Jimmy Wallhanger wrote:Hey guys new to the belly boat scene.
I am thinking of getting a fish finder and am flip flopping between the Garmin Striker Cast and teh Garmin Striker 5CV.
Has anyone used these? I like both for different reasons. The Cast I can use from the shore when fishing with my buddy and my kids and the ease of use seems great as I think I can just tehter it to my belly boat and be done with it.
The Striker 5CV just seemd like a better overall unit and its on sale right now for only $150 more than the Cast.
The 5CV downside is the installation and powering the thing.
Anyone have any experience with these products?
Thanks
Hello Jimmy,
I have had experience with very similar items for both versions.
Version 1:
Rubber duck version:
I found this version very useful and I just used it as a depth finder, especially when I'm fishing for trout (trout tend to follow contours and move around structure...sometimes a six inch contour difference put me on fish).
In saltwater (like Newport Harbor in California) I also look for edges but I look more for either weedlines or for sand around rocky areas so I used the depth + my eyes.
I didn't need the GPS because navigation was visual, and I always saw the shore...and I fished the depth breaks so that's what I followed.
Casting from shore kinda works as long as the wind/current cooperates.
You can also use the rubber-ducky for ice fishing or stationary dock fishing, but dock fishing I tend to be very mobile.
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The 5CV version I had something similar when I was trying my hand at fishing from a kayak, especially outside the bays.
I liked the GPS location screen because it told me if I was making any headway against the wind/current...and it told me how fast I was drifting and in what direction. I could break out a drift sock if I needed to, or paddle to slow down, or speed up if I needed to.
Since I covered alot of ground compared to a float tube, I also used waypoints to target my fishing locations and I could mark specific spots for whatever reason I needed to.
I also could pick out size of the "fish" returns, and set whatever filter/view made the most sense at the time.
Also, with the GPS/FF version I could fish at night or in the fog.
I also used the Fishing Buddy that was the display mounted on a pole with the transducer at the bottom of the pole.
For convenience, the rubber ducky couldn't be beat (I didn't care where I tied it, I just had to have it out of the way).
The Fishin' Buddy was also pretty convenient, larger but no lines to deal with.
The 5CV (version I had...I might have actually had a 5CV), yes I had a separate battery and had to run the wires and mount the display and figure out the transducer location, but once I had that worked out it was easy to use. For the battery I got an SLA that fit into a Pelican look-alike (waterproof with a pressure relief valve) and waterproof connectors... now-a-days I'd get (I have) a LifePO4 battery in the same (very rugged) Pelican look-alike but I have two screw posts (rubber grommets inside and out) on the outside because I use it for air pumps and what-not also...my only issue is that when I upgraded my air compressor (higher volume/truck air compressor with a 40 minute duty cycle), my little battery can't start the larger compressor...if you run more than your fish finder, YMMV but my little SLA battery (I think it was 7Ah?) was fine for a full day of fishing with only my fish finder on it. If you're camping then YMMV.
The LifePO4 batteries are way lighter than the SLA and you don't have to worry about whether the battery is upside down or sideways, but theoretically same for the SLA, and SLA are heavier but way cheaper...so... good luck and post pics
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