# Fish Finder and Sounder



## simdawg82 (Feb 15, 2014)

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and to kayak fishing. Just seeing what the general concensus is out there regarding fish finders and if anyone had any recommendations?

Does where you mount them come down to personal preference or what is practical?

Cheers

Simdawg


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## RekFix (Dec 30, 2011)

Mate, each to their own.

Mounting wise it's a bit of both. You don't want it in the way but you need to be able to see it.

As for recommendations, if this is your first start out with a cheaper model (under $200) of a good brand like lowrance, hummingbird, garmin... You get the idea. Essentially to begin with you're only using it to see the bottom and find some structure.

Hope this helps.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

The Lowrance elite 4x is a bargain at around the $200 mark in my opinion.


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## Squidley (May 8, 2010)

There's a few ways of dealing with the transducer

I do this one: Mount inside the hull in a little well of water (search "wet mount")
+in the hull, not going to snag on it or hit it
-cable will need to penetrate the hull somewhere
+you can remove the transducer for times you're not taking the sounder. Your cables may last longer
-extra setup time
-inaccurate temp readings

Mount inside the hull by gluing it there (popular option) with Selleys All Clear or Marine Goop or Sikaflex
+in the hull, not going to snag on it or hit it
-cable will need to penetrate the hull somewhere
-it's stuck in there so your plug will need a dust cap
+less setup time, no need to pour water on it at the start of the trip
-inaccurate temp readings

Mount it outside the hull on some kind of bracket
+accurate temp readings
+if you're resourceful you might be able to make it with no hull penetrations
-may be a snag point or prone to damage

You'll be able to find examples of these methods in the rigged yaks and electronics sections.


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## Squidley (May 8, 2010)

Here's mine, pretty typical:









You can see the cables passing through a bung hole here. I trimmed some kick board foam into a split cork to seal the hole a bit









7Ah SLA battery. Glued down foam stops it sliding around. People often like to put their battery and fuse in a sealed container in their hull. Lithium ion batteries as you can get them online definitely need waterproofing.









My wet mount in the inside front of the hull. Closed cell foam cut and glued down to form a well.


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## laneends (Jan 25, 2013)

Considerations are basic sonar with symbols for fish, basic structure pics

Dsi which gives great pictures of structure, but fish are not as obvious

Units with GPS and mapping.

Mounting location will be affected by whether you paddle or peddle.

I have used both wet through hull mount and direct stick. In average moderate depths similar images. Get into deeper water and the wet mount will read bottom deeper than direct stick. I haven't tried external mount, but guessing that gives best pics of lot.

Most begin with something like lowrance 4 series.

Keep plugs and sockets dry and greased/oiled, or they will corrode and then its an expensive fix.


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## simdawg82 (Feb 15, 2014)

Thanks fellas, some food for thought. The further I delve into this kayak business the more I realise you have to do your homework.

Much appreciated

Will post pics once I'm sorted.

Cheers


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## laneends (Jan 25, 2013)

simdawg82 said:


> Thanks fellas, some food for thought. The further I delve into this kayak business the more I realise you have to do your homework.
> 
> Much appreciated
> 
> ...


If in doubt, keep it simple and copy, everyone else has,you dont always have to reinvent the wheel


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## yorkie (Mar 19, 2014)

Hi , Can anyone tell me how water resistant there sounders are if one roll the yak. Rob


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Any decent sounder brand makes them able to be submerged for an hour in a metre of water.


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## yorkie (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanks for the info Sam. Regards Rob


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## Rockster (Sep 7, 2007)

scater said:


> Any decent sounder brand makes them able to be submerged for an hour in a metre of water.


Until it is out of warranty.... trust me!


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