Looking for some recommendations on fish finders for canoes. Wanting to get my uncle a gift. I've been looking at hummingbird, garmin and hawk eye.

I use an older black and white Lowrance X-4 ... it has a fairly large screen and doesn’t draw much power. I use a 8AA Battery pack inside a Pelican Micro Case and shoot thru the hull of my canoe.

If you use the “Search button” at the top of this Gear Forum ... you will find a lot of good recommendations from fellow members on many fish finder brands that work well when canoeing Up North. Lots of good info on thwart mounting and battery pack setups too.

Wally13: "I use an older black and white Lowrance X-4 ... it has a fairly large screen and doesn’t draw much power. I use a 8AA Battery pack inside a Pelican Micro Case and shoot thru the hull of my canoe.


If you use the “Search button” at the top of this Gear Forum ... you will find a lot of good recommendations from fellow members on many fish finder brands that work well when canoeing Up North. Lots of good info on thwart mounting and battery pack setups too.


"

I use the exact same unit. Sure would like to find another in case mine goes bad. They are perfect for canoe fishing.

I normally use a Piranhamax 175. I was looking at upgrading to one of the new smaller color units, but the amp draw is nearly 2.5 times more. I’ll stick with the older monochrome ones for now.

I use a Garmin Striker X4. Wiring up a rechargeable battery harness is simple (as previously stated search these forums for past threads). The transducer shoots through the hull just fine but can also be mounted over the side if necessary.

I have the Hawkeye and love it.....but it's a better depth finder than fish finder. It's small and very easy on batteries. I use a homemade tip up external transducer mount. Nice little unit.

What do you guys think about the smart transducers? That way you can simply connect to the transducer using your phone and save on the weight of the display unit. If you just take a couple steps to protect your phone I think it could work.

The only problem I see with these units is that you are probably not going to have your phone mounted in front of you so you can see the fish as you paddle across the lake. It would really just be for spot checking, but I think that would at least tell you what depth the fish are at.

I can't say from experience but I'm skeptical of the phone transducer thing. Plus a phone is a lot more expensive to lose/break/get wet by having mounted or pulling in/out of your pocket. The unit I reference above is 8.1 ounces and is IPX7 rated and runs only $100 or so and it's a dedicated unit built specifically for the purpose at hand. I'd guess that a portable rechargeable 4x 18650 battery pack is no more than a couple ounces additional and very compact. I'd recommend going that route but that's just one guy's opinion.

I currently use an X-4 but as battery technology improves I can see myself bringing improved units with color, gps, etc.

I have used for many years a monochrome Piranhamax 230 PT that uses AA batteries...figuring it may go bad at some point, I've been searching for a similar unit for over a year and they virtually cannot be found. Just this week, I found a new Piranhamax 175 for $70 on ebay and purchased it as my backup. Both units have low very low current draw and last for a long period using AA or Li-ion batteries....they work (will work) great for canoe-country fishing...transducers can shoot through the hull on most canoes....

Two years ago I bought a Piranhamax 4-DI unit and found that battery life was about half that of the 230 running on AA batteries....

Bottom-line: For canoe country fishing on 1-2 week trips, I would recommend a similar monochrome, low draw, unit like the Piranhamax 230 or 175, or the Lowrance X-4 if you can find them....

mpeebles: "I have the Hawkeye and love it.....but it's a better depth finder than fish finder. It's small and very easy on batteries. I use a homemade tip up external transducer mount. Nice little unit."

Agree with what was said above. Very nice to get depth and water temps. Seems accurate shooting thru the hull for depth and has decent enough detail for me. I have used the sae set of batteries for the last 2 years at least with no problems. I will probably swap the ou tthis year, but not sure if I need to.

Wables: "I normally use a Piranhamax 175. I was looking at upgrading to one of the new smaller color units, but the amp draw is nearly 2.5 times more. I’ll stick with the older monochrome ones for now. "

++1!

Last year I installed a Pirahnamax 4 in a thru-hull configuration. I added a DIY battery pack so it would use AA's. Worked like a charm.

I am using the fish hawk with the scotty rig. Works great and is easy on batteries.

Hawk Eye sorry. Would use the rod holder portion too, but the Scotty sytle is so bulky.

PikeEatPike: "I am using the fish hawk with the scotty rig. Works great and is easy on batteries. "

Love the rod holder! Where did you get it?

Not sure where I got that rod holder. Been long ago, almost 15 years I guess, think it's and east coast thing. Will do some looking for you and see if I can come up with anything.

Down-East Salty Rod Holder's, Bass Pro has some variations of the one I have. Love mine. Perfect for how me and the wife fish most of the time. We troll a lot of live leech spinner rigs in early June.

PineKnot: "I have used for many years a monochrome Piranhamax 230 PT that uses AA batteries..
"

I second the Humminbird Piranhamax series. We've been using a P-Max 10 (discontinued) for 12+ years. I made my own battery holder (8-AA) to reduce the size; they will last for 6-8+ days of fishing 4-6 hr/day. Humminbird posts the current draw of many models of their fish finders on their website and, if one digs around, you can find the data for some legacy models, too. The P-Max 10 is probably the lowest at 50 mA. The B&W screens are less power hungry than the color screens, however, they are not as legible. If I thought I would get my money's worth out of it, I would upgrade to a color lcd model and convert it to Li-ion battery pack; but, I think I am getting close to the end of my tripping days.

I also replaced the transducer with a puck model found in Cabela's cave and mounted it inside the hull avoiding the foam core. It paddles quieter, however, it reduces the sensitivity and, obviously, cannot be water cooled. Its depth readings and structure imaging are ok, but it doesn't always see fish. Someplaces that might be a problem, but in Woodland Caribou all you need to do is find structure and you'll have fish, too.

bottomfeeder: "
I also replaced the transducer with a puck model found in Cabela's cave and mounted it inside the hull avoiding the foam core. It paddles quieter, however, it reduces the sensitivity and, obviously, cannot be water cooled. Its depth readings and structure imaging are ok, but it doesn't always see fish. ."

I built a well out of duct compound putty. It remains pliable to be completely removed and allows the transducer to remain in water (just grab a handful and pour it into the well). It reads structure and fish well through the hull and after a few minutes the water temperature stabilizes to match the lake temp. $3 will make multiple wells should you remove them each time and build a new on the next trip.

moustachesteve : I should have mentioned that I built a transducer well out of a doughnut shaped piece of closed shell foam RTV'd to the canoe floor. I fill it with some sonogram goo (essentially thickened water) that I got from a RN friend. The well must be uniformly filled otherwise the sonar suffers greatly; lake water works, too. I suspect that the location where I have it is still slightly interfered with by the foam core--which covers nearly the entire bottom.

A suggestion for canoe makers: in addition to a built in skid plate, how about a transducer well :)

I like my Marcum Troller, and use a silicon well to shoot through the hull. 6 AA batteries and your good to go.

A1t2o: "What do you guys think about the smart transducers? That way you can simply connect to the transducer using your phone and save on the weight of the display unit. If you just take a couple steps to protect your phone I think it could work."

I have had a Deeper Pro Plus for 3 years or so. It works well and only weighs 3.5 ounces. I bring my phone for a camera anyway and a powerbank to charge both of them.

I do not stare at the screen all day when I'm fishing, only using the Deeper when going after summertime lakers or trying to locate fish\structure later in the season. I would not recommend one of these if you like to watch it constantly. The battery on mine only lasts 6 hours or so.