Hello, I was wondering if anyone can give me some info on either fishfinders or depthfinders.  I originally wanted just a depth finder but I wanted to know if it is something you can just hold it in your hand and it work?  Currently I just fish on a little pontoon boat so I wouldn't have anywhere to mount it?  I looked on bass pro shops and there was this one fish finder that was a watch and you just wear it on your wrist but there was a lot of bad reviews.  I would be looking for something cheap but something that still will do the job.  Any help would be very appreciated.

-Travis

The "smart cast" is ok for how deep it is.  It is not the best fish finder. It lets you look at a cast or so from you without going over the spot.  The fishing buddy is ok too and a better fish finder. Mine has side view. It can be mounted almost anywhere on the boat. Both are good for depth. It all depends what you want out of it .  If you get a fish finder it can be rigged on a pole and lowered and clamped to the  side of  the boat. I have them all .  And as I stated it depends what you want out of the unit.      Tight lines and bent rods.

For just a few $$ more than one of those 'castable' units you can buy a portable grayscale (black and white) unit with far more capabilities. Years ago I bought an Eagle portable that runs on D cells and has a suction cup transducer. Even though I now have a color combo unit, I still use the Eagle on quick trips involving a rental boat. I am sure that with a bit of thought you can come up with a way to mount a portable on your pontoon. PM me if you want some ideas. Tom

I would be doing a lot of shore fishing also so the smart casts seem like my only option. Also I wouldnt want to spend a lot of money.

I am interested in upgrading my boats.  Since I live in Coastal Georgia, I have thought about going to two boats or one boat that would meet the needs for lakes and rivers and some tidal rivers that would tempt me a little further offshore at times.  During the struggles with my health, I seem to forgotten a lot of things I knew or did not know as much as I thought.  I would like a unit that would help me chart my pathways in and out of different sounds and coastal islands.  I use to fish in brackish water a lot.  Since I use my 16' jon boat a lot, I thought I might swap fish finder back and forth between two boats.  Any Ideas?  Other than my just being crazy.  Uncle Tom.

Tom: Just lost a 2 paragraph reply to this to a server error. I will try via email. Tom