Any body got 1, do they work, is it worth the money, I fish lots of creeks and small rivers, no that much lakes

I would save my money.

Hello 410MAN,

I purchased the unit last year. It was the one with a small portable screen about 3"x5". My wife and I used it while fishing some ponds in 5/04. While the pixel count is very low and overall display poor, it was effective in providing approximate locations of fish, bottom contour, and depth. We simply floated the castable transducer along side the boat and as we moved around the pond, the unit provided some good info. It has an alarm on it which was interesting and accurate. If you do decide to purchase it, my suggestion would be to not view with a comparison mindset. It is definitely not of the same quality as a higher priced, boat mounted unit. But, it has some positive features that can be useful on smaller waters. If you don't mind spending the $$ and you want something portable for use outside of a boat, buy it.

Good Luck,
Spoogey

i have thought about the smart cast unit. i dont have a boat. i have thought about using it for bank fishing.

Since I bought my eagle fishelite480 and was able to really see what was under my boat for the first time in my life, I swore I would never buy another humminbird product again. I had a piranha that came with the boat....it was very comparable to my son's little scrolling story book that showed the same pictures over and over.
Now I can really see what's under my boat.

My opinion...I could be wrong.
R

Thank ya'll for the feed back , The only time i wood need it is wheen im creek or river fishin this i do abut 3 times year in same creek, think I will let this urge go buy and focous on better unit for my boat. we had caught alot crappie in tthe creek last month now they gone just thought this unit could help,

I was thinkin on getting the watch one but I didnt really understand how you get it out into the water when your bank fishing..Do you connect it to your line & cast it out there..With Lure & everything intact on the same rod..?Or do you need 2 rods cast it out with one then use the other rod to fish..?Or do you cast it out target the fish reel it in rig your rod with your bait & hope the fish is still there..?
Or do you wind up & chuck it as far as you can into the water..lol But then you have to try to retreive it..

I actually like mine quite a bit. I fish from a little jon boat. I have the rod-mounted unit. I dedicated a little cheapie rod to it and it's a cool little self contained fish finder that can be used anywhere. Also, the rod-mounted unit picks up to 100 ft. away where the watch unit only goes up to ~60ft.

I mostly use it to identify depth and structure. I never trusted the fish ids, even on my Lowrance units I've owned (unless they are paper-graph). It's nice because you can troll up to a bank and cast it a mile. both ways and gather info about the bank (or point or whatever) without actually having to drag your boat over the area you are about to fish to see the structure.

I would recommend it.

I agree with Ransom. I use mine quite a bit when fishing from the bank or canoe. It is quite helpful for determining depth and bottom structure/contour. I have the wristwatch version, and I use the transducer on the end of a cheapie zebco 33 outfit. It works great for my purposes. I like being able to see what the water looks like without pulling my boat right up on the fish. I just turn off the "fish locator", and use it as a depth finder. My only gripe is that the wristwatch goes through $3.00 batteries about every 5-7 trips. Good luck, but I would recommend this for a paddle craft or bank fishing.

Robert

Make sure I understand this, ya can throw it out there aways and wind it back to ya and see what on the bottom, how deep and also fishes out there,and it cost about $125 . your making me rethjink my position because it wood come in handy of the creeks I fish.

i saw the unit at academy for $82

Over the last few months there have been several posts about the SmartCast. I have the wrist mount and the new Pirahna Maxx that also uses the SmartCast or has a traditional cable & transducer. I use both. The Pirahna Maxx is more detailed and in grey scale and gives water temp and of course has a larger screen. The wrist mount is very portable. I attach the SmartCast to a rod by it's self, the company says you can use it as a float, however, if you get hung up it is an expensive float at $20 bucks to replace. I look for structure, bottom contour and water temp. That helps to find where fish might hold up. I have had good luck with it, when they report fish I usually begin catching.

I have had mine since 10/04, use it at least 3 days a week for hours at a time and have only replaced the battery once on the wrist mount. The Pirahna Maxx uses 8 AA batteries and I usually have to replace them after about 5 fishing trips.

btw,

you'll save money by purchasing this unit on Ebay.

RedTopLady,

I should have mentioned, I go throught the batteries because the wristwatch does not have an auto shut-off feature. It usually gets turned on in my tackle bag, and then runs out over the time. I do not mean to say it is a battery-sucking unit, just make sure to turn it off if you get one.

CatfishSalsa,
I bought mine from a TFF member and only paid $65 shipped to Dallas from Austin. I agree with the ebay comment about saving money.

I am planning to put mine on ebay or the TFF in a couple of days, since I am getting a "real" boat (i.e. not my canoe). If anyone is interested, I would let it go for $55 shipped in Texas. Call me at 214-491-0014.

Robert

razopp you have mail