I just heard about this today from a friend of mine. Has anyone tried this, are there any good or bad reviews out there

I was looking at them at cabelas the other day. They are made by hummingbird. I have never used one by have heard that they do not work in choppy water and they are more of a depth finder

When it comes to choppy water, that's ok cause I was wanting them for creeks. Thanks. Anyone else?

they are a pretty penny too! i found some cheap ones on ebay while looking for a lower unit a few weeks ago. they seem pretty cool, looking for good reviews!

I'd like to use one for sure just to know the depth and underwater structure in our creeks.

BTW - That creek by my house only produced one yesterday. chickenfrie was there. It sucked.

Sweet. If you use it and find a gray Shimano with a 30" bass on it, it's mine.

I have the Hummingbird RF35.
Ive used it mainly for depth and temp reading.
It does what it says.

However, if you go to your same fishing holes all the time, you may only use it once or twice.

Well, if your done with it I would gladly P.M. you my address... When im done I would gladly pass it on to the next. Just think of the new trend you could start... Kinda like "pay it forward" with a fish...a twist.

I mounted a "hawkeye" portable fish finder on a golf ball retriever and it worked well in the past on the creeks (lasted 8 years of abuse). Same finder goes with me in the kayak now. Not great, but good enough to spot the depth and the fish. Also gives some indication when they are spooked away from a spot. I didn't want something powered by watch batteries or that I could cast out and lose.

No longer sold there and this is a later model but you can see the buyers at walmart give it good reviews.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/HawkEye-Portable-Fish-Finder/3661652

I have used the Hummingbird Smartcast for several years.The unit is the size of a wrist watch and is worn like one.The transponder is tied to a line and cast out.Make sure to tie it to very strong line or it could get costly to replace.Last time i checked replacement transponders were about 45 bucks. Do not tie a jig or lure to the transponder as this can be lost if main line breaks. They have limited range but work well. After some time it became easier in id of bottom content (mud, gravel, ect..) and is helpful in locating the depth fish are holding at.

At a hundred plus $$$ they are worth it if you fish a lot from the bank. Do not use them in 2 ft or less of water and dont smack the transponder on rocks or anything that could cause the crystal inside to be jarred loose or it will no longer work. I hit concrete pier and had to replace mine.

Haven't tried one but was also curious. DRF- I'm a creek fisher, too, and have always just counted a jig down or used a slip cork rig to determine depths.

FM

Yeah, one of my tricks of the trade I learned from my buddy. When you know they are next to a pile in the middle of the river but cant find the right depth...

Using a slip bobber, throw your jig out past the sunken "log" to find the structure, try to pull over without getting hung and let it sink again, try to remember exactly where it lies. Keep tossing in the desired spot and adjusting accordingly until you find the right depth. Also, the "log" goes deeper and showllower at an agle, so find where there are also limbs that you want to fish near. With good line, your jig should straighten out instead of your line snapping.

The colder it is...Dead winter... they are probably at the base of the log in the deepest part of the hole, early spring and late fall up the log near branches is where you wil probably catch the most.

I have the RF-15 smartcast. It is the one that has the full size screen that sits in a rubber bottomed mounting bracket. i love it. It works very well. Is great for my small boat and can also be used from the bank... I have never had an issues with waves messing up the signal.

Amazon has this for $50

http://www.amazon.com/NorCross-HawkEye-F...8623&sr=8-2

That smartcast rf-15 looks good. I like the fact that it is a 90 degree beam, i.e. if you are in 5 or 10 feet of water you still get good coverage. It is also cool that you can get a detailed graph versus a tiny pictograph screen.

With the hawkeye unit I will sometimes angle the transducer at an area that I'm interested in, I guess to get a "poor man's side scanning". It does work okay angled up to about 45 degrees. At any rate, a castable wireless transducer is a better way to do it.

Fancy way to do it. I heard somewhere that this is a popular method in Europe.

http://youtu.be/ILkNnqwcPEw

or NYC