We are leaving for the BWCA in exactly a month. I’m wondering if a portable depth finder is worth it. I own a hummingbird that I’ve taken to Canada several times. It’s bulkier with one of those big batteries. We are looking to do a lot of fishing on our trip so I’m leaning towards taking it. Especially since we want to catch some trout. Just looking for someone who’s had some experience in taking one and is it worth it??

Thanks in advance.

I do a lot of trolling and a depth finder helps keep me from snagging and over productive water depth. If you have a gray scale screen detector don’t lose it. They can be used with the back light off so they use less power. There are plenty of threads on what people are using for batteries.

Unless you know the lake(s) really well, a depth finder is worth it, even a cumbersome one. Even with good maps, finding some feature you are looking for is not always easy. A depth finder makes it easier and less time consuming. If you use a floating marker, you can drop it exactly where you want and work around it, because it is positioned correctly. If you are spending significant time fishing, it is a no brainer to bring it, IMO. Mine is old and fine, runs on d batteries, I havent had the guts to transform it to A cells lke a lot of others have done.

If fishing is one of the major activities planned for your trip I would definitely consider bringing one especially if trying to locate deep water lake trout haunts or off-shore walleye structure. If you wanted to upgrade to a different unit you can do a search on this site for depth finders and you will see a lot of opinions and great information. I upgraded a couple of years ago from a portable Hummingbird Piranha Max to a Garmin Striker Plus. An 8- AA battery pack will power the Garmin unit for 3 full days of fishing. I prefer to bring along a 10aH Lithium battery and get a full week of power using that for not a lot of extra weight and then also bring the AA pack for backup. Fishing is a priority for me so if I want to cut a pound or so from my pack I will look at doing it elsewhere. Have a great trip!

yup. Bring it. 8 AA batteries= 12 volts

It sounds like fishing is a pretty big part of the trip so I'd bring one. There are a lot of realatively cheap options that you can mount on an 18" thin wood board - like a 1/2"x2" and then you can clamp or vice that to the side of the canoe. Check facebook marketplace and you can find several cheap depthfinders for under 50 bucks. If you pair that with a lithium ion battery it will only weigh about 5 lbs, but those batteries arent cheap.

I have converted the batteries
I always wonder,
Every year I think to myself "Should I bring this thing?"
Every year I bring it.
Every year I am happy I have it

To me knowing I have it keeps me from thinking to myself the entire trip.... "I wonder if ......."

Peace of mind is worth a couple extra pounds.

100 percent worth its weight in gold if you are serious about catching, not just fishing. Traveling across Kawnipi one year depth finder was holding steady at 30-40 feet or thereabouts… suddenly it lights up and 25,20,15,10,8 feet…. Beautiful underwater hump, wanna guess where all the fish in the area were ?