Hi there,

I am looking for a fishfinder for my Dad. I have read many posts here about them but I have a few questions that I could not find answers to.

First, about my Dad. He is a pretty casual fisherman. He only uses a canoe so I am not sure if that is a limitation or not. How bulky are fishfinders? I keep seeing that the eagle 480 is the way to go which looks like what I will end up doing but I am not quite sure what is involved. Do you just drop a line for the antenna or what, I am not sure how it works and if it would be good for a canoe.

Any help would be great. Thanks!

Bass Pro Shops has a Eagle 320 Fishmark it is a portable unit with a suction mount..the 480 and 320 are both good units for the money...this one is 199.99

Thanks gander!

Do you know how the 480 sets up? I really do not know much about them. Do you mount it to the boat? Do you toss out an antenna or something?

It's mounted to the boat. The tranducer (the sending part) is either in the water off the transom, trolling motor or some other portable means OR it can be mounted inside the boat (shoot-through the hull) near the transom. I know it seems intimidating but the units come with good mounting instructions.

Got it. Thanks for all your help!!!

I guess one more quesiton. If I am going to blow 199$ on the Eagle 480 for my Dad...

Is it worth it? Have people been happy with thier fishfinders?

The 320 and 480 have been one of the most popular depth finders on the market for a few years now. Well worth the money.

Ok,

Thanks again Jignpig!

consider space and weight,...if you can go talk to the guys a one of the sales places, Cabelas, BPS, Academy, Fun-N-Sun maybe thay can lead ya in the right direction..

Cindy, I have both, the 320 and 480. The 480 is mounted on my console and the 320 on the TM. I also have a portable unit that runs a 320 or 480. They are interchangeable.

I use the portable when I go to Canada. I used the 480 last trip only because I had just got it. Really, the 320 or 480 is fine. I would be happy with either. I do find the 320 a little easier on the eyes because of th pixel density. Although the 480 pixels are 'tighter', the 320 is easier to read.

You can't go wrong with either.

BTW, the portable is used with a suction cup. I have no problem with it 'sticking' to the boat.

Hope this helps.

Just curious, what is the power souce for the portable units?

By the way Cindy, I also have both the 320 and 480 mounted and I like them both.

Thanks everyone. I guess I think I am going to hold off for now. I just am not convinced that a Canoe is the right type of boat for a fishfinder.

you might check these at Bass Pro..no big battery to mess with and should show bottom great..just something to check out..

Bass Pro

Cindy--

Jump over to the TUBE and KAYAK section and post the question. I think you will find some better info on battery size and unit size over there. Some of the guys are "tricked" out and can give you some pretty good ideas.

Mine uses 8 "D" batteries. If you buy the top of the line "D" you get good use. I've used them for 7 days in Canada without replacing and still have juice on return.

Cindy, I had the Bottomline fishfinders. I replaced with the Eagle. To me, there is no comparison between the two with the Eagle much better. The C clamp for the bottomline may be an easier setup on a canoe but if possible, I would still do the Eagle with suction cups. There's always a way to rig them.

The Bottomline does have a sideview that works. It is elementary compared to the Hummingbird's sidescan but I think that is why Hum bought Bottomline, for its technology.