# Input on Fishin Buddies



## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... jsp.form23

I'm thinking of buying a couple of these and I'm looking for some information.

Which model would you buy and why ? Is the high priced one even worth it ? I'll just be using them on a pontoon...

Thanks


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

I have 2 friends who bought them and sold them within 3 days. They were a waste of money as far as they were concerned. I have only tried 1 twice and was very disappointed with the performance. I bought a Cuda 168 last year for my 12' boat and it is worth every penny of the $60 i paid for it. 8)


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## threshershark (Sep 7, 2007)

The Fishin Buddy is the best thing going for it's intended purpose. I own the basic model and use it all the time. It's not the best "fish finder" out there, which you would certainly not expect it to be given the price and complexity of many sonar units.

The Fishin Buddy is primarily designed to display depth, structure, and water temperature. This is exactly the information I want to know, and the unit does a very nice job here. Anglers who know the habits and tendencies of the gamefish they are chasing can easily use this information to fish the most likely habitat.

The FB also does a decent job of locating fish when they are in somewhere in the water column. Where the Buddy struggles is when the target is very close to the bottom, up against structure, or otherwise more difficult to discern such as near thermoclines.

Given the price, size, weight, and portability of these units, they are exactly what I want on my pontoon.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Man, you dont need to buy fishing buddys. People will go with you NO COST. You can show me your spots ANYTIME :mrgreen: Ill even bring the Coffee and twinkies!!!!


Seriously.... I had a fishinbuddy fish finder a while back. was the biggest piece of crap Ive ever owned. It told me the depth... Sometimes... But it couldnt read a fish on it if it was biting on the transducer. The bracket ended up busting on it one day & it sank to the bottom of the berry (hahleluja). I would rig up something cool for a normal fish finder. Sportsmans used to have some Mounts that you can mount to about anything. Ive bought a few of them.. Have one adaptor on my Ice fishing box, one on my pontoon & soon to be another on my tube.Hell I might even mount one on the hood of my truck, Just incase Im feelin frisky & want to do some more moon lake fishing :roll: . The finder mounts anywhere. Much better setup than that Fishin buddy thing!!!


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## wyoguy (Mar 4, 2010)

Don't know how they would work on boat, but we used one this winter ice fishing and it seemed to work ok. It was the more expensive model with the side finder. Easy to use and the mobility is very nice. Good luck.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

The FB is limited in what it does.
I have one and I do use it on my toon.
It is easy to use and will help with basic info but don't expect it to be a good fish locator.
The cone of view is very narrow and a fish has to be right under you to show up.

The gain is a hidden feature that you will want to find and use.
For the money, it's alright but you can buy a better finder for the same money and install it on a cooler or ammo box and have a much better sysyem.

Come and borrow mine for a few trips before you buy one and see if you like it first.


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Grandpa D said:


> Come and borrow mine for a few trips before you buy one and see if you like it first.


WOW. Very generous of you Grandpa D!

I have one of the old Bottom Line Fishin' Buddys and I agree with what others have said. It is good for showing depth and bottom contour, but not much else. If I could spend the money over again I would get something else.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Presently I'm using a Hummingbird Piranha 220, it's on the third year. Getting kind of hard to read the screen and fogs up a little, probably due to me keeping it in the toon all year round. It's been an excellent finder for me. 
I've seen quite a few Fishin Buddies on toons and tubes, so I figured they must be well liked. I like the easy mounting process so I just wanted some in-put. I'll probably go with another Piranha, maybe mount it properly instead of letting it flop around on the toon...

Thanks for the responses and offers....GrandpaD and STEVO...I _really_ like coffee and Twinkies !! :wink:


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