[tyenflies]

I travel for work, and have found it great on new water. One trip arround the lake and I have lots of information about the shore and surface from observation and the bottom from watching the sonar. Mine does well on showing bottom types, as you can see hard flat bottom or weeds. I have also picked up fish hanging at depth. It is great for chron fishing too.

The side finder seems to pick up all kinds of stuff, but sometimes fish too, as I have watched rising fish appear on it from time to time. I do not put much faith in the side finder readings in general though.

The moisture is a bit of a problem, but I take the batteries out and leave the handle off now and that helps. I also carry an extra handle with me in my truck, as the little plastic threads broke on my first handle and then it would not work.

D

 

[ak_powder_monkey]

fish finders are useful for the following:

Depth
Bottom Type
Finding submerged structure
Locating suspended bait balls

for targeting individual fish they are pretty useless, but if you can interpert the stuff listed above they can help you catch more fish

 

[past user]

I used a FB for years (and still have it) but last year I got a larger unit (Humminbird 343C). The issue I had with the FB is that it the depths I typically fish the cone angle was so narrow that I really didn't think I was doing anything more than marking depth.

After I got the Humminbird I am now convinced that was the case. The abilty to find dropoffs is WAY better now. The FB is great for portabilty and ease of use but the transudcer cone on the older ones is really to narrow. The new version made by Humminbird has got to be better. For you technical types (ok I am an engineer) do the math. The originall Bottom Line FB has a transducer cone angle of I believe on the order of 9degrees. My 343C has a dual cone with the outer cone being a 60 degree.

Not a knock on the FB but once you look at the difference it is amazing how much more you can really see with a wider cone.

Now whether or not that really "helps" us flyflingers is open to debate.:rofl:

 

[Dick Warnke]

I bought a Bottomline FB 2202 last June amd never had a chance to use it until last week at Dry Falls. Got out in the Pram, set the unit up, got out the instructions and away we go.....WRONG!! it is stuck in the simulator mode and won't come out.! Called Humminbird, who now owns Bottomline. They told me to send it back for repair. It is now in UPS hands. Be interesting to see if it works when I get it back. To say the least right now I'm not to impressed.

 

[Rob Ast]

I just purchased the new 130 from hummingbird, got a chance to play with it at cady lake yesterday. Interface is very easy, and I had no trouble just jumping in and figuring it out on the fly. I would agree that it is much better as a temperature sensor and depth gauge than as a fish finder. When side scan showed a fish it was definitely there, but both fish I caught didn't show up on the side scan even though it was pointing right at my fly. As for the longevity and condensation issues I think we'll have to wait and see. I have to say even at a lake I've fished many times it was interesting to see the bottom contours (much deeper than I thought in some places, much shallower in others). For Chironomid fishing I'm sure it will be invaluable.

 

[Starman77]

The FB is great for portabilty and ease of use but the transudcer cone on the older ones is really to narrow. The new version made by Humminbird has got to be better. For you technical types (ok I am an engineer) do the math. The originall Bottom Line FB has a transducer cone angle of I believe on the order of 9degrees. My 343C has a dual cone with the outer cone being a 60 degree.

Not a knock on the FB but once you look at the difference it is amazing how much more you can really see with a wider cone.

I sure do agree that the old Bottomline Fishin' Buddies had too narrow of a cone looking straight down. My Bottomline Fishin' Buddy would very rarely spot a fish looking straight down. The new Humminbird Fishin Buddies don't have that 60 degree cone that your 343C has, as the specs for the 110, 120, 130 and 140c models all specifiy a 34 degree cone, which is still much better than the old Fishin' Buddies.

I'm thinking about buying the Humminbird Fishin Buddy 140c model, but I noticed that the 6 AA batteries only last 16 hours versus 30 hours for the B&W models (and that's without the backlighting). So it does appear that the color screen uses up about twice as much power. One of the reviewers on the Cabela's web site said he only got 11 hours from one of the B&W models while using no backlighting.

Another thing that I noticed while looking over the online user's manual for the 140c is that there are two external wires that connect the back of the screen to the battery case. If you hike around in the sagebrush as I often do, you have to be careful that those wires don't get caught on something.

I stopped by Cabela's the other day to try to take a look at the 140c, but there apparently is a delay with Humminbird delivering the units to the stores. That store in Lacey has 5 on order.

Rex

 

[Rob Ast]

Another thing that I noticed while looking over the online user's manual for the 140c is that there are two external wires that connect the back of the screen to the battery case. If you hike around in the sagebrush as I often do, you have to be careful that those wires don't get caught on something.

The two wires connect the power and transducer (both housed in the shaft) to the screen/computer (independently mounted unit). The connection seems pretty sturdy, but if you are concerned you could easily disconnect them, wrap them, dismount the screen, or any other number of options. The wires are not overly long/floppy. If you were to get them snagged I think you would be banging the computer on the ground/sage-brush anyway. If it was carried upright with the screen facing out there is really no way the wires could get caught.

 

[Starman77]

The two wires connect the power and transducer (both housed in the shaft) to the screen/computer (independently mounted unit). The connection seems pretty sturdy, but if you are concerned you could easily disconnect them, wrap them, dismount the screen, or any other number of options. The wires are not overly long/floppy. If you were to get them snagged I think you would be banging the computer on the ground/sage-brush anyway. If it was carried upright with the screen facing out there is really no way the wires could get caught.

That's good to know from your personal experience with the new units. Thanks!

Rex

 

[Steven Green]

So tell me, do you guys actually improve your fly fishing dragging this crap around?.....

I started to accumulate so much fishing crap (no fish finders yet) I bought a tiny day pack and now I only use what I can fit in there :thumb:

Steven

 

[SeanM]

Has anyone tried the BottomLine Fishin'Buddy 1101 model? I noticed there is a pretty good sale out there on that particular one - but based on some of the comments above - I'm curious if its one of the "troubled" ones.

 

[Displaced_streamseeker]

Does Anyone know which model this is? Perhaps even have some directions for me? Picked it up at a garage sale for 10 bucks. Turns on and everything, i just dont know how to set it from sidefind etc.... Thanks in advance..

 

[SuperSecretCIA]

Press power button to turn on the unit. (Use power button to shift between side view, bottom view, or both views at the same time) The first screen is both views (you will not see the bottom if it is out of the water). The second screen is side view (use arrow keys to adjust range) here you can adjust from 40 to120 out in side view. Third screen is bottom view. Hope this helps.

 

[PeterD]

Hi All
I’m new to this posting business, so hope I don’t $crew-up??
I am thinking of buying a Fish Finder. But I can’t decide on which model or make to go for?? I kind of like the idea of the NEW Hummingbird 130 (240 Ft down 200kHz + 120Ft Out 455kHz side sonar) . Could anybody please answer the following..If the units runs on 6 AA batteries (I assume that’s 9 Volts) can you adopt the unit to run off an 8 Amp 12 Volt battery ??? I fish mostly Fly (Wet & Dry) from a 19’-0” Lake Boat but occasionally “Trawl” (pull lure behind the boat) at approx 5 MPH.. I like the idea of the Side Sonar as I think it may be better for spotting Trout in shallow water down to 10- 15 Ft.. The down sonar even with a 20 Deg 200kHz sensor will only see a few fish under the boat Buy would be good for reading the bottom ( I may be wrong. any comments ??)
Now I am also looking at the new Eagle Cuba 250s / Map Portable which come from Cabela’s ($ 249.99) I know you can trawl with this unit and it comes with a battery 12V 8-Amp Supplied. Have any of you lot tried this Fish Finder and would it be any good for finding trout in Shallow Water (2 – 15 Ft) ??.
Another Question .. Can you trawl or travel (20 MPH) and scan the bottom with the (new) Fishing Buddy or does the unit malfunction or jump out of the bracket??
Please could somebody help answer my Questions and help me decide on what would be best..
Kind Regards to All..:thumb::beer2:

 

[bigfun4me]

I own the Hummingbird 130 and so far the unit has functioned with no problems.

The issue I have with it is the battery life sucks. 8-10 hours on six AAA batteries is not one of it's better selling features.

I have used mine while fishing chironomids vertically in deep water. It marks suspended and bottom hugging fish well enough to know when you should be dancin', when you should change patterns and when you should move on. It also eliminates a lot of time searching around for productive deep water spots.

One observation I made while using this on the bow of my pram was when I dropped the front anchor in 40-50 feet, a lot of the fish on the screen disappeared and seemingly would not swim near my green rope. I experimented several times raising and lowering to see if it increased the fish traffic below and it absolutely did increase the traffic when raised. With the anchor down the fish would return over time but I never felt it was in the same numbers. I now drop only the back anchor when fishing vertically if wind permits.

 

[Jim Wallace]

PeterD, i don't know if I can answer your questions, but I have a Humminbird Piranha 4 that runs on 8 AA batteries (12 volt) and works just fine. Its over 5 years old now and hasn't let me down figuring out the bottom. I don't use it to look for fish.

Glad to hear Humminbird gobbled up Bottom Line and overhauled the design. I'd heard so many complaints about the older Bottom Line units not working properly that I'd completely written them off as gambling on worthless junk. If I were in charge of marketing at Humminbird, I'd jettison the "Bottom Line" name altogether just to get rid of the bad juju.

 

[PeterD]

Hi All.
I forgot about Posting @ #33 above!!!:beathead:
First of all thanks Jim for that info..: 8 X 1.5V(AAA batteries) = 12V :hmmm:that ok...But could, or has, anybody tried to run the Bottom Line ( it takes 6 AAA's = 9V:ray1 off a 12V 8Ah Battery (like those use in House Alarms??) would it blow the board? These small 12V's are rechargeable!
Bigfun4me--

The issue I have with it is the battery life sucks. 8-10 hours on six AAA batteries is not one of it's better selling features.

If anybody knows of a suitable (reasonable Priced) Fish finder that will do the things as Outline Above #33..Please Let me Know.
Kind Regards to All..:thumb::thumb:

 

[Ross Perez]

I have the 130 but have not been able to implement it as a tool beyond contour, depth and temp finder. For those things I could have spent a lot less and passed on the color screen.