Portable fish finder
- Thread starter BobL
- Start date
Hey BobL, I well start the shout outs for Garmin Striker 4!
If you go to the Watercraft and Accessories page and search garmin and @Billy you will get lots of help on how and what you need to set then up on fishcat and pontoons.
Watercraft & Accessories
pnwflyfishing.com
@BobL
Check the classifieds
There is a garmin for sale if not already taken.
Used a couple of times. In great condition. Comes with 12v 8ah battery. I figured I'd post it her before throwing to the wolves on FB Marketplace.
$75 local pickup, King County area or shipped at buyer's expense.
Cash, PayPal, Venmo, Cash app, zelle
Thanks!
Check the classifieds
There is a garmin for sale if not already taken.
Used a couple of times. In great condition. Comes with 12v 8ah battery. I figured I'd post it her before throwing to the wolves on FB Marketplace.
$75 local pickup, King County area or shipped at buyer's expense.
Cash, PayPal, Venmo, Cash app, zelle
Thanks!
Old406Kid
Legend
Bob, as a fellow Fishin' Buddy user you beat me to the question.
I know that everyone seems to recommend the Striker 4 but there's several, at least 4, models with varying prices. After looking at all of them I'm not sure what a guy needs to fish our lakes that are mostly under a 40' depth, as an example I fished a lake a few days ago that had a max depth of 26'.
My biggest concern is finding something that is compact and easily transferrable from my pontoons to my float tube with a large enough cone angle to accurately show fish in the 10-20' depth ranges.
ifsteve
Steelhead
Caveat - I have not used a Garmin Striker so take this comment with a grain of salt.
When my Fishin Buddy dies I will go with something bigger than a 3.5" screen. There are loads of fish finders out there now that you can pair with a small Li battery and get a better picture than with the Striker. And yes probably a bit more money but life is short.....
When my Fishin Buddy dies I will go with something bigger than a 3.5" screen. There are loads of fish finders out there now that you can pair with a small Li battery and get a better picture than with the Striker. And yes probably a bit more money but life is short.....
The bigger the screen the less portable it may be - especially for an old fart like me that sometimes hikes 3 miles with his float tube. I've found that my Garmin Striker -4, transducer, straps and NOCQUA 4.4 ah LifePo battery to be a bit more awkward and takes more time to get set up lakeside than the Fishin' Buddy units. For fun I weighed my new sonar/battery: 3.9 pounds. I believe that's a significant increase in backpack weight compared to the Fishin Buddy (but that's just a guess).
Cowlitz Bottomfeeder
Life of the Party
My Fishing buddy died a couple years back. I bought a Garmin 4. It’s more complicated but there are good tutorials on youtube. I miss the sidefinder on the Fishing buddy. I don't use it much to find fish. I use it to determine temperature and depth. The mapping feature is excellent. Every time i catch a big fish i hit the waypoint button to set the gps location. In my opinion the Garmin 4 is a big upgrade.
Old406Kid
Legend
Wow, I bet that old Water Otter has a story or two to tell.
I mean how much more detail you want?
I thought I was the only one crazy enough to own 3 Humminbird Fishin' Buddies (a 140c and two 120's, plus a really old Bottomline Fishin' Buddy that I never use any more). Love the SideFinder View, portability and use of simple AA batteries. Hopefully, I have a lifetime supply of Fishin' Buddies, and at age 70, that's probably a pretty good bet.
You got at least another 20 years Rex!I thought I was the only one crazy enough to own 3 Humminbird Fishin' Buddies (a 140c and two 120's, plus a really old Bottomline Fishin' Buddy that I never use any more). Love the SideFinder View, portability and use of simple AA batteries. Hopefully, I have a lifetime supply of Fishin' Buddies, and at age 70, that's probably a pretty good bet.
And I keep looking for them! The sidefind option has been helpful many times. In my early 50s myself, I might make it to the end with fishin buddies to spareI thought I was the only one crazy enough to own 3 Humminbird Fishin' Buddies (a 140c and two 120's, plus a really old Bottomline Fishin' Buddy that I never use any more). Love the SideFinder View, portability and use of simple AA batteries. Hopefully, I have a lifetime supply of Fishin' Buddies, and at age 70, that's probably a pretty good bet.
Cowlitz Bottomfeeder
Life of the Party
I bought that boat in 92 or 93 in Yakima with accessories for $400. I think they’re $1500 or so now. Worst treatment it had was when I forgot to strap it down on the lance camper after fishing Lenore and dragged it down the highway for a quarter mile. The rough asphalt wore a hole in both pontoons and though I was able to patch it, I eventually replaced both. I also have a River otter.Wow, I bet that old Water Otter has a story or two to tell.
Phil Fravel
Steelhead
I too am a fishing buddy hoarder. All of mine get used by different family members and friends. And still make a great gift to friends. Except for Bottomfeader. He has a weird way of dragging his boat on the road