PondRaider

Been lurking for months and I registered just to respond to this post ... I have one of these - the RF20 - and I really enjoy having it. I fish exclusively from the shore and, often, on new ponds that I find in satellite photos or chatting with folks at the local fishing store. When I roll up on a new body of water, I like to put the green sonar thing on the end of my pole and throw it all over. It helps me quickly find deep spots, channels, humps and the depth that the fish are hanging out at. Is it crap - no. Find me a single serious bass fisherman that has a boat and doesn't have a fish finder; they're few and far between. I don't have a boat; why shouldn't I have a fish finder? There's another thread on here asking who uses satellite photos or land surveys to find cover and deep spots on water ... nobody calls that crap. This is just another piece of technology to help you understand the terrain that you're fishing. I read lots of reviews on Amazon, etc. and there are definitely some people that haven't been happy with it. I happen to know a guy that has the RF30 and his big complaint was the range. Most of the complaits that I read were on the RF30 and so I decided to give the RF20 a shot. I've been very pleased. It has worked for months out of the box, as described. But, be realistic, its $50ish. It doesn't work in 12' waves. I fish on small ponds and the "waves" never get much greater than a ripple on the surface. But, its easy to see how waves would make this relatively tiny sonar buoy wobble too much to consistently send/recieve the signal. The water I fish on is rarely 20' deep - most of the time, its 4'-9'. This thing is consistent and, seemingly, accurate - by that I mean, if I cover the same area twice, I get the same reading of the bottom; when I've been able to know the depth, either by clear water or a stick, the reading on my RF20 is consistent with my observations. I get LOTS of rolled eyes when my fishing buddies see me using it. But, invariably, they'll ask - "how deep is it?" Before I answer, I ask, "How deep do you think it is?" Most of the time, they're within a few feet of the actual average depth. I let them have their moment and let them shoot a quick jab about how they don't *need* something like this before I ask, "Where's the deepest point in this channel?" That's a VERY different discussion and usually ends with silence (or, a demo of the fish finder). Remember that this is a tool, one of many that we can employ to help us locate probable fish locations. I, for one, say that anything that works and helps you catch fish is a good thing. Remember, also, that it has its limitations. But, I've spent $50 on LOTS of other things that I've been less impressed with. Before you buy consider: 1. How rough does the water get? If you're looking at "waves" this thing probably won't work. It does fine in ripples. 2. How deep is the water you're fishing? If you're fishing 200' of water, you probably want something a little more stable and higher powered than the $50 model. If you're in <20' of water, I've had great success with mine. 3. I've seen the RF30 and RF20 in action, in person. The RF20 DEFINITELY has MUCH longer range. I would say that the range on the RF30 (which is basically a wristwatch) was ~20'. I've seen the RF20 work from ~100', when fishing from a pier (elevated). The little antenna on the RF20 seems to help. 4. I don't know how many poles you carry. But, I carry two and one has a clip for cranks, etc. I put a swivel on my green sonar thing and attach that to the clip. Its MUCH easier than having to tie the thing on every time I want to use it. 5. Do you always fish the same water? If so, you'd probably only use this the first few times you get it. Once you know the lay of the "land" down there, there's not much reason to fuss with it. 6. I would have liked to have gotten the RF25 that would tell me water surface temperature. Again, not the kind of thing that I would use every time I fish on the same body of water. But, since I move around alot, it would be nice to know where we are on water temp. I hope this helps. Just my .02 ... Just thought of a few things - don't buy a used one. The green transducer is sealed and the battery isn't replaceable. So, in a used one, you run the risk of getting one that the battery's been burned out. Which reminds me, wipe it off when you pull it up - it'll save battery. Also, the guy who converted one into a portable - the nice thing about this is that the transducer is wireless, which means I can cast it out. I can't think of a way to do that with a converted one ... again, just my .02 ...