Guys,

I will be in Bass pro on Sunday and I am looking to buy a new portable fish finder.  I am not looking to spend a ton of money, and was thinking of picking up the fishing buddy 1101 for around $100.  Does anyone recommend looking at another model??  I noticed that Eagle and Hummingbird have models in the same price range, does anyone have an opinion as to which is better or are they all basically the same??  

Thanks for your help!  

The fishin buddy is excellent.  I have one over a year now and it really is great.  I don't know all the details about model #'s etc.  but make sure you get one with the "sideview".  It will show the location of fish that are around you, not just underneath.

I don't use mine much anynore only because I rarely fish outside of home lake.   But whenever I go to a different lake I take it with me. It really works.

Cheapest fish finder on the market, is the birds, they always show you where the baitfish are.   LOL.  

I have a Fishin Buddy, and it does a great job.

I've used a fishing buddy on my two little man boat, and my john boat,  for 3 or 4 years now. It will run almost all year on 3 C cell batteries. It does a great job for the price. I turn off the fish ID feature and use it to locate structure and deeper cover. I used the side-finder setting quite a bit, when I first got it, but don't use it at all now. The only problem with this unit is the narrow beam width. In water less then ten feet deep, you're looking at a very small section of the  bottom. It's still god for cruising around and finding channels and breaklines.

Hard to beat for the price.

I have one of those and I LOVE IT... especially on small lakes around here... very good for the money... I would buy another one if I were to break this one

AL

Thanks guys!!  What I like about them the most is that I don't have to deal with a cord!  

I will be purchasing one this weekend for sure.....along with a ton of other items!  You can't walk out of BPS with just one item......down right impossible!!  

You can't walk out of BPS with just one item......down right impossible!!

Any time I walk out of BPS, without having spent $250+, I consider it a moral victory.

I try to justify everything I put into my cart, in other words I lie to myself!!  When I pull into the parking lot I get the same feeling as 10 year old on Christmas Morning!  

I just bought one maybe three months ago for smaller lakes that you can't put your own boat in. It works alot better than I thought it would.

i use a fish buddy on my 2 man and it works great

I'VE HAD A HUMMINBIRD "WIDE 100" FOR SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AND IT WORKS GREAT.

The only portable sonar I can recommend in good conscience is a Lowrance / Eagle.

A few years ago I got so angry with a Humminbird, it's now sitting somewhere in the municipal dump >

I've been using both portable & mounted Lowrance/Eagle sonar units for years & have nothing but praise

Check out the Eagle Cuda 242 Portable -Sale price: $111 (a more powerful portable than my old machine)

http://www.fishfinder-store.com/

Roger

Rolo, I must of read your mind because I ended up purchasing the Eagle Cuda 242 portable yesterday at bass pro.  Based on a conversation with a salesman he persuaded me to go in that direction.  The eagle fish finder looks like it shows more detail and for the price looks like a great machine.  

On a side note I walked out spending $227......That place gets me everytime!!!  

I have the RF-30.

I like it, because I can cast it out and just leave it there, or whatever.

It was cheap too.

Rolo, I must of read your mind because I ended up purchasing the Eagle Cuda 242 portable yesterday at bass pro. Based on a conversation with a salesman he persuaded me to go in that direction. The eagle fish finder looks like it shows more detail and for the price looks like a great machine.

Great choice! I have a hunch you'll be a Lowrance advocate for life

She's non-corrosive so you can use her for snook, redfish, seatrout, etc.

Quite frankly, it was saltwater that sounded the death nell for my portable Humminbird.

On a side note I walked out spending $227......That place gets me everytime!!!

I heard that

Roger

PS: Always carry a spare pair of 6V batteries. Expensive yes, but they can save the day.

I use a Hummingbird Pirhana max 10.It gives me depth, water tenp, and bottom contour which is all I expect out of it.Totally satisfied.

I'm not sure (and I didn't check out that link fully), but are y'all referring to the castable transducers as well?

No,mine has a suction cup that sticks to the side or transom of the boat.