fish finder for the BWCA

[spivak]

Any recommendations for a portable, light, canoe adaptable unit for the BWCA? I bring my flasher in for winter trips and brought that same flasher along on our summer trip last year. A little heavy with the 12 volt. Just looking for depth/structure.

[MooseTrack]

vexilar boundary waters classic..color. great unit, light weight and runs on AA.

[spivak]

Thanks for the response. Looked online and it doesn't seem they are available anymore.

[Northlander]

I dont think they have been made for years. I would go with a small flasher.

[Raider4ever]

Whatever you decide to bring, except for some GPS/Chip unit, just bring a Motorcycle battery instead of a big 12 volt. You could even bring a couple if you're going for a long time and still not come close to the weight of a regular 12V. I had a simple Eagle unit on my old boat and ran a motorcycle battery for just the FF and it ran forever on just one charge. Also, see if you can pick up on of those clamp on transducer mounts that pivot and have a rod where you bolt the transducer onto. That way you can get a fairly accurate vertical for the transducer.

[Northlander]

Ya just carry a couple vex style batteries depending on how long you will be up there. Make sure to turn off when not in use.

[MooseTrack]

you can still find them on HSO-Classifieds and craigs list

[gritsnham]

I would stay with a vexilar battery they are not that big and heavy and last a long time. I use an older eagle black and white with a vex battery. If you have a canoe thats not aluminum then you can use the shoot thru style transducer and not have it outside the canoe (nice for some of the rocks and portaging up there). You can either glue it down in the canoe or if you dont want to do that just put a little water on the floor and it will shoot right thru the hull. I love this setup and it is great for BWCAW fishing, would not be caught without it!

[Down Deep]

I've got an Eagle Supra-Pro I use for the B-Dub, fly-ins and for the the times when I need to rent a boat. It is a compact unit that operates on 6 D-Cells. Batts last for at least 30 days of fishing before they need changing. This is an older unit that I've had for years, but a descendant model is still made. They are very inexpensive. IMO Vex batteries are way to heavy to be lugging around in the B-Dub. Save the weight for other gear. The Humming Bird Piranha sells for $199 and has the suction cup transducer and the wireless SmartCast transducer. I've never used one, but I can relate to all sorts of situations where that feature could be used when fishing from a canoe.

[Casaloma]

I had been using a Zebco 4 double A battery hand size unit for the last 4 years ( cost @ $75 ). I loaned it out to a friend this spring who did not return it, so I had to adapt my system. Happy that happened because I bring a better unit now ( eagle cuda with GPS ). This system runs on a 12 volt & I put it into a old flasher bag. I use a 2" hand clamp & taped the 'ducer to a paint stiring stick to clamp on the gunwhale. One fully charged battery EASILY goes 7 days of BW fishing.

Here it is.

For the portage

[tonkapat]

eagle cuda. Good price great sonar and water temp

[2689]

I have used the hummingbird wrist watch and it works very well for depth and structure. Cant remember the name of the unit but it runs on a watch battery and fits in my pocket. Ran it for three days on one battery.