I love hard water fishing and I'd like to get a fish finder. But I don't know squat. Appreciate your input.
I'm going to watch this, our little Humminbird quit.
Garmin striker plus 4.Plenty of you tube videos on it. Bought one last year and put it in a small cooler bag.Good unit for the money.
Garmin striker plus 4.Plenty of you tube videos on it. Bought one last year and put it in a small cooler bag.Good unit for the money.
What sort of battery did you use and how long does it last?
I'm most intrigued by the ultra portable "castables", but not their prices. E.g. the Deeper series, the newest of which boasts a 10 hour battery life, seems like the perfect gear for someone who needs to hole hop around a new lake looking for fishing spots.
Is this
Garmin striker plus 4.Plenty of you tube videos on it. Bought one last year and put it in a small cooler bag.Good unit for the money.
Is this it?
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017NI1IJI/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_WENSHBDWTY1HBQJMWM5K
Is this it?
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017NI1IJI/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_WENSHBDWTY1HBQJMWM5KYes that is it,small 12 volt deer feeder battery powers it for a couple days easily.
Hunt up a used vexilar fl8. Should be able to get one for that price.
So it comes with the wrong transducer.
Hunt up a used vexilar fl8. Should be able to get one for that price.
I checked Ebay. Vexilars must be made of gold.
I just attached the transducer to a piece of pvc pipe and glued a piece of pool noodle to let it float in the hole.I drill 3 holes in the the shape of a pyramid and use the middle one for the transducer.
My brother has one of these and seems to do alright.
Bluetooth fish finder
So why shouldn't I just buy a contour map, use the gps on my phone, and carry a weighted line for measuring depth? I'm starting to sour on the idea of electronics for ice fishing because the cost is so high.
A Marcum M1 is close but a little more than the $200. I would check the used market for Marcums and Vexilars. Look up some ice fishing buy sell groups on facebook if you are on it. IceShanty is a ice fishing forum similar to this but their classifieds are stupid as you need to be a paying member to use them. There is a NoDak hunting fishing forum that used to be pretty popular and I would bet they show up on there quite frequently.
I have the Garmin Stryker. Worked good last year. Marcums are good too but ov er your price point
Hunt up a used vexilar fl8. Should be able to get one for that price.
I checked Ebay. Vexilars must be made of gold.
The thing with vexilars is that you rent them for 10 years for $50. They are cheap when you think about it. Spend$400 right now, use it for 10 years, sell it for$350.
So why shouldn't I just buy a contour map, use the gps on my phone, and carry a weighted line for measuring depth? I'm starting to sour on the idea of electronics for ice fishing because the cost is so high.
Because none of them show you in real time the depth that fish are passing through?
So why shouldn't I just buy a contour map, use the gps on my phone, and carry a weighted line for measuring depth? I'm starting to sour on the idea of electronics for ice fishing because the cost is so high.
Because none of them show you in real time the depth that fish are passing through?
You're right of course - I'm just not ready to make that kind of expenditure.
I love ice fishing, but I'd rather have money for gas, etc. than electronics.
Ok, the family bought me a Garmin striker 4 plus. Just the basic unit, not the ice fishing kit. I didn't drop any hints, not sure how they decided.
So I'm going to need a battery, case, etc. I like the idea of using an 18v power tool battery since I'm using a Ridgid drill to spin the auger. The Garmin unit can handle from 10v - 20v input voltage. Max current is 1amp, likely when running at minimum voltage.
I'm not sure what sort case to put everything into.
The fun starts!
I'm going to try the following battery -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07Y...lsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0p13NParamsAnd connect it using -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B091...wmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3Q=p13NParamsI'm sure the cheap China battery will work for the Garmin Striker 4 Plus and hopefully it will work for my 1/2" drill as well. I'm guessing that the 2.0AH oem battery that came with the drill will power the Garmin for the 6-7hrs of ice fishing, but this way I'll have an extra battery to run the auger. I also have a 4.0AH Ridgid battery from another tool.
I'm thinking of making a collapsible transducer pole to get the transducer below the ice and oriented correctly. Old hiking staff and pool noodle would be perfect.
The unit runs fine off an 18v 6.0AH drill battery. The fully charged voltage is 20.6v - above the spec of 20v. I don't know the full runtime as I didn't charge the battery before using it (battery was at 18.4v), but it ran 10hrs in Simulation mode before the battery over-discharge kicked in.
The Dsanke battery requires that the lock tabs be ground down until they are flush when the buttons are pressed, otherwise you'll have a rough time releasing it from a tool. The connector works perfect, although I didn't need 12awg wire.
The battery ran my 1/2" ice auger drill just fine. My charger is a Ridgid R86092 and recharged the dead battery completely in about an hour.