Hello

 

I’m looking for my first fish finder that has to be portable so I can carry it to my boat as a whole unit/case. Can anyone recommend something? Under $300 total. Thanks

Every depth finder can be made portable with a little DIY effort. Is there only one boat you'll be using it on, or do you plan on using on rentals or more than one boat?

I've been using the same Fishin Buddy on rentals for over eight years.  Very durable and handy.  Goes through a lot of AA batteries,  though. 

I have a Hummingbird Fishing Buddy that I used to use when I fished out of borrowed boats a lot.  I haven't used it for a number of years now, but I liked it when I got it.   If you got to have portable, that's one I'd recommend.

On a different note, Scott F's post that any depth finder can be made portable is correct.  A matter of how much work do you want to do & how much do you want to think about it.

I have this.  It’s small, light and has a suction cup transducer mount.  Good option.  

 

https://www.overtons.com/humminbird-piranhamax-4-pt-portable-fishfinder-321654.html?CAWELAID=120071730000248608&s_kwcid=adwords__&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3b3Bmam24QIVg56fCh33GQ94EAQYASABEgIK6_D_BwE

The only portable "fish finder" I know of is a lure on the end of a piece of line. 

For LCD's, sonars or depth finders, unless you find a clearance mark down, it's going to be hard to find a good one for under $200,  Several companies make their 4 and 5 inch models that work very well but for all the features that really make a good sonar, they are going to be more than your budget

So, with all that, just buy the best Color model you can afford.  The biggest thing is learning how to read and understand what you are looking at.  In the hands of the right person, the old flashers made great sonars.

 

OOOpps, I see your budget is $300, for that you can get a pretty good 4 or 5 model.  Also, keep an eye out for last years clearance models.  They can be picked up for great deals if you are patient.  And don't forget to check out the Garmin's, they are making some pretty nice units now.

I just take a small graph, mount it to a hard lunch cooler, put a 7ah batter inside, run the wires through the top.  I screw the transducer to a piece of 1x3, and C-clamp it to the transom.  This works great for rentals, and you can get a better graph with GPS.

3 hours ago, Deeare said:

I have this.  It’s small, light and has a suction cup transducer mount.  Good option.  

 

https://www.overtons.com/humminbird-piranhamax-4-pt-portable-fishfinder-321654.html?CAWELAID=120071730000248608&s_kwcid=adwords__&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3b3Bmam24QIVg56fCh33GQ94EAQYASABEgIK6_D_BwE

this looks cool thanks

A word of warning about suction cup mounts.  They inevitably fail.  I know from experience.

Back in the 70's I put my Lawrance paper graph inside a hard tackle box with a front drop down lid by removing the slide out trays and it worked good. My original Fish-Lo-K-Tor transducer clamp bracket was used for the transducer mount. Power was the 12V trolling motor battery. I shipped everything to Canada for a portable sonar unit and purchased the TM and battery there.

Today several clamp on transducer brackets are availble, a quick search you find several like the Sully unit. I wouldn't use a suction cup type and risk the TD being destroyed by the prop.

Use your ingenuity and several options are available.

Tom