For the past 8 years I have used my lowrance X4 portable Fish finder. I bought the portable pack that comes with a carrying case and uses 8 D batteries. The unit itself isn't very effective at finding fish... although it does a good job reading depth. My question is, what unit on the market does a good job FINDING FISH and also has good battery life. It will be used for canoe country and I'm also ok with running the unit off of an 8 D battery block.

Here is a picture of my the X4


Thanks,
DJ

I have always thought of fish finders more as depth finders. If you spot some fish on them (and catch them to prove they are) ,, consider it a good day. I primarily use them to find structure and then hone in the fishing technique from there,,, and this goes with $1K+ Side Scan/Down imaging Sonars that are becoming more prevalent on motor boats--- still mainly a depth finder that allows you to find structure a bit better but fish are still hard to come by. The more expensive the depth finder doesn't mean more fish in the boat, For canoe country I use a Hummingbird Piranha 15 portable that uses 8AA,,, many also on here use the 8AA system. 8D is imo,, too heavy for portaging .

Pic is Schweady's (found with a search) Piranha is shown.

I have been using an X-4 for 5 or 6 years now. It does a decent job marking fish. Adjust the graph so it shows fish as an arch vs the little fish picture. Turn your sensitivity way up and your chart speed down.

I think if you have the right depth finder/sonar it will not only help you you find the structure but tell you if there are fish in the area on occasion, especially in deeper water. I run a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI in the BWCA and use it as a GPS and sonar. The problem I have is that I fish ALOT while I am up there so I actually run it off two 12V lead acid batteries in a ammo box. There is a weight issue there but I go up for the fishing so I deal with the weight.

I usually run that hybrid option the crosses the sonar and the DI together on the screen so I can see both fish and bottom contour really well. I love my unit but I don't think it would run very long on D batteries. Just posted the below for fun, first one is a giant school of crappie I found on my finder, the other is just a pic of my fish finder and how I mount it to the canoe using a ram mount.

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to depth finders and usually just use the pre set sensitivity. I used to run a fish eagle $100 depth finder and it was great on batteries. Then I went to a Lowrance elite 4 with DSI imaging. I love it but it is an energy pig.

I seldom, if ever, use a depth finder to mark fish. I probably should and thats on me that I don't use the unit to its fullest capabilities........on the other hand it has probably made me a better fisherman that I interpret what I see into wether or not that type of bottom will hold fish. Be advised that fish right on the bottom will not be distinguishable from the bottom. All gamefish regularly relate to the bottom and often will not show on your machine.

Having said that suspended fish are where I would like to gain a bit more usefulness with my machine. Right now suspended fish show up very small indeed on my fish finder and I usually catch something first and then get close and squint at my screen and say "oh, there they are." I suppose just reading the directions might help (lol) or going on Utube or even asking at Bass Pro if you get the right guy. Probably need to zoom in on a particular depth and turn the sensitivity up. I like what White Wolf suggests and changing the icon to an arc and turning it up.

Of course more sensitivity most likely equates to more power and even more battery drain.

The other thing which always bugs me is how the fish are responding to the "ping" that the depth finder puts out.

Hold your breath and be very still

I have an old Eagle fish finder that runs on 8 AA batteries. Probably pushing 20 years old, it was fine for depth that's about it. Last year I took in my ice fishing vexilar for the first time. Heavy, a pain to set up, but worth it in my book. Marks fish hugging the bottom or just off. Tells me exactly where I need to toss out my marker buoy and what depths to target on a piece of structure. On a mid-lake hump it makes it easy to identify which side if any the fish are stacking up on. The battery is good for at least 8 hours. I'd make an extra portage just to have one. Accuracy goes down the drain when shooting through the hull but it still gives you depth. I wouldn't buy one specifically for the BWCA but if you ice fish and have one laying around why not.

You might try setting the sensitivity so that you get a double bottom reading. That said, you should be able to read fish, ascertain bottom contours and composition. Frankly, reading structure and bottom composition is the real forte of the more basic sonar units....and that is really what you need. Find good structure, and at some time during the day(24 hours) the fish will use it. It is a tool. Put knowledge together: bottom contour, composition(weeds?), fish habits, time of year, etc. I remember the transition from flashers to graphs, some guys would not fish an area without seeing fish! Wrong!!!

quote WhiteWolf: "...many also on here use the 8AA system. 8D is imo,, too heavy for portaging .

Pic is Schweady's (found with a search) Piranha is shown.
"

Yup, that's a Humminbird PiranhaMAX 210 Portable. Runs forever on 8 AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. Total weight (w batt.): 2 lb 7 oz.
And (obviously), it finds fish. :-)

Thanks for all the responses. I will try to mess around with a sensitivity to see if that helps. I have pretty good knowledge and experience when it comes to fishing structure and depth depending on the time of year. I just know that there have been a lot of newer units and Technology that have come out over the past few years. It would be nice to see suspended fish for fish just off the bottom. Last year on gabbro I was hoping my finder would be able to spot some suspended crappies. I found them but the finder didn't.

the D batteries work for me because I also often bring an air mattress for my wife and I to sleep on. I can take out the batteries and use them for the air pump. I also do trips for up to nine days and don't have to worry about changing the batteries or beating myself up for not turning off the fish finder... seems like the last forever.

I like mine... I use it for bottom contour and that is what finds the fish.

My X-4 works great.
Set your sensitivity and grey scale between 75-100%
This will be a personal preference depending on water sediment content and bottom composition you are fishing.
Chart speed 100%, you want as much info in real time as you can
If you are not marking suspended fish you are either spooking them (water clarity or depth) or your sonar isn't working.
Can you hear the pinging when it is out of the water? It should be a steady cadence.
Are you trying to shoot through a hull?
I can see my baits under my boat with mine.