds without a blackout when going fast (40mph). It is compact and fits nice on a small helm station. the Mounting Bracket is simple and lets you remove or install the unit fast without playing with wires.

Give this set up a look before you end your search. You can get just the Fishfinder alone (but why?) for around $300 or the combo for $400 plus 60 bucks for the shoot thru the hull transducer.

Go to the Humminbird Store and take a look:

http://store.humminbird.com/humminbird-pro...od406540-1.html

http://store.humminbird.com/humminbird-pro...od710164-1.html

[BrokenWrench]

Never thought that a shoot thru the hull Transducer could work so well, have a look at the Humminbird, you'll be glad that you did!!!!!

[raisingcanes]

Never thought that a shoot thru the hull Transducer could work so well, have a look at the Humminbird, you'll be glad that you did!!!!!

I have a Garmin 3010 with a thru hull that has been nothing short of great. Also have the Hummingbird Side Scan with a transom mount that has been so-so.