Which portable depth finder do you bring?

Any suggestions for a portable unit on a fly in? Did you have any problems attaching it to the boat? I was looking at some of the hummingbird models to take to canada. Something lightweight and sturdy to clamp to the boat. Nothing fancy. Thanks Pikeman14

I use this along with an 'angled wedge' when stuck up in the front of the boat. $50 at Cabelas. I attach to the transom with no wedge and run the wires up to the front sometimes also. Bottom line being, I am a fish out of water without my electronics and I needed something for the few times I get the front of the boat.

Scott, After looking at a few models, I thought the same thing. I saw that the hummingbird 385ci also has a flasher option along with the graph, making it nice for ice fishing. Just have to buy or build your own carrying case.

Don't limit yourself to only considering units made to be portable. Any unit can be made portable. We used a small tackle box to carry the depthfinder and bought a rechargeable 12 volt battery that can easily last a week depending on what size you get. We screwed the transducer to a piece of 1x2 and use a C-clamp to clamp the board to the transom. Been doing it that way for many years.

I have an Eagle Cuda 250 portable unit which also has GPS on it, it uses 8 double AA batteries, unfortunately it does not contain Canadian maps. I bought this to use in Canada for at least the depthfinder portion of it. It worked well, but like everyone mentions the suction cup transducer comes off too much. You can buy tranducer mounts at Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas or as suggested make your own, even try angle iron, but you need to clamp it to the boat. Definetly tie on the tranducer is case it slips off, beats it getting tangled and cut off in the prop.

I take my eagle(12v system) up every year with a trolling motor. It lasts the whole week with a charge on Wednesday. To solve the transducer problem i took a portable transom mount fishing light and took the light off. I bolted the transducer to it and clamp it to the boat. It stays on the entire time and is deep enough in the water that I get a continuous reading. Hope it helps Tony

I bought a Piranha portable for a fly in last year. My 12 volt lasted the entire four days, but I was vigilant about turning it off when it wasn't needed. I had to use my Leatherman knife to do some heavy scraping of the gunk of the transom so that the suction cup would stick (good idea on the steel wool/sandpaper). It eventually stayed stuck most of the time. We had 9 horse motors, and when I got to about 3/4 throttle, I would lose the signal completely. I don't know if that was the unit or some other factor related to how the boat was riding on the water, but I never had that problem with my old Eagle Fish ID.

Hi Larry, it's always nice to see your posts. I am going to book a trip to salveson this june for next year 2013. I'm going to use Halley's Camps again for a few reasons... -they have been very helpfull gathering information -my first trip with them was outstanding (chase lake) -they have great, newer facilities -the fishing is great -repeat business I'm jealous of everyone getting ready to go this year. I've got the itch bad. As for depth finder..I was looking at the pirahna and the lowrance x-4, both are similiar, and cheaper in price. I do remember a buddy having to make a rigged mount with a c clamp on our last trip, as the mount would not stay on the boat. Thanks again pikeman14

Pikeman, I have a Hummingbird Piranha about 4 yrs old. It uses 8 AA batteries and last's for a good week.Some of the newer models use a 12 volt battery which probably lasts for at least a week. I always take some sand paper and steel wool to use on the back of the boat,if the suction cup for the depth finder is having trouble sticking to the transom. Also always tie a piece of small rope/twine to the end of the transducer and attach it to the boat in case the suction cup comes loose while moving On another subject Did you book Salveson lake for your trip this year?