“Portable” electronics

Going on my first Canadian fishing trip in June. We will be driving in but not bringing boats. Looking for recommended setups for sonar and possibly GPS that I can bring up there to use on the resort boats. I have a hand held GPS (H2O) that would work for basic GPS. I am assuming the lake we are going to will not be mapped. No electricity available so power consumption is a consideration as we will be fishing for 3, maybe 4, days. Thanks in advance for the input.

you could use the vexilar size batteries, bring a couple of them, and a battery charger. I would assume that they will have electricity so you could charge one when your fishing and at night time get them all charged. that is what we did when we went up to a lake that was remote like this and used resort boats.

sound like a great time!

vexilar and multiple charged batteries. i use a vexilar on a small lake in northern wi out of the canoe and find fish that way i just drift with the canoe until i mark fish i try and follow break lines and such once i find them.

I have an HDS5 that I use with a suction cup transducer and Cabelas rechargeable battery. It will use a battery a day. Most cabins have enough solar capacity to charge them or you will need to use several. You can use trails and way points on the gps even if you don’t have a lake outline although most lakes will have a rough outline.

Do you have a sonar unit already that you want to use? Your power requirements depend highly on the unit’s power draw. I have a small B&W Humminbird that draws a fraction of the power than my SI combo unit.

A flasher would probably take the least power. I have a 5″ display black and white depthfinder that I put on my duck boat. I mounted it to a Genz blue box and hook it up to a small 12 volt battery. I mounted the high speed transducer to a 1″ by 2″ piece of wood and then cut it at about 2 ft. long. I use a C-clamp to clamp the piece of wood on the transom. I make sure the transducer hangs just below the hull so I can read the depth as I’m moving. It isn’t pretty, but it shows the depth.

Thanks for the replies guys. I will give the vexilar idea some additional thought. However, I am not opposed to buying a new unit as I see this trip becoming an annual event. Any suggestions as far as make/model for this application would also be appreciated.

i took a Vexilar ice fishing portable holder, Fleet Farm sells them -about $50.00 it will hold a Lowrance mark 5 or similar of any other kind with side mounts on them… Then you have a sturdy holder (better than Genz box) and it has battery space and charge readout and small tackel box tray holder too… Works great for transportation and sitting on a boat or canoe for viewing and not getting wrecked.

FF

Many of the portable units you’ll find are pretty low-end. If you want something better, it’s an easy do-it-yourself project. I bought a 700 series humminbird with down imaging (788, I think) and mounted it on a Genz blue box. Humminbird will swap you a portable transducer for free if you send them the standard ducer before you open it — pretty sweet deal. Also, if you want to use it in your boat you can buy an additional base, power cord, and transducer for your boat and very easily move the display back and forth.