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Bowmaster1982	06/19/2019 11:51AM   Thanks for the info, i know the size is the most disappointing issue i see with the unit, but i have it so ill use it this year and then perhaps ill trade it off for something smaller next time. I plan on just carrying it in the case that came with it separately vs trying to pack it up, we have a big group this year and are double portaging so it wont be too big of deal.
Ole496	06/11/2019 10:37PM   Well, yeah.....so I've owned one of those, used it once and returned it. It's fine, an all in one unit, quick, handy, less messing around with different parts, bolt on and go, all the pros are valid. Here is why I didn't like it. I didn't care for the size and it didn't fit all that great in my pack when I tested it out. When I stuff my pack, I often have to stomp the daylights out of it to fit stuff in it. The long mast could be cracked or broken doing that. Plus the handle sticks out enough and it just didn't "fit" anywhere else. I didn't want to bolt it on there and travel across the lake with it either and I figured that would be my best option rather than stowing it for the journey. You could hand carry it across portages but I'd rather carry paddles and poles. I guess you could leave it bolted to the gunwale all the time, hopefully it won't catch on a tree or get broken some other unusual way. I prefer a small fish locator with a suction cup mount and a battery pack. It's smaller, easier to pack and functionally it does the same thing. I've been much happier since I made the swap. The Fishin buddy is a great, easy to use product from a great company. No doubt it's a great purchase for the right time and place. I'd use one for sure but in the BWCA I'd rather have a different style.
Bowmaster1982	05/29/2019 08:18AM   Picked up one of these https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/fish-finders/fishin-buddy/fishin-buddy-max-di Anyone have any experience with it on a canoe, how does it work etc? Plan on taking it along on next Quetico trip in Aug/Sep. Its a bit bigger with the mount and pole than id like but i dont mind carrying it if it will work ok.
plexmidwest	06/19/2019 02:51PM   I just got rid of one of these after I used it 2 or 3 times. I liked the set up and the screen, nice functions, I had the good model 400C. The problem is that when you paddle, the darn thing vibrates and really does not allow you to move through the water easily without it shaking. It forces you to go extremely slow if you want to avoid it shaking.
bridge4life	06/07/2019 09:27AM   Looks like a great product. I use a much older Hummingbird product where the transducer mounts to the side of the hull. I had very little issues with it except, being in a smaller boat, it gets rocked around very easily and does not give a perfect signal off of the bottom. In all reality, it helped my chances of catching fish! Best of luck with your new toy!
Pinetree	06/07/2019 06:21PM   Bowmaster1982: "Picked up one of these https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/fish-finders/fishin-buddy/fishin-buddy-max-di Anyone have any experience with it on a canoe, how does it work etc? Plan on taking it along on next Quetico trip in Aug/Sep. Its a bit bigger with the mount and pole than id like but i dont mind carrying it if it will work ok." link
lyontyl	06/13/2019 09:11AM   I wouldn't not recommend this unit. I had the same mindset as you when I bought mine and after one trip the BWCA it was already on Ebay. There are so much better units that this one. Reasons why I hated this unit: 1. When trolling, even slow trolling, the resistance of the water would kick the transducer back and forth in it's cradle and wouldn't give a good reading, if waves were large enough or your speed was fast enough it would even get kicked out of it's cradle completely. 2. Does not pack well 3. For the price, the sonar is terrible and the screen readout is just bad. You can build a much more portable unit with a better system for the price. I built a portable fish finder using a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI using an ammo box for storage, a RAM mount for the head unit, and some aluminum with suction cups for the transducer. It works amazing, I can see every fish clearly with the sonar and down imaging and I have GPS on it to mark my spots. I don't have many good photos of my setup but the picture below shows how I have the head unit set in the canoe. I use a RAM mount claw to attach it to the canoe. My transducer is setup just like Ole496's except I use two suction cups and no magnet