Fish/Depth Finder for Pontoon Boat & Fat Cat

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
Sorry for the continued beating of this dead horse but….

Are the telescope fish finders/depth finders like the old Humminbird 120 & 140 no longer exist? The kind that has a bracketed mount? I have done some searches on the interwebs and looks like nobody makes these types of telescope designs any longer.

To me they were convenient, light, simple to use and fit my needs perfectly. I didn’t really use the fish finding function, but for temperature, depth, and bottom structure, I did.

I used the 140 for both my Pontoon Boat, mounted behind me on the motor mount, and on my Fat Cat with a tube holder that I strapped onto.

My 140 died on me this past weekend, so I am now in the market

If I can’t find any new fish finders with telescope designs, then any suggestions on what is best for me for Pontoon Boat and Fat Cat? I would like to continue on using the back motor mount on the toon, primarily because I am tearing down my pontoon boat and deflating my Fat Cat for travel.

If anyone wants an old Humminbird 140 that doesn’t work for parts, let me know.

Peach
 

Mark Yoshida

Deep Line & Vertical
Forum Supporter
You might check MikesReelRepair
Mikes Reel Repair is a certified Humminbird warranty and repair facility located in British Columbia, Canada. We accept new and old Humminbird sounders for repair, from all over the world.

While recent model years are easier to find parts for than older units, we still have some success in repairing some older sounders as well. Things we cannot repair on older units are broken cases, displays, keypads and such...if the parts are no longer available.

We don't have a fixed charge for repairs but you will find us very reasonable compared to the factory pricing. Need more info? Drop us a line on our Contact Us Page, or call us 1-604-855-1119!
 

RichS

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
I have one of these:

3E922E49-1B0D-4F72-BAEF-30C689A43F1E.png

It works fine. Depth temperature and you can drop the transducer down to find the temperature at depth. Weighs less than a pound and is small. Harbor Freight has a similar one that doesn’t tell the temperature and is cheaper. Either one of them is weak on showing fish but solid on depth, finding drop offs etc.
 

Haggis57

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
A number of people have had issues with broken wires at the plastic battery holder. That probably the only easy part to diagnose easily and do a DIY repair on. Mike's Reel Repair noted above does sell replacement battery packs for the older 120/140 Fishin Buddies if the battery pack is the issue and can't be repaired.
 

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
I have one of these:

View attachment 23416

It works fine. Depth temperature and you can drop the transducer down to find the temperature at depth. Weighs less than a pound and is small. Harbor Freight has a similar one that doesn’t tell the temperature and is cheaper. Either one of them is weak on showing fish but solid on depth, finding drop offs etc.
I did a little research on this - this maybe the way to go - it looks portable enough for use on a standard Pontoon Boat or Fat Cat.

Richs - how do you use it on your Pontoon Boat or Float tube? Do you mount it or is it small enough that you can keep it in a pocket and just keep the transducer in the water?

Peach
 

RichS

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
I keep it in a pocket or sometimes just lay it on the stripping apron. The transducer is attached to a float and just floats alongside the tube. I use it on both my float tube and my stealth pro. Easily packed in in the pocket of the tube when walking into a lake too. Again, not the quality picture of a garmin but good enough for the trout I chase.
 

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
Lots of information on this unit on YouTube. SOLD. The Hawkeye Fishtrax 1C looks like a very good alternative to the Humminbirds. Placing my order this evening :). In a couple of months if others are curious on how this will work - I will be happy to provide a review :).

Peach

 

Islander

Life of the Party
Lots of information on this unit on YouTube. SOLD. The Hawkeye Fishtrax 1C looks like a very good alternative to the Humminbirds. Placing my order this evening :). In a couple of months if others are curious on how this will work - I will be happy to provide a review :).

Peach

Did you get this unit? If so, how did it work for you?
 

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
I bought the unit - but I haven't tried it yet.

My next trip is planned for Mid-Sept, I will give a proper review then.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by just taking it out of the box and playing with it a bit. Graphics are much better than the old Hummin Birds, on par maybe even better with viewing options, alarms and other bells and whistles. It will allow you to measure water down deeper with an adjustable sonar on a float. It is obviously much smaller and easier to transport and store than the old Hummin Birds. I am planning on just keeping the unit in one of my pontoon boat and Fat Cat bags and placing the sonar over the outside edge of the boats. For me it will be a bit more convenient in terms of viewing as I had the Hummin Birds mounted on the motor mount behind me, so with this planned set up it will be easier for me to view.

So stay tuned....

Peach
 

Islander

Life of the Party
I just ordered one, should be here by the end of the week. Glad to hear your first impressions where positive. I’ll try and get mine in the water within a day or two after it arrives. If all goes well I’ll put the old Hummingbird up for sale, it’s been amazingly reliable.
 

Lue Taylor

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
Sorry for the continued beating of this dead horse but….

Are the telescope fish finders/depth finders like the old Humminbird 120 & 140 no longer exist? The kind that has a bracketed mount? I have done some searches on the interwebs and looks like nobody makes these types of telescope designs any longer.

To me they were convenient, light, simple to use and fit my needs perfectly. I didn’t really use the fish finding function, but for temperature, depth, and bottom structure, I did.

I used the 140 for both my Pontoon Boat, mounted behind me on the motor mount, and on my Fat Cat with a tube holder that I strapped onto.

My 140 died on me this past weekend, so I am now in the market

If I can’t find any new fish finders with telescope designs, then any suggestions on what is best for me for Pontoon Boat and Fat Cat? I would like to continue on using the back motor mount on the toon, primarily because I am tearing down my pontoon boat and deflating my Fat Cat for travel.

If anyone wants an old Humminbird 140 that doesn’t work for parts, let me know.

Peach
I would double check the battery holder wiring on the 140 the solder wire is flimsy on the original
 

GAT

Dumbfounded
Forum Supporter
To this day, I can't understand why one of the sonar products companies does not offer some similar to the original Fishin' Buddy fish finder. It was originally sold by Bottomline and they sold out to Humminbird and they dropped the product after a couple of years.

I like the idea of a single unit to deal with for a fish/depth finder. The Fishin' Buddy is perfect for my Supercat .... hopefully it won't die anytime soon.
 

Islander

Life of the Party
Mine arrived yesterday, my first impressions were the same as Peach. Seems well made and has more features than I’ll ever use. Mainly want it for depth and temperature, if I see fish in the process it will be a bonus. The portability of this design and the fact it’s very light was a plus, as I hope to take it along on some hike in lakes with the Cruzer. I’ll get it in the water tomorrow and give it workout.
 

clarkman

average member
Forum Supporter
To this day, I can't understand why one of the sonar products companies does not offer some similar to the original Fishin' Buddy fish finder. It was originally sold by Bottomline and they sold out to Humminbird and they dropped the product after a couple of years.

I like the idea of a single unit to deal with for a fish/depth finder. The Fishin' Buddy is perfect for my Supercat .... hopefully it won't die anytime soon.
That's just about the only thing that could make my Garmin Striker better.
 
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Islander

Life of the Party
So took the Cruzer out this morning to try out the new Hawkeye. I first tried just floating the transducer along side but was thinking it might be a problem when playing a fish with the line getting tangled. I ended up putting through the opening in the “bow” and letting it ride about 6 to 8 inches below the water surface. It worked great there, I could kick around, turn, retrieve fish and it never got in the way. The display tucked easily in the zipper pocket and was easy to read. It has about 15 feet of cord and I put marks every 5 ft. in case I wanted to check temps at different depths. I was going to play more with it but the stockers in the P&T lake were slurping mayflies and I wanted to get in on some of that action. The only thing I didn’t like about the unit was it didn’t come with any type of manual. Yes, I’m one of those oddballs that likes to read the directions! You can supposedly get info online, so I’ll attempt that later today. There are a lot of things you can adjust, turn on and off, etc. and it would have been nice to have something to have with me while trying the different modes. There was a paper in the box with a large assortment of optional accessories you can get. Different types of mounts, ice fishing set up, cases and such which make it very versatile. You’d think they could have just added another sheet with some quick operating instructions. Anyway, first run with it was overall positive and I’ll definitely be taking it with me when I explore new waters.
8A25D467-EF12-4406-97E7-C912EEA25AA1.jpeg74C707B4-A8C3-49A6-94F1-7E822298F72A.jpeg487C38A8-52C2-4D65-BE87-779EF53D794D.jpeg
 

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
Great report thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to trying mine out on the water in about 2 weeks.
 

Peach

Stillwater Fanatic
Just gave the new Hawkeye Depth/Fish Finder a try this past weekend. Worked as well as Islander said. I too wished it had some type of manual or hardcopy guide for out in the field - it has a lot of options to go through, but luckily for me it has similar options as the old Hummin birds did. I too, placed the unit in my pocket and the floating transducer just over the side of the pontoon boat. Didn't worry about it getting caught up while playing fish - it stayed close to my pontoon boat and didn't get in the way at all. I placed it on the side of the boat that I net most of my fish at too.

Overall for the first outing - I would recommend.

Peach

Diamond_2022_Sept_00.jpg
 
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