Herculined

I've never had a problem with my hummingbird.

I'm scared to buy electronics off of ebay or internet period. It becomes such a hassle to return if something is messed up,not to mention all the time wasted and the money lost because you have to ship it back.I just go the Wal-Mart route. If something jacks up, i'm 15 min away from getting a new one.

Sharker

Eagle Fisheasy 245 DS, around $100, I put one on my old yak 3 years ago and it still works after being beat to death and dumping many many times in the surf while running shark baits. Just got an outback and after much research with a budget of $250 decided to go with the same one. I can see a 3oz weight and dead cig on a long leader go down separately all the way to 60ft. I can see fish come up to the bait and pick up the rod right before they take it.

gulfcoastsurf1

half hitch tackle has a lowrance x 47 on sale for only50 buckssounds like a pretty good deal thinking of getting one for my yak

http://halfhitch.com/PDFDocs/2009Christmas.pdf

YaknFish2

I agree with a lot of you, the Hummingbird fish finders are not a good choice for kayak fishing. Especially the cheaper models. All it takes is one goodwave over the bow or flip in the surf, and no more fishfinder. I also went through 3hummingbird fishfinders, before I wised up and purchased the Eagle fisheasy 320c. TheEagle has taken a lot of abuse over the years, likebig waves over the bow,being tossed around in the surf, several times. Still worksgreat. Also I recommend a color fishfinder if you canfit it into your budget. You can purchase this one at most places foraround $200.00

flyyak

I purchased the Lowrance X50 with instalation kit. for aprox 135. Easy to instal and a good fish finder .

joe bag o donuts

Not to up a dead thread, but what info can you guys give me as far as how well the Eagle Cuda 350 GPS/fishfinder units deal with the saltwater. Also, if the yak gets tipped over will they survive that or will they fry. Not to sound dumb, but I'll probably be getting one soon and don't want to mess it up if I tip over. Thanks.

YakFlies

It's a cool unit.. thought about getting one myself however I don't like how the navigation is set up.. you can only use the map mode if you are using the split screen function. I usually use the compass view for navigating. It'll survive a turnover.. make sure you put some vasoline (or electric grease) on the pins in the back of the unit, to make it somewhat waterproof and less likely to corrode.

FLSalomon

I like the Eagle / Cudas. I was givena Cuda 242 5 years ago and it still works great. I also have a FishEasy 242, they are interchangeable on the mounts, power source, etc. Just rinse them off, keep vaseline on the cord plug and unitpins and it will take alot of abuse and keep working.I want the most vertical pixels - gives you better resolution, but there is a limit to where better is the enemy of good enough. For example, 240 pixels in 10 feet of water is 2 pixels per inch. A 350 pixel screen is 3 pixels per inch - not much improvement. But in 60 or 100 feet of water it may make the difference.

Keep in mind that unless you are in deep water, the FF is really a depthfinder / structure locator. Most of the FF's have a 60 degree beam - 30 degrees either side of the yak. In 10 feet of water, the FF is looking at a circle 10 feet in diameter under the yak. In 5 feet, it's a 5 foot circle, etc. You're not likely to see fish that close to the boat. I hang out mostly inshore, so one of the lower end units works fine. 8 AA's will run it all day. If you plan to fish the gulf a lot, you may want more power, side beams, dual freq, color, GPS, etc. You will also need a bigger battery.

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GCKFA #1
www.gulfcoastkayakfishing.com

joe bag o donuts

Thanks for the info. I priced a Eagle Cuda at Academy for 69$ that is only the FF. I was thinking of buying a 100 GPS separate that way if I destroy one with water, I've still got the other. Definitely gave me some stuff to consider.

chaps

I bought the cuda 300 for $69 buck. I am happy with it. I agree, in shallow water it is pretty much a depth finder. In deeper water,you can watch your jig on the bottom, etc... For gps, I have an older GPS 4000xl unit that work fine.