what fishfinder and trolling motor?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

southmsjonboat

New member
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
so im looking for a fish/depth finder and a trolling motor. I know what brand of each I am going with, I just need suggestions on what model I need and how i should set it up. It will be on the new most likely 14ft jonboat as soon as i find it (unless by some slight chance i manage to find that 16 footer im desperately searching for). Going to be all electric for at least six months to a year (until i save up for an outboard). I will be going with Minn Kota, so what model would best suit my needs. I am looking to bow mount it since I will be adding an outboard eventually. As far as the fish/depth finder goes I am sticking with Humminbird so what model would work the best? I would really like GPS with it and I think the color screens are much easier to read during all conditions. My reasoning behind the Humminbird and Minn kotas is that I am a manager at a sporting goods store and we carry both those brands and both of the companies offer special employee pricing direct from the manufacturer for us that usually comes out to be between 20% and 40% below wholesale.
 
I noticed this hadn't been answered yet. Personally, I would go with the Eagle fishmark 320, or 480, but that is my personal preference alone. I don't have much experience with H-birds, so I can't help ya there (unless you have the funding for side imaging - I have a bit of experience with those, and they are awesome!)
As far as your TM, since you don't have an outboard yet, you will probably want a 24 volt motor to get you around a bit faster. Also, once you get an outboard, you will probably want to fish in the bow, so in your situation, I would get a bow mount 24 volt. Since it will be used for fishing, at lower speeds, definitely get one with Maximizer. Do the research on it, and you will see why.
Hope this helps.
 
Wow, i'm surprised this wasn't answered earlier!

As far as the Humminbird, I do not know, but I can tell you this. Do some looking around as to exactly what the numbers mean on the unit descriptions, and pick one that suits your needs. Pay attention to the range of the transducer as well, as some of them only represent a very small portion of the bottom. You also need to consider the type of fishing you do. If you simply run down the bank, and fish the shoreline, you really only need a depthfinder, since that's all you are basically doing with it! If you use your graph to look for offshore structure, try to stay in channels, etc, you would be better suited with a model that offers a high resolution screen, and enough power to distinguish the bottom types. As far as the GPS side of it, find out which brand of ships work with it in case you ever want to add more detailed maps, look into how the split screen works, and find out how the antenna mounts. Being out in the open most of the time, the antenna isn't as important as some would believe, since there is nothing obstructing the sky, but if it's external, be sure to leave room for it.

On the TM, as always, get the largest you can afford, with the maximizer as well as a variable speed. You're gonna want to mount the batteries in the rear of the boat as well, to ballast all the weight up front, unless you never fish solo! You might consider a mid-range bow mount, as well as a budget transom mount until you get the outboard, as the loading will be easier with the transom motor, and there will be a bit of weight back there, as well as it acting as a rudder.
 

Latest posts

Top