I just bought this portable fish finder for my canoes. Never been out with anyone who used one in a canoe. I know there's some great transducer mount threads on here, but I'm curious if anyone has experience with kevlar/royalex through-hull use or any tips for use in the BW in identifying structure worth hanging around. Thanks!

Here is a post on the fishing forum about mounting fish finders that was just recently posted on

https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=1197125&forumID=14&confID=1

I also know there are many more talking about running the transducer thru the hull of the canoe.

I personally haven't tried running mine through the hull so I can't comment but there are a lot of ways to run it on the side of the canoe as well.

There are also a lot of posts in the fishing forum about locating structure. I would highly recommend before you go on a trip to use google maps to locate reefs and structure and then use the fish finder to break down those spots once you get to the lake.

It much easier said than done though. I tend to put a lot of work into finding spots to fish before I go and end up not doing well in those spots and doing better in spots I never researched online beforehand HAHA.

I have the exact same one and it isn't perfect, but it works for me. Regarding shooting through the hull, I've never had problem just standing it up on the bottom of the canoe in a few drops of water. I've done this with both fiberglass and kevlar. Occasionally it stops working and I realize I kicked it over or need to add a few more drops of water.

Now that I own a kevlar canoe, I'm considering outfitting things so the unit mounts and there is a putty 'well' for the transducer. Haven't gotten around to it yet.

A few other points about it:
1. The battery cover is a huge pain to remove. It takes approximately 1000 turns of each screw. I've got a waterproof garmin which takes 1/2 a turn to lock and I wish this had the same. I've done this with my fingernail and it wasn't fun. I now keep a few coins in my tackle box to use as screwdrivers.
2. It isn't waterproof unless you vaseline-seal the battery compartment. Even then I'm a bit skeptical. I'd recommend keeping it up off the canoe floor.
3. Occasionally mine just quits working. I'm not sure if this has to do with water damage or just cheap design. It usually just needs to be power cycled, but it sometimes takes a few times.

Despite my nit-picks, this is a good, light low-end unit which is just what I need.

lyontyl: "Here is a post on the fishing forum about mounting fish finders that was just recently posted on


https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=1197125&forumID=14&confID=1


I also know there are many more talking about running the transducer thru the hull of the canoe.


I personally haven't tried running mine through the hull so I can't comment but there are a lot of ways to run it on the side of the canoe as well.


There are also a lot of posts in the fishing forum about locating structure. I would highly recommend before you go on a trip to use google maps to locate reefs and structure and then use the fish finder to break down those spots once you get to the lake.


It much easier said than done though. I tend to put a lot of work into finding spots to fish before I go and end up not doing well in those spots and doing better in spots I never researched online beforehand HAHA."

Thanks for that link, very helpful. I know how those researched spots pan out sometimes, so we got to know when to see a new area! I usually do well fishing, but those days where there's just no trout or obvious walleye spots really stick with me. Still a great day of course but I'd rather eat fish.

Chuckles: "I have the exact same one and it isn't perfect, but it works for me. Regarding shooting through the hull, I've never had problem just standing it up on the bottom of the canoe in a few drops of water. I've done this with both fiberglass and kevlar. Occasionally it stops working and I realize I kicked it over or need to add a few more drops of water.


Now that I own a kevlar canoe, I'm considering outfitting things so the unit mounts and there is a putty 'well' for the transducer. Haven't gotten around to it yet.


A few other points about it:
1. The battery cover is a huge pain to remove. It takes approximately 1000 turns of each screw. I've got a waterproof garmin which takes 1/2 a turn to lock and I wish this had the same. I've done this with my fingernail and it wasn't fun. I now keep a few coins in my tackle box to use as screwdrivers.
2. It isn't waterproof unless you vaseline-seal the battery compartment. Even then I'm a bit skeptical. I'd recommend keeping it up off the canoe floor.
3. Occasionally mine just quits working. I'm not sure if this has to do with water damage or just cheap design. It usually just needs to be power cycled, but it sometimes takes a few times.


Despite my nit-picks, this is a good, light low-end unit which is just what I need. "

Thats great! It came early so Im getting it out on the water tomorrow. I saw one review that said it was shutting down on its own too. Thanks for the tip!

OgimaaBines: " I just bought this portable fish finder for my canoes. Never been out with anyone who used one in a canoe. I know there's some great transducer mount threads on here, but I'm curious if anyone has experience with kevlar/royalex through-hull use or any tips for use in the BW in identifying structure worth hanging around. Thanks!"

I received the same unit from my wife for Christmas, so I haven’t used it in the BWCA yet, but I have had it out on my local waters. I constructed a “through the hull” mount for the transducer from 1” foam. I used spray adhesive, and then silicone caulked around the base to ensure the water placed in the well stayed therein.

The mount for the unit was purchased from Amazon.

Thanks for your responses. I think I'm going to go with a thru-hull approach. The foam under me on my Bell Magic would only allow for depth readings, little else so I'm moving it up in front of the foam in the bow.

I've got some foam laying around and plenty o' silicone. Here's a pic of the mount I made out of a red oak piece soaked in teak oil, and an old camera tripod. Worked pretty slick! Thanks again!