Fish Finders?????
 

I have been kayak fishing for a few years now, and in the past I have tried to split my time fishing equally between kayak, surf, and bumming rides offshore with my friends who have boats. But for some reason this year my but has been glued to the kayak, I just cant get enough. I have been tossing around the idea of getting a fish finder but I am just not educated enough to go out buy one and install it, so I am reaching out to the yak rats for help. Just a few questions.
1. Are they really necessary?
2. Do I have to drill a whole for the transducer?
3. How heavy are the batteries?
4. Cost? Is it you get what you pay for, or are the less expensive models just as effective?
5. Durability to water damage?
6. Last but not least, What are the options for mounting fish finder to boat.

Thanks you guys in advance, any help is greatly appreciated.

1. No not a must have but great to have a GPS/Fishfinder to fish new areas, when the fog rolls in, and make sure you fish structure properly... I fish at night and the GPS is key for safe night fishing... esp when the fog rolls in at Barnstable harbor or Joppa flats

2. No --- 2 options... thru hull with transducer mounted in PVC cleanout fixture mounted with special sealant/glue to hull and filled with clean water.... takes about 60 minutes for temp reading to be accurate... other option is mounting transducer in foam cutout attached to hull and use a special gel to allow transducer to sound thru the hull

3. Sealed 12V 7.5 Ah battery weighs about 6-7 lbs... can place in WP pouch or in sealed polycarbonate clamshell

4. With GPS the unit will be about 300-400 unless it is a closeout. Best price usually thru Amazon.

5. They are well sealed and are designed yo be used in a marine small boat environment. I try to keep it dry and rinse with FW after use. Use marine heat shrink and marine snap fit crimp connections.

6. Most people use Ram ball pivot mounting bracket

I have a Humminbird 383 which is now the 385... Very pleased with it on yr #3


Chris

Thanks, Chris I appreciate it

The Monster kayak section of NEKF.com has all kinds of good info on mounting fishfinders and several methods to mount the transducers ..


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