Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Fish finder recommendation
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Thecubsdad |
I decided to go with AA eneloops(10) and magic paddlers peanut butter holder with silicon caulk. Hoping to be able to not have to shorten shieldedtransducer cable or power cord. Warming up in Ely. First time posting, great website, I mainly fish the Kawishiwi out of Farm where cabin is at. |
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Selfsuffi |
rpike: "I got a Hawkeye Fishtrax 1C last year. I like it. It's very small, very light, and very easy on the batteries. It uses 4 AAA batteries. I used lithium batteries and did not change them on a 4 day trip. You can set it to gray-scale mode to conserve power. I shot through my kevlar hull with the transducer. When I wanted water temperature, I dunked the transducer. Glad to hear you liked it. I was fortunate enough to be borrowing one of these for my trip this year and that is what I will be using. |
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manmountain8 |
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CornellMN |
You can easily calculate the current draw from your locator with a multi-meter or check the specs in the manual to determine the size in Ah of battery you need. For sure the one I purchased is larger than what I really needed in hindsight, I have never completed drained it on a trip. Hope that helps! |
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drrick |
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BWCAgoer |
First, I want to thank the experienced folks on this forum that have provided tons of valuable information to me with regards to depth finders, battery pack conversion, rod holders, etc...basically how to turn my canoe into a fish slayin’ machine. I’m newer to the forum and looking to deck out my Wenonah Minnesota II i got last year. Asking that you double check my math. I’m looking at getting a Pirahnamax4 with down imaging. The power draw is listed as 180 mA. I am looking to buy a ten AA battery pack of IKEA batteries. Each battery should provide 2000 mAh, so a total of 20,000 mAh. 20,000 mAh/180 mA = 111 hours of battery life. That seems a bit high compared to what I’ve seen others post. Please let me know if my math is incorrect and how to do it correctly, Much appreciated! |
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Mad_Angler |
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Lowrance-reg-Hook-Ice-Machine/2339202.uts?slotId=0 He is picture of mine. |
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Birdknowsbest |
The Garmin while small is still too heavy for the bwca imo unless on a base camp fish heavy trip. I use my striker when I am canoeing and portaging is not involved or in small john boats. I really believe the fishing is so good in the bdubs that the finder while it very good is not worth its weight to carry. I am more concerned about the depth I am in. If the water is really stained sometimes you dont know if you are in 4 or 40ft of water. I now pre download the lakes I will be going to using the Navionics App. It will show you contours, drop offs etc. I have also tested Navionics next to a proper fish finder and I find it is quite close to the actual depth displayed on the finder give or take a couple of feet. If you want more detail, I suggest using a Deeper. It does work really well. It turns your phone screen into the finder screen. I just tie some paracord to it and tie it to the canoe when fishing. It weighs around 4 ounces and can be charged via usb. My phone and headlamp also charge via usb which I prefer. |
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MagicPaddler |
I don’t know what Ikea batteries you are talking about but if they are Alkaline or NiMH you will want to hook them in series. In series the voltage will add so 10 batteries that produce 1.5 volts will supply 15volts and will supply the mAh of the weakest battery in the stack. So to get the 20,000 mAh at a voltage that will operate a fish detector you will need 10 stacks of 10 batteries or 100 batteries. |
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Nomadmusky |
I simply use 8AA batteries and it has always lasted the whole week. A color unit now days doesn't have the same power draw that the old units had. I would have agreed with that statement in the old Flasher days, but with the current screens it matters far less. Nomad. |
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fishwrite |
Where did you find that holder for your Piranhamax. It resembles the hard case I had for my fisheagle, (no longer made) which I had for years, but surrendered to the deep last year. Trying to re-equip. Thanks. |
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fishwrite |
Which size of the lithium battery did you buy? Last eight days with moderate use each day, and a 4" color locator ? Thanks |
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trailcheif |
As the post above states . In a series DC circuit the Amperage stay the same. So once you have the correct amount of batteries wired in series to get the desired voltage, you’ll still have the 2000 mAh. Which is 2 Ah. And 180 mAh = .18 Ah . So 2/.18 = 11.111 repeating. So 11 hours of runtime. You would have to run a whole set of batteries paralleled to the original set to double the run time. Or just carry a spare set and replace them. Hope this helps! |
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CornellMN |
Garmin 43DV One of these batteries I used Ram Mounts to make it all portable/removable/non-marking, I rent a canoe. |
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SouthernExposure |
CornellMN: "My 2 cents...I built my BWCA unit a couple years back, you might be able to search and find some of my old posts. I went with: I went this same route with a Garmin Striker 4 that I got on close out online and the same battery which I mounted in a small dry box with foam cushioning. I ran the cord out of the box through a rubber grommet set in a hole that I drilled to keep it water resistant. I should be able to run the unit in color mode for (5) 8 hour fishing days before recharging. Completely worth it. |
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Tyler W |
I am using a pretty old B&W Lowrance with a suction cup mount for the transducer. I always had too much interference shooting through a Souris River Canoe. The suction cup mount works fine at trolling speeds, but not as well at full speed. |
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BWCAgoer |
I’ve seen the PirahnaMax4 and am glad to see that you’ve had a good experience with it. What do you use for power source in the BWCA/Quetico with this depth finder? Just curious if you use a battery pack as many on this forum recommend and how long they last with this color screen depth finder? Also, I see the PirahnaMax4 comes with down imaging for $50 more than the regular PirahnaMax4. Do you think it’s worth the $50 to get it? Also would this added feature consume more battery juice? Lots of questions...new to this but excited to step up my BWCA fishing game. Appreciate all the help. |
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trailcheif |
Tight Lines! |
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schweady |
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drrick |
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Nomadmusky |
I've used my Zercom Ice locators, Humminbird PiranhaMax 10, Humminbird PiranhaMax 4 color, (new this year), and a Raymarine Dragonfly, also the original entry into the "bobber" style locators, the Humminbird Smartcast. I think the real issue is: 1. how compact they are, 2. the canoe you have and it's ability to shoot through the hull, 3. the style of transducer you have. 4. Portability, I fish solo, tandem and a three man canoe when fishing, it needs to be flexible for me. I think people make it too hard, you don't need anything but a splash of water or a little spit to lay your puck on the floor and shoot through your hull. I don't think you need gadgets or goop to make your puck work, I've never had an issue. I've shot through Fiberglass, my Ceadar strip, and Kevlar canoes, the only thing to avoid are the foam ribs, otherwise you get a great signal. I'm sure the Garmin's or Lowrance's work well as well, but I really liked my Piranha Max 4 color this year. I could follow my jig in water up to 70', (it may go further, but I didn't jig in water that deep), for Lake trout. I got good color separation when looking at the density of the objects the locator saw, so it was easier to identify if the signal may be fish. It updated fast, (some of the old ones took a while) I found and tracked water over 360' from the bottom of my canoe which tells me it had plenty of power. I loved my Raymarine Dragonfly, but the ducer was rounded so it didn't fit my simplicity need for the canoe, there are some kayaks out there that have a well built in just for the Dragonfly, ducer, (it's about 8-10"'s long and rounded because of the chirp ducer inside the puck. My goal in the canoe is to keep it simple That's also why I don't use the bobber style locators, although I've tried them. It requires an active approach rather than a passive approach. I don't want to rig it up, cast it out and maintain more "stuff". You may already have a locator at home that works if you have an ice fishing locator. You can downsize your gel cell battery, to a small brick that works great for a full week in the field (to save significant weight, or simply use 8 double AA's. That subjects been covered on here in previous posts. Here are pictures in all three applications: Bow, middle, solo Nomad |
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AmarilloJim |
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HotDog |
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Nomadmusky |
Very good eye! Yes that is exactly what I did. I just unscrewed my old unit and screwed the new one on. The new one is a little taller and doesn't "tuck" in quite as well, but it doesn't really matter. It works great! Nomad |
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IowaGuy |
drrick: "Can anyone recommend a fish finder depth finder combination it works well and the bwca?" Fish finder: running water, narrows, points, rocky/rubble bottoms, coves, wind-blown shorelines Depth finder: look down into water and judge depth of bottom, or look at depth map printout for that lake I leave all electronics at home and enjoy the simple/rustic fishing experience :-) |
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BAKA |
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ABisbee |
The technology store in Ely sells all these so it’s easily a one stop shop for the full set up. |
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rpike |
The screen is small, but it showed a surprising amount of detail. It does not have GPS. I was never vertical jigging, so I can't tell you if it tracked a jig. |