Randomly sitting in your kayak or boat, laying down the spinning rod, and waiting for the fish to hunt, this whole process can be a little annoying and may make you furious. In previous eras, fishing was about waiting until you bake yourself in the scorching heat, or catch flu due to heavy rainfall. Fish hunt without best castable fish finders can be irritating. You keep on putting your efforts everywhere in the water and end up with none or a very little fish catch.
Castable fish finders have eased the fishing experience. It identifies the fishes underwater graphically, and help you in knowing that where you should put your effort to catch the fish. You cast the fish finder on the top of the water and let it float until the SONAR technology in the fish finder detects the fish and sends a signal on your tablet, smartphone, or any other device connected to it.
Fish finders have proved an immense boom in the fish catch results. Of course, due to fish finder, you don’t have to sit randomly until your luck strives. Instead, you can increase the number of fish to catch efficiently.
I’ve tried my hands on almost every type of fish finder. This blog is going to be helpful to you, as I would discuss my experience of using fish finders with you.
Best Castable Fish Finder
Deeper Pro + Smart Sonar
Okay, so I hurried to my home when my seller told me that he has delivered the deeper pro the best castable fish finder to my home. When I reached home, it was lying on my table. I couldn’t wait to unpack it. Its high-class packing resisted. Its first impression was the good one until reality hit me. As I unpacked the box, the fish finder wasn’t charged. Like, why? It could have been charged by the factory. Well, I waited 4 hours to completely charge it.
The next day, I packed my bag and decided to go for a fish hunt. One thing that always haunts me about the wireless fish finder is that it feels like a huge risk. I mean, you are throwing your expensive gadget in the water. Maybe it is my phobia, but let me tell you people while casting the fish finder in the water, you need to brace yourselves.
By the way, a portable fish finder is like a little heavy one. Of course, it doesn’t mean that you’ll have an arm workout day but still, it is, as compared to others. It weighs around 100 g, which is approximately 3.5 oz.
Apart from this, it is easy to cast with a rod, as compared to casting it with your hands. You need to struggle with keeping your eyes strictly on the gadget, as well as tablet or any other gadget connected to it. I used an iPad. Well, it was another struggle, another story. I didn’t know where to keep my iPad safely. Should I lay it on the dust? Of course no. So I guess, mounting your cellphone with the rod is a better option because it is a small device that could be handled easily (at least better than iPad).
So advice #1: Either take an iPad stand with you or mount a cellphone with the rod.
Also, the importance of GPS is undeniable. It is impossible to enjoy the marine experience without a GPS. Its graphical illustration helps in having a clear picture of what is happening under the water. It gives the entire history of where the fish finder was cast and what so ever happened.
I prefer getting fish arches on the screen as fish identifier signs instead of dots. First, when I cast the fish finder in the water, it displayed the identified fishes with the dot. This was a little boring. Then I decided to change the settings, and dots got replaced with the fish icons. Well, I wanted the fish arches.
So in the end, just wanted to guide the readers that you need to cope up with its reel speed. Its scroll speed is very high. The image moves from right to left within the blink of an eye. Your reel-in speed should match the scroll spends, if not, then you get a hard time in interpreting the image. Sadly, we don’t have any option to reduce the scroll speed manually. All we can do is to increase our efficiency to reel in the castable deeper.
Lucky Fish Finder Wired and Wireless
Well, I believe that if Lucky Fish Finder Wired and Wireless was a human, it would have been very kind. This is because it is not a racist, as it offers 12 languages. The different languages include; English, Portugal, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Polish, and French. It supports people from all races.
Its Wi-Fi connectivity is a reliable one. It offers a range of 130 feet. I guess it is cool. You can know what’s happening underwater up to 130 feet. Also, the device can be connected up to 5 devices, however only one can operate in a single time. I believe it could have been better if it gave the freedom of more than one user at a time.
It happened to us. The device was connected to me and my dad’s phone. My hands were wet due to the continuous splashing of water. I wanted to check the update on the phone screen. But couldn’t do it because my phone’s fingerprint refused to accept that it’s me. Then I had to wipe my hands, held over my spinning rod to my dad, and then check the update. On the other hand, if the device could have been connected to my dad’s phone too, so it might have been an easy situation.
But this device is an intelligent one. Its wireless range can see up to 10 feet underwater, along with helping locate the fishes, depths, bottom contours, and structures.
One thing that will convince you for this device is that it has a built-in water temperature sensor. It gives the temperature reading in °C or °F. This is also helpful when you want to know is it going to freeze underwater or not. The alarm in the fish finder notifies you with the latest fish movements underwater. Of course, this is exactly what we want to know. It will identify any big or small fishes, even if it’s a group of fishes, and let you know.
Its battery time of 8 hours will accompany you for a longer period. I am a little more anxious when it comes to battery and charging. Of course, you are in mid of the water, what if your fish finder dies? What’s the purpose of coming so far and not being able to find fishes?
But what I suffered through was that I couldn’t find fishes when the water was a little bit freezes. I guess this fish finder might fail in ice fishing because its ice fishing flasher is not so strong. Also, I couldn’t figure the temperature underwater. It only gives a reading of the surface of the water. Last but not the least; its Bluetooth connectivity range is not so strong. You need to keep the device close to get the best readings.
So I guess if the readings were better and its ice fishing flasher could have been a strong one, so this device was the best one. Unfortunately, due to its weaker Bluetooth connectivity range, I look for other options when going on a fish hunt.
Vexilar SonarPhone with Transducer Pod
Again just like I mentioned above, the need for Wi-Fi connectivity is undeniable. You can connect the Wi-Fi with your android or iPhone. So here what cut your costs down is that you need to have a smartphone instead of owning a display itself. I guess it is a smarter decision.
When you cast the fish finder into the water, it will start serving you with its abilities. It will take a few minutes to connect with your phone and then you are all set to see what’s happening underwater. 12v USB connection helps the transducer to connect to the wireless T-box.
Also, wireless T-box will keep you updated with the data on your phone, through the Wi-Fi connection. As previously mentioned that data will be displayed on your instead of another screen. I just can resist mentioning this feature repeatedly.
Like the heart is the main organ of the body, the transducer is the chief organ for every fish finder. Without a transducer, you won’t be able to find fisher, as its job is to detect fishes via a sonar beam. It starts working properly when you cast it into the water. The details are sent to the device via T-pod.
Its 30-degree wide-angle beam gives a wide coverage underwater to identify fishes more efficiently. The more fishes it identifies, yet the higher number of fish catch. Isn’t it a smart choice? Along with the wide-angle, its transmitting frequency is 125 kHz.
Vexilar SonarPhone with Transducer Pod gives you options to select the screen display type between black and white. Now that’s not a major issue for anglers who are into the ground for a longer time. But anglers mind that, as they are not able to read the readings properly due to black or white screen.
But don’t get puzzled due to the screen colors because it gives the quality images (sharp and clear). So of course, if the image quality is up to the mark and you have the image in black and white, it shouldn’t be an issue. Adding to it, it offers a larger view to give proper details. You can closely observe what’s happening underwater. Also, its screen controls are protected with LCD screen protectors to protect your screen against fog.
The drawback is that usually anglers prefer going for a colored screen. It gives the more correct reading and the angler enjoys the experience. Otherwise, the black and white screen doesn’t have any major downside. I’d still go for Vexilar SonarPhone fish finder. Also, you cannot replace the battery in case if it dies. Now it is an issue. Although you need to be careful while you are going on a fish hunt, just in case if you forget to charge your fish finder, you are all blank. I wish it had an option to replace the battery.
Also, I noticed that the device was taking a little more time to sync. When I cast it into the water and waited for a while to sync, I thought the device might not be working. I got anxious. But then it connected. So again, advice for beginners, do not panic if it doesn’t sync immediately. It takes time.
Thumbs down to the packaging. Like I mentioned in Deeper pro + Smart Sonar that its packaging was something next level, but in Vexilar SonarPhone fish finder, the poor packaging makes the first impression a very bad one.
Overall, the product is an amazing device to hunt fishes but it could have been better with few improvements.
ReelSonar Wireless Bluetooth Smart Fish Finder
Know what’s happening under 100 feet of water with ReelSonar Wireless Bluetooth Smart Fish Finder. YES! It offers 100 feet range for connectivity. I discovered two modes of this fish finder. The first model known as the mapping model displayed a 2D side view of underwater and marine life, whereas the other mode called fish finding that you may utilize after recording bottom contours.
My fish catch number was high with ReelSonar Wireless Bluetooth Smart Fish Finder because it has an electronic fish attractor that gives an alarm whenever it identifies a fish. I am highly impressed with the feature because it strikes an alarm and mimics the prey’s vibrations.
Its 42-degree sonar beam cone covers a wider area of water in one go. It is beneficial when you are willing to catch a good number of fishes. Also, ReelSonar Wireless Bluetooth Smart Fish Finder offers a versatile option for casting it with any rod. It doesn’t limit the casting option. So I guess, thumbs up for this part.
Unfortunately, what I noticed that ReelSonar Fish Finder wasn’t working in water that is shallower than 4 feet. Moreover, I noticed in the display that fishes were confusing the gadget with others under marine objects.
I’d advise anglers who are the minimalist anglers, might use it. This best castable fish finder is a good option that supports affordability and is a viable solution.
Deeper START Smart Fish Finder
How about hunting fishes with a tennis ball? Every thought of it? If no, then you might give it a thought now because Deeper START Smart Fish Finder looks like a tennis ball, as it is a black sphere and can slip into your pocket. It is among one of the most comfortable fish finders I’ve ever used.
Deeper START Smart Fish Finder is like a packet, filled with technologies. This little piece of gadget is easily portable and weights 100 g only! So why not? This product lets you enjoy ice fishing, along with fish hunting inshore, or lake. I added it in the mounting bracket, and it was a great addition to my small kayak. The first thing that is cleared here is that this gadget is versatile. You can enjoy fishing to the utmost. I am going to share some limitations too, but if you are not looking for something very professional, Deeper should be your choice for sure.
To begin fish hunting with Deeper, cast if off in the water. You can tie to any extra fishing rod. As soon as it dips into the water, it will turn on. Then it will get connected to the Deeper App installed on your phone. It can be operated on android as well as iOS, so chill. When everything is done, you’ll start getting updates on your display.
For displays, you don’t need a separate screen to know what’s happening underwater, instead, updates will be sent to your smartphones or tablets. For smartphones, you must be running Android 4.0 or iOS 8.0. Few people prefer a large quality screen, with a better size of the display, in that case, you need to spend some extra bucks. As per my experience, this way of connecting the gadget with a tablet or smartphone is not a bad idea.
Another impressive part about this fish finder is that it has dual beam sonar frequencies. The narrow beam is responsible to deliver readings from the sonar readings. On the other hand, the wider beam is responsible to deliver readings of a huge area. The first frequency is at 290 kHz with a 15° beam and the other at 90 kHz at a 55° beam. When they both work together, the results are beyond expectations.
Since the gadget is wireless, you need to make sure that both devices (i.e. fish finder and smartphone/tablet) are charged. But sadly, what happened with us might make you rethink your decision. Every time a kayak or boat passed by the fish finder, it had some interruption is displaying the information.
Conclusion
While shopping for best castable fish finders, you need to take care of several factors. Factors like; connectivity, range, depth, sonar method, weight, size (dimensions), and apps.