Depth finder?

[creekcrappie]

We just got a used 15.5 foot bass boat. Does anyone know a good depth finder with a good value is? I just want one that I can identify structure and tell the depth with.

[creekcrappie]

Sorry I posted this in the wrong place.

[creekcrappie]

Also, if anyone knows where to start out fishing on priest, that would be helpful.

[browntrout]

I have a Huuminbird that I took off my Riverhawk when I bought it. I am not sure of the model but I can look it up tonight when I get home. I dont use it and it is just taking up space. I will gladly give it you. I see you are in Smyrna and I am in Murfreesboro. Just let me know.

Roy

[jad2t]

Also, if anyone knows where to start out fishing on priest, that would be helpful.

I've been doing well at Smith Springs with bass fishing. I don't have a depthfinder (yet) on the yak so I cant do much crappie or hybrid/striper fishing this time of year but I've been having a blast catching bass. They're all deep. If I could locate structure, drop-offs, etc I could find more. I know the crappie and striped fishys are there because I see guys cleaning them at the ramp.

[TNBronzeback]

I just bought me the Humminbird 561 from Amazon. Shipped it was $129. the quality is awesome for the price. (see attached pic)

[jad2t]

I just bought me the Humminbird 561 from Amazon. Shipped it was $129. the quality is awesome for the price. (see attached pic)

Awesome screenshot. Just curious since I'll be getting one soon and want to figure out how to read them. It appears that there is a large school of bait from 6-10 feet deep and some larger fish below them at about 12 feet, right?

What about those lines near the bottom of the water? Looks like that's an indication of some sort of structure below (submerged tree maybe). Am I seeing it right?

[TNBronzeback]

That is correct on the bait, from about 6-maybe 10ft down, on the right side of the screen, what your seeing at the bottom of the screen, larger more definable lines are the predatory fish, could be catfish, bass, carp, i dont know. i dont have a screen shot that shows any bottom structure, but that comes in pretty clear as well. This unit has what they call thier "switchfire" on it, i dont understand it yet, looks too clustered to me, almost like too much interference or something. But, this unit i found out last weekend shows Thermocline very very well, at least on priest.
I have a few more screen shots i took. The pics arent clear enough with the glare but it shows the different bottom hardness from mud and rock and such, which is also awesome for this low priced unit.

[Jim]

I have a Hummingbird also. The switchfire is just two settings. one that filters out a lot of noise making the image clean and the other "max" is unfiltered. I use the max mode in deep water when I want to see my bait in the school of stripers or for deep dropshotting. The filtered mode or "clear" is better for all around fishing.

Jim

[jmsjordan]

on my third humminbird would not trade them for anything, or minn kota or Mercury outboard

[Trealtree]

I was also looking around on the Internet and came across a wireless depth finder at wal mart. Has anyone used or know anyone that has used one and how they are compared to the wired ones? I have a John boat and trying to get one on there without drilling any holes.

[TNBronzeback]

I dont know anything about the wireless depthfinders personally, but you do have a few other options if you dont want to drill holes in your boat.
1) get a "thru the hull" transducer. Its just what it sounds like. you mount it to the inside of your boat on the bottom and it can shoot its sonor thru the metal floor. that you would have to buy that special transducer seperatly though and i dont know how much they cost.
2) they sell transducer mounts that clamp on to the transom (or atleast you fasten them to the boat above the water line) and a metal rod projects down into the water in which your transducer is attached to.

When i bought my jon boat, the guy who i bought it from had a depthfinder, old old humminbird which i replaced, when i took off his transducer mounting bracket, the boat looked like swiss cheese, so he must have drilled 4 times and measured once! lol. But, i got me some small squares of aluminum about 4" x 4" and siliconed those on both sides of the transom covering the holes, then i mounted my new transducer bracket to that. I used rubber backed washers and lock nuts and was very neat, but very liberal with the silicone. looks very clean and water tight.

[creekcrappie]

Now what's the difference in color or grey fishfinders? Which one is easier to use? Which one shows more detail?

[Buccaneer]

Color. No comparison. Humminbird has the best 5" 640x640 pixel screens on the market, Go to Universal Mania and get the 596C HD Di (assuming you don't need GPS mapping) its the best deal out there - http://www.universalmania.com/_e/Humminbird/product/408110-1/Humminbird_Fishfinder_596c_HD_DI_Down_Imaging_Dual Beam_PLUS_408110_1.htm

[TNBronzeback]

Thanks for that link Buc, that is by far the best price ive seen on a Down Imaging unit. Thats what im gonna get for my trolling motor. Humminbird certainly has the edge on thier imaging sonar.

[jad2t]

I just bought me the Humminbird 561 from Amazon. Shipped it was $129. the quality is awesome for the price. (see attached pic)

I just bought this one too for my kayak, can't wait to get it!! I should have it in a week or so. I've never used electronics to locate fish so I'm really looking forward to learning how to do this.

As a side project, I may work on a solar powered source for the unit with a digital readout for time left to use it solely on battery in case of cloud cover or when the sun starts going down or whatever cool features I can think of.

[TNBronzeback]

your gonna love it!
Best advice i can give, and im sure you may already know it, but have the frame of mind of: not looking for fish, but to find places the little buggers like to hide and find what the bait they are chasing...lol. up until last spring, i had an Aqua View underwater camera, i used it up in michigan when i lived up there as well as on Percy Priest and The cumberland River. Unless i saw big clouds of fish suspended, i hardly ever saw fish on the screen, but when i dropped the camera down, boom! more fish than you thought were scraping the bottom, hinding around rocks and logs (which logs and rocks show up clearly on this unit, so you know there are some hungry mouths down there waiting to munch on something that swims a little too close! LOL. I use my depthfinders for water temp, depth, and bottom structure/features and thermocline in the summer. That particular unit only takes a short time to get used to the controls and features then you can fine tune it once you learn what your looking at. Unless the unit should for some reason be damaged when you get it, i think you will be very happy with it especially for the price.
Good luck with it, if i can be of any assistance, just let me know. I personally didnt find the user manual that came with it very helpful. I turned to Youtube for similar models being demonstrated.