Review of Hummingbird 120 Fishing Buddy

I’m very happy with this great new addition to my tube.  
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The 120 is Grayscale with a side finding feature which really thought I would use this more than I do, it has caught me a few fish, but is something I rarely rely on.
Pros:  I can see the bottom and identify changes, not necessarily what the structure is, but that something is there. The display is easy to see in overcast gray or the bright midday sun on Lake Perris. I get no glare from the screen, but my camera does not seem to be able to demonstrate that.
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 I have been fishing spots I am familiar with so being able to see the bottom changes and what is down there is really cool. Installation is so simple I wouldn’t call it installation just set it in the holder. I keep going back to the Auto features like Auto Fish ID. I can set the monitor to just show blips, but I much prefer the unit to make the little fish emblems. I have used a color FF before and I like that better, but I’m not planning on spending $800 bucks for something to hang on the side of my pool toy. I can see the Bass or BlueGill chasing shad as they swim by which can be more frustrating than fun. I’ve learned to make lure changes quicker than I did before based on not getting bites when I clearly see fish movement. The Auto Depth Zoom works easier than trying to zoom manually and makes a clearer picture of the bottom than trying to zoom in manually. The Auto fish Alarm I like, it beeps at me when it identifies fish, however when I’m with someone else I turn it off because I think it is annoying for others to hear. The unit is as easy to carry as a fishing pole as it weighs just ounces; however I stick it in my five gallon bucket with my other incidental stuff when I am walking to and from the water.
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Cons:  I really liked my rod rack so I tried mounting the FF on the opposite side of the tube. Having “stuff” on either side of me was too confining. I have developed quite the side arm throw over the years and I’m not ready to part with it, so I made a new rod rack that puts the FF right next to me sandwiched between my rods.
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It is only 8 level gray scale so any upgrade will be a better view.

Nice set up congrats on your new toy, I am sure you will make great us of it.

FF are a great tool, just play around with the settings/contrast and you'll get it dailed it.
One thing that will help you is when fishing watch your FF and feel what your lure is doing. You'll start ID rocks, grass, stumps etc

nice set up

Indeed what Miller Stated , playing with the contrast / settings a little more will help you identify structure and what it is by bouncing lures off or around it .. Also a little hint do not rely heavily on the fish ID that there is a fish there , more often then not the fish Id on certain models are false readings. Use the FF to find the structure even if it shows no fish , work it more often then not there are fish there . This is something I have picked up mainly as a learning curve with my Hummingbird 175 which id a dual beam /sonar unit .

Thanks for the Review Jerdon and I am glad to hear that your are loving the new toy

WES

I also have a 120 and absolutely love it.

Good work jerdon...looking clean!!!! & I own the 160...good stuff...dont know how to really read it but it shows u a bunch of stuff below lol

damn tony really lol, but thats awesome man diggin the set up.

I have enjoyed my 140c for 3 years now. Just recently discovered a "fishy" area on a local lake that rapidly changes from shallow weeds to 30' gravel trench then back up to deeper weeds around 12'. The FF helps me know when I am moving from one zone to another. I stay in the zone where the fish are biting and spend less time floating over unproductive areas. Like they say, "90% of the fish are in 10% of the water."

Fishingdachronarch201E7 wrote:Good work jerdon...looking clean!!!! & I own the 160...good stuff...dont know how to really read it but it shows u a bunch of stuff below lol

Im with you! I see the fish, even schools of them, but for the life of me have no clue where they are in relation to me and my lure/bait. I just use my 170 for depth, temperature, and any structure at the bottom.

Casting Call wrote:

Fishingdachronarch201E7 wrote:Good work jerdon...looking clean!!!! & I own the 160...good stuff...dont know how to really read it but it shows u a bunch of stuff below lol

Im with you! I see the fish, even schools of them, but for the life of me have no clue where they are in relation to me and my lure/bait. I just use my 170 for depth, temperature, and any structure at the bottom.

Exactly!  Looks like I'm in good company.  Clouds of stuff under me, no fish!  Temp and depth!

Somebody needs to write "Fishfinders for Dummies".

i have the 140c and love it I have used it for several years now. I attach it to my rod holder on the the side of my float tube. I cant fish without now. I also have a Lowrance 5 HDI on my kayak with GPS & down scan still have lots to learn about the unit but it helps me a lot to locate structure & fish. Thanks for the review it was great.

Love my 110 on my Togiack . I do alot of fishing near docks, pillars, downed trees and such and found if I slip it out of the holder and hold it by hand I can tell if there are fish hiding in among the brush or on the pillars . Wont give me a precise reading but it isnt hard to figure out where they are in relation how I am holding the unit and has put me on fish quicker and cut down fishing where the fish arent .

That's a really good looking rod rack, very organized.

SP Dan <"))><

SP Dan wrote:That's a really good looking rod rack, very organized.

SP Dan     <"))><

Thanks SP Dan.

Here is a link to what that rack evolved into.

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I ran into FishingFattie this weekend and I am hoping he puts up a report of his rack. It was really nice and I need to copy a few things.

ran outta time, need to take a picture of it. soon.

I appoligize for my "Piggy-Backing" here.

Has anyone tried or have a review on the
Humminbird Fishin' Buddy MAX DI?

SP Dan <"))><

I have the 120 also ... I should have just bought the 110 because the side finding features are not really useful and that's about the only difference between the two. I find it to be a great tool for water depth, bottom contour, and water temp and in my opinion that's about all you really need when fishing from a tube. I've owned mine for 3 years and I can't really say it's ever marked me a fish that I hooked but it is helpful for marking dense concentrations of bait fish. I use my tube in Saltwater so when I see a bait ball on the screen it's a good bet there are probably going to be larger fish in the vicinity but since its mostly Halibut and bay bass around here it's hard to tell if I'm seeing a fish on the screen or just part of the bottom structure, regardless of that when I see bait fish I usually start hooking in to target species.

I did have some corrosion issues with the connectors on the head unit and the cabling connectors, I had to get at them with a tiny file to expose the metal again and since doing that I've been using Dielectric Grease on the polls which has pretty much solved the corrosion issues. Also it's very important not to store it long term with batteries installed or they will leak and cause issues., I also had to clean up the batter pack because I forgot to remove the batteries after last "season". Yeah I didn't maintain mine all that well but I was able to recover it and get it going again.

I looked online recently and they discontinued the 110, 120, and 140C and replaced them with the MAX series so these are not even available anymore unless you go on Ebay and people are selling them used for nearly retail price. I'm not sure about the color screen MAX and MAX DI but I know a guy with the 140C and it eats batteries for breakfast. This may be why the MAX and MAX DI take 8 batteries instead of 6 like the predecessors.

You can get a mount for them from outcast, from Humminbird, From Cabelas or you can make one out of PVC like the OP did above (very cool by the way). The issue with the manufactured mounts is they don't really hold the finder in place securely when you move. I had to make a secondary strap with industrial Velcro to wrap around the cylinder to more snugly secure the mount strap to the mounting tube, essentially securing the mount to it's strap at a lower point (the cylinder sheath is stitched much too high up on the finder mount so it makes the finder bobble about and nit stay level with the surface) ... with that done I don't have to remove it to kick around and I can use it to troll along between spots. I'm using the Outcast branded buddy mount and the Cabelas branded one is made the same, I'm not sure how secure the one made by humminbird is.

Anyway for anyone considering this type of finder I recommend them but again they have moved on to the Max and Max Di models ... for tubing you really probably only need the MAX ... spending 250$ for a finder on a tube is a bit excessive in my opinion so the DI would be off my list when it's time to replace my 120.

I have the 140C. I just wanted to add that the side finding feature is extremely useful if you're a Bass fisherman and work the weeds. Other than that I haven't found any other practical use for that feature.

I agree with Salinefly, you really only need depth, temp and bottom contour. Sometimes I feel like having that info is cheating as I learned how to stalk Bass the old fashioned way. But I do love my toys!

As for the 140c eating batteries: I can go for 4/5 four hour fishing trips on one set of batteries with my 140c. It's actually one of the benefits I was most impressed with after buying it. The four hour session consists of constant use.

Mounting isn't something I've had any issues with. If anyone desires any help in this area just send me a message and I'll help you out.

All right more FishingBuddy feed back.

We all concur on the down scanning feature, basic, simple, but "very" helpful.
Side finding we have some discrepancies.
Bigfish can you "SEE" fish in the weeds? Maybe the color monitor is better at that.

I have the grayscale 120 and I can "SEE" the fish chase my reaction baits on the retrieve in the sidefinder view. However, for me to see the fish it needs to be outside the weedline or reeds. I also can spot bass sitting above the weeds at times with it. So I have used the sidefinder to catch fish. Also, once I learned to adjust the viewfinder I could spot groups of bass sitting in hole or depression and drop a spinnerbait or swimbait on them with good results.
I can make 10 trips or so from 4 to 7 hours long before changing the batteries. That is 2 to 3 months for me. Duracell batteries that is.

No, I can't see the Bass sitting back in the weeds. But I can see them at the edge of the weeds, or above the weeds as you described. That 'edge' is structure where you find Bass feeding. I like to drop a top water right onto the edge. It produces very well!